This homemade air-dry clay or modeling dough recipe is great for a crafting session, whether for adults or children. This year it’s gone viral as the centerpiece of Christmas decorations… but you can also use it to make lots of amazing gifts and unique, personalized DIY projects.
You’ll get that white clay (not the typical brown kind), and we’ll tell you how to give it the color you want, and you can make clay figures and accessories for yourself, as gifts…
Keep reading, and we’ll give you three recipes for making this homemade modeling paste or dough, along with ideas for creating your figures … we’ve tried them all, and without a doubt, our favorite is the first one.
The great thing about these homemade clay recipes is that they are non-toxic (although not edible), so you can make them with children, although they will need adult help and supervision in some steps.
The ingredients for your modeling clay are everyday items, very cheap and easy to find.
And that’s all.
We’ll show you the three simplest (and most effective) recipes we’ve found for making homemade clay
How to make homemade clay with baking soda?
To calculate measurements, always use the same container.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (or parts) of Baking Soda
- 1 cup of cornstarch or corn flour
- 1 cup + 1/4 cup of water
- Food coloring or acrylic paint to taste (optional)
Elaboration:
- In a pot, put the baking soda and flour, and gradually add the water.
- It needs to have a certain thickness, but it remains completely liquid.
- If you want your dough to be a single color, now is the time to add the food coloring. If you want to divide your dough to give it different colors, you’ll use acrylic paint, as we’ll explain later.
- Once you have the initial mixture made, turn on the heat (to medium heat) and cook it all until it thickens.
- It will need to thicken a lot; it will end up like a mousse.
- Once you reach that point, take the dough out (being careful not to burn yourself), put it in a container, giving it the most compact shape possible, and cover it with plastic wrap until it dries.
- This pasta dries in the air, so it’s best not to leave it exposed.
- Once cooled, shape it until the dough no longer sticks (you may need to add a little more cornstarch).
- If you want to color your dough at this point, take portions, roll them into balls, flatten them with your hands, and pour the desired color of food coloring into the center. Continue folding and stretching the dough until it’s completely colored (wear gloves!). You’ll be coloring it from the inside out.
Only when it dries will you see the final color. - Another option is to paint the dough once your figure has dried, and you extend the fun.
- Keep your homemade clay well wrapped in plastic film so that no air gets in, and if you also put it in an airtight container, even better, that way it will last longer.
- To dry, you should leave it in the air for a few days until it hardens. Alternatively, you can put it in the oven at 120°C for a maximum of 5 minutes.