Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

Air dry clay is often thought of as a child’s art and craft supply, but it’s so much more than that!  If you enjoy polymer clay, you’ll also enjoy paper clay.  You don’t have to bake this type of clay as it air dries. 

Materials

• Paper clay (also called air-dry clay):  This clay air-dries, no need to heat or bake.
• Rolling pin:  To evenly flatten clay if necessary for your project.
• Wax or freezer paper
• Rubberstamps, clay tools, molds or texture sheets:  To make patterns or images into the clay.
• Craft knife, NuBlade^TM, tissue blade (or other thin cutting tool).

Step by Step

1. Wash your hands thoroughly and make sure your work surface is clean.  Clay picks up every dust or particle on the work surface and your hands.

2. Roll clay out to about ¼” thickness or thickness desired.  Stamp an image into the clay with a rubberstamp or press clay into any type of mold and remove.  Trim with cutting tool if needed.  You can also hand form or sculpt the clay.

3. Place on wax paper to dry, turning every few hours for even drying.  To avoid curling you might want to weigh down the clay after a few hours of drying.

4. You can also use this clay to sculpt.  It easily can be colored, painted, inked, chalked, glittered, and otherwise embellished. 

Using an air dry clay, Helen Bradley created this watch for Jewlery Creations #2 Magazine (CK Media) using a clay from AMACO.

Tips

• Clay adheres to most surfaces with a dab or two of glue.
• You can cut this clay while still wet or when it has dried. 
• Use a wet fingertip to smooth rough edges while clay is still wet.
• Use a fine sanding paper or emery board to smooth clay edges once clay has dried.
• You can paint, ink, or chalk a dry piece of paper clay.
• You can add paint, ink, or chalk to wet clay to color it!
• Make an embellishment for the front of a scrapbook, diary or journal.
• Another wonderful way to use your rubberstamps.  You can make buttons to coordinate your designs and projects.
• Store unused clay in an airtight container like a zip-lock plastic bag.  You can’t add water to clay to restore, once it dries out, it’s not re-useable!
• There are wonderful cutting, shaping, and design tools on the market for clays, but don’t forget that toothpicks, paper clips, cookie cutters, and pencils are handy tools too.

I found some great sites with fun projects:

Colorful Fun

Earthy Heart Pendant

Upscale Designer

Another wonderful design by Helen Bradley for AMACO. This design was also published in Jewelry Creations #2, CK Media.