“Fun Homemade Clay Recipes”
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Like safety scissors and non-spill paint jars, recipes for homemade clays have won over many a parent with a penchant for crafts.

In addition to being less expensive than their store-bought counterparts, home varieties are often easier to manipulate, especially for children who are just learning to think in three dimensions.

The ingredients, all common kitchen staples, take only minutes to mix, which means a near-instant project for your children and one less trip to the art store for you.

There are dozens of such recipes (every art teacher has a favorite), but these four have the approval of many satisfied sculptors.

A child just learning to model will appreciate how soft and cooperative this dough feels in her hands, especially when it's still warm.

Materials

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Food coloring (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture holds together (keep mixing or it will stick to the bottom of the pan).

When the clay is cool enough to touch, your child can knead it on a floured board.

WHAT TO MAKE: This recipe's long drying time makes it most satisfying as a play dough (it's easy to roll into ropes and balls), but sculptures will dry eventually.

DRYING TIME: 3 to 5 days.

STORAGE: Stored in an airtight container, this dough will last--refrigerated or un-refrigerated--for two to four weeks.

WHITE BREAD DOUGH

This recipe will please detail-oriented children who like their sculptures small and delicate.

The dough has a consistency that's similar to store-bought clays and dries to a porcelain-like smoothness. (Note: This one is not for toddlers, who are likely to snack on their art supplies.)

Materials

1-2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 tablespoon white glue

To begin, have your child rip one slice of bread into tiny pieces into a bowl.

Add the white glue to the bread crumbs, and mix with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened.

Now, roll a bit of the mix between your fingers to check its consistency (this will vary depending on the dryness of your bread).

The mix should be pliable and somewhat sticky. If it feels very wet, or too gummy to roll into a ball, tear up and mix in a little more bread.

Now your child can gather the dough into a ball, kneading it for a minute or two with his fingers or rolling it between his palms. Soon the dough will become elastic and satiny.

As your child models the dough, it may begin to dry out. If it does, he can dip his finger tips in water (have a small bowl at the worktable) and knead the dough until it becomes more pliable.

WHAT TO MAKE: Unlike many homemade doughs, this recipe has a fine, elastic texture that won't crack, even during intricate modeling projects like earrings, buttons, beads, or tiny figurines.

Bread dough also is a great medium for taking impressions: A small piece pressed against the outside of a favorite shell makes a beautiful pendant or faux fossil.

To add a hard, semigloss finish, your child can mix equal parts water and white glue and brush on several coats.

DRYING TIME: White Bread Dough air-dries in 1 to 3 days.

STORAGE: This recipe dries out quickly, so it's best to make only as much as your child will use in one sitting. But if you do have any extra, it will keep for a month when refrigerated in plastic bags or containers.

NO-COOK DOUGH

For the independent modeler, this simple dough recipe is the natural choice.

There's no cooking on a hot stove, and the more your child squishes, tugs, and pounds it, the more this pliable stuff cooperates.

Suitable for either dying or painting, this dough has a distinctly homemade look when dry.

Materials

1 cup flour
3/8 cup salt
3/8 cup hot tap water
Food coloring (optional)

Have your child combine the flour and the salt in a medium bowl, then pour in the hot water and stir well.

Knead on a floured board for at least five minutes, working in food coloring if desired.

WHAT TO MAKE: No-cook dough's sturdiness makes it a winner for molding chunky beads or small figures (large ones have a tendency to crack during drying).

The recipe also rolls out nicely with a rolling pin; your child can cut the flattened dough with a butter knife or cookie cutters, creating shapes that make great holiday ornaments, pendants, pins, and refrigerator magnets.

DRYING TIME: Depending on the thickness of the dough, air-drying will take anywhere from one to five days. Small or thin shapes can be dried more quickly by baking them on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees for about two hours.

STORAGE: No-cook Dough will keep for up to a week when refrigerated in plastic bags or containers.

CORNSTARCH CLAY

Little fingers with limited modeling experience will appreciate this dense, easy-to-shape dough.

The mixture's high salt content gives it a grainy texture and a sparkly white color, ideal for dyeing with food coloring or decorating with tempera paints.

Materials

1 cup salt
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
food coloring or tempera paints (optional)

Heat the salt and 1/3 cup of water over medium-high heat for about four minutes, stirring occasionally. (An adult should prepare this mixture, which gets quite hot and bubbly.)

Remove from heat and add the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water.

The mixture should now look like thick mashed potatoes; stir until it thickens, then let cool for a few minutes before kneading. If the dough feels too sticky at first, your child can work in some extra cornstarch as she kneads. Add food coloring, if desired.

WHAT TO MAKE: When dry, this dough is heavy and durable, which makes it excellent for larger items, such as candlesticks, small bowls, trivets, or a lasting impression of your child's hand. Cornstarch Clay's sticky consistency is also a plus when sculpting figures: a tail or head easily attaches to a body with a gentle push.

One batch of dough is enough to make a slew of snowmen ornaments, Noah's ark figures, or dollhouse characters.

DRYING TIME: 1 to 4 days.

STORAGE: Cornstarch Clay will keep unrefrigerated for up to two weeks when stored with a small bit of wet sponge in a plastic bag or container.

Originally published in FamilyFun magazine

Valerie Kohn is an art educator at the Berkshire Museum and the Hancock Central School in Massachusetts.

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