Modeling Clay Recipes for Busy Hands

Kids love to squish, pound, roll and sculpt with clay. You help your child use clay to make interesting art pieces, or useful household items such as mini pots, candleholders, paperweights, bowls and even napkin rings. The following are good modeling clay recipes that use ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen pantry.

Most of these recipes can be left out to air dry and then painted. If you are worried about the pieces getting moldy while they are drying, try adding a tablespoon of alum (found on the spice isle at the grocery store) to the clay recipe.

Salt and Flour Clay:

Combine ½ cup of salt and one cup of flour. Add room temperature water a little at a time. Mix the clay with your hands until it reaches a stiff consistency. If you need softer dough, add a little more water.

Salt and Cornstarch Clay:

For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

2 cups of salt

2/3 cups of water

2 cup of cornstarch

½ cup of cold water

Start by mixing the salt with the water in a pan. Simmer the ingredients over a medium heat while you are stirring. After about three minutes, the mixture will be heated. Remove from the heat. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and ½ cup of cold water. Add this mixture to the warm mixture and stir to make stiff dough.

Sawdust Clay:

This is a versatile recipe that can be used for almost any project. If you know a wood worker, ask them to save you the sawdust to use for this clay.

You will need:

4 cups of clean sawdust

1 cup of wallpaper paste (available at home improvement stores)

2 cups of water

Mix all of the ingredients together until it reaches the consistency of modeling clay. If you want to make heavy projects, such as a paperweight, add ½ cup of Plaster of Paris to the mixture. You will have to use this recipe as soon as you make it. It dries very quickly.

Cornstarch Clay:

This is a popular clay because it requires very few ingredients and it dries white, making it perfect for painting.

You will need:

1 cup of cornstarch

2 cups of baking soda

1-¼ cups of water

Mix the cornstarch and the baking soda. Add the water and mix and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. It will be similar to mashed potatoes. If you do not plan to use this clay right away, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Baker's Clay:

This clay will need to be baked after the pieces are finished.

You will need:

4 cups of flour

1 cup of salt

1-1/2 cups of water

Using your fingers, mix together the flour, salt and water in a large bowl. If you think that the clay is too stiff, add a little water to the mixture. Knead the mixture for about five minutes. After the pieces are molded, place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about one hour.

Peanut Butter Clay:

This is the perfect medium for young toddlers who tend to put things in their mouths. It is perfectly safe and edible. Just watch out for peanut allergies.

1-1/2 cups of creamy peanut butter

1-1/2 cups of powdered milk

¾ cups of honey

Mix all ingredients together to reach the desired consistency. If you are not using right away, store in the refrigerator.