November 17, 2023

Homemade Modeling Clay

Homemade Modeling Clay

This Clay Recipe is so simple to make and it is perfect for making just about anything!

Ingredients

  • ย 1 cup Cornflour or Cornstarch
  • 2 cups Bi Carb Soda
  • 1 1/2 cups Water
  • Food colouring if you desire

Method

Place the flour, bi carb and water into a medium saucepan and mix well with a whisk until it resembles runny cream (add food colour at this point if you want a coloured clay).

Place the saucepan over med-high heat and continually stir with a large spoon (making sure you are scraping along the corners of the pan.

The mixture will start to bubble then it will quickly turn into a thick mashed potato consistency (see image).

Homemade Clay

Homemade Clay4

Turn this onto a sheet of baking paper and cover with a damp tea towel to cool.

Homemade Clay

Here is a video of me making the clay at home!

Once cooled you can kneed and PLAY with your dough.

*I store any leftover dough for 1 month by wrapping it in a damp tea towel, sealing it inside a zip-lock bag and refrigerating it.

When your creations are finished you can place them in a warm oven for 1 hour to fully dry. **I recommend you place them on a wire rack to help the underside dry evenly.

Homemade Clay2

Once theyโ€™ve been removed from the oven and are cool you can decorate or paint them. ***I also recommend using a spray-on varnish as a sealer if itโ€™s something you want to keep forever.

We created these simple snails using some extra shells we had laying around – to show an easy example of how the clay can be used & how it looks dried without any extra paint.

Homemade Clay3

Homemade Clay1

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60 thoughts on “Homemade Modeling Clay

  1. Pingback: Homemade Glue
  2. Hi! Love, love, love this owl for my students and my own children to make as gifts! So cute and easy! One question: is “bi carb soda” the same as club soda, or carbonated water? Thanks!!!

    1. Thank you for saying! Louise is a clever thing isn’t she! Bi-carb is not a soda it’s a powder which you can find in the baking aisle of your supermarket. Let us know if you give it a go & perhaps send in a pic for our fan photo album : ) Jenni x

    2. Bi carb soda is not like a fizzy drink its like a powder substance….. you can find it in the same isle as you would find your baking goods ๐Ÿ™‚

    3. Bi carbonate of soda/ sodium bicarbonate, it’s a powder, not a liquid. Used in baking, and cleaning/odour removal, adjusts alkilinity in pool water, etc.

    4. Bicarbonate of soda is a white powder. Some people mix it with water to make a fizzy drink to relieve indigestion. Buy it in a packet at the supermarket in the baking items area.

    1. Hi Kat, we have a fan forced oven that has a ‘keep warm’ function and that’s what we use. It just needs to be a warm temp to help them air dry :). Louise x

  3. the lowest my oven goes is 170* Is that an okay temp to cook the dough? And should I still cook for one hour or should I reduce cooking time?
    TIA

    1. Hi Tia, I would just keep a good eye on them, make sure they don’t start turning brownโ€ฆI would suggest to reduce the cooking time by halfโ€ฆbut as I say, make sure you keep an eye on them : ) Jenni x

  4. Wow these are terrific! They look SOO lovely! Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I have always been against salt dough ornaments for the reason I couldn’t stand their off colour! Then, there was Pinterest! Thank you very much for sharing this recipe and linking it to your perfect owl ornaments! Just in the knick of time for us to finish our kid made ornament Christmas gifts!! THANK YOU happy holidays!!!

  5. Pingback: Cloud Dough
  6. Thanks will definitely try it this weekend. Just one question. I have a gas oven. How long should i bake it in oven for?
    Leone

    1. Tania is right, but since all the measurements are ‘cups’ it actually doesn’t matter what size cup you use so long as you are consistent. For example, if I have a teacup that holds 180 ml, I can use 1 teacup corn starch, 2 teacups baking soda (sodium bicarbonate/bicarb soda) and 1 1/2 teacups of water. To get it exactly right with the half teacup, either I’d have to use a second identical teacup to pour half the cup into (and I’ll know I got it right when the liquid in each is even), or I can just guess what ‘half’ a teacup of water looks like. If I add a little too much, it will just take an extra 30 seconds or so for the excess water to boil off and get that ‘mashed potato’ consistency. If I add not quite enough – it may take a little less time, or it may not mix properly in which case you just add a spoonful or two of water.

  7. Love this ornament and the way you are makeing the dough. I will mark it and use this recipe . how long do they last in years? doesn’t matter but just wanted to know.
    thanks,
    Martha Lofton

  8. Does anyone know, or have you tried doing snowmen or x-mas trees? If so, is painting them the only way to add the colors? I am looking to do more details on them, as they are for gifts. :)) thank you.

    1. lol I am goofy. So sorry. I can just make a few batches of different colors. Do you know how well pieces would hold together. (like little dots on the trees, or buttons and scarfs on the snowmen) Thank you. Sorry for the bother. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. No it needs to be cornflour Anne. You can get it at your local grocery store…it’s normally near the regular flour. Hope that helps ๐Ÿ™‚ Jenni x

  9. I found that my ornaments started cracking on the underside… I had them in the oven on the keep warm function, sitting on a piece of baking paper on a wide rack… Not sure how to get around the cracking?

  10. we have always called this dough art and have always used salt instead of baking soda. I absolutely prefer baking soda anytime over salt. unless you wear gloves, your hands will dry and burn from using the salt. I learned to use this dough art years ago and my kids and husband (i know right?).We would make Christmas ornaments each year. Had a blast doing it. I began making little other thing thru out the year. I made little elves with hats, scarves, even made shoes that curled up on the tip`s. I would over cook them on occasion (more often than not ), but rather than get angry and instead of coloring the dough while mixing the ingredients I`d leave the dough white and then later when the dough was dry i would have a awesome time painting my little elves. I would use tiny black beads for eye`s before I baked them. also I would make small pointed noses before baking them. A tiny amount of water on the face would hold the nose in place. Or just make a small round piece of dough for the nose. Painting all of them was so fun. have fun

  11. we have always called this dough art and have always used salt instead of baking soda. I absolutely prefer baking soda anytime over salt. unless you wear gloves, your hands will dry and burn from using the salt. I learned to use this dough art years ago and my kids and husband (i know right?).We would make Christmas ornaments each year. Had a blast doing it. I began making little other thing thru out the year. I made little elves with hats, scarves, even made shoes that curled up on the tip`s. I would over cook them on occasion (more often than not ), but rather than get angry and instead of coloring the dough while mixing the ingredients I`d leave the dough white and then later when the dough was dry i would have a awesome time painting my little elves. I would use tiny black beads for eye`s before I baked them. also I would make small pointed noses before baking them. A tiny amount of water on the face would hold the nose in place. Or just make a small round piece of dough for the nose. Painting all of them was so fun. have fun also if you spray the finished item with a clear spray they will last indifinitly.

  12. No need to worry about the oven thing- you can use a microwave not only to cook the clay mixture, you can microwave it to dry it out the ornaments too. Mix up the cornflour etc. , microwave in short bursts, stir vigorously, continue until it looks like mashed potatoes. To dry the craft do the same- about 30 second bursts in the microwave until dried out. Even thicker ornaments dry without cracking.
    Poster paint colours the finished product really well, and glitter sticks to the paint!

  13. Just an FYI, bi carb of soda is pure bicarbonate of soda, baking powder is bicarb of soda with cream of tartar mixed in.

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