HOME-MADE
CLAY
Making Time: ~ 30 min - 90 min
Age Group: 7 - 70
(7-10 might need a little help)
Project Designer: Rebecca Zakheim
This project will show you how to make your own clay using flour, salt and water.
Homemade clay is a great material to sculpt with! You can mold it with your hands, or using items from around your home.
You can make objects to go in your time capsule, good luck charms to put around your home, wearable items and more!
The recipe used here will make enough for a small pinch pot (like the one on the cover page). If you want to make something bigger, just make more clay!
Project Overview:
Prepare
Your Workspace:
Set up your work space. Clear a surface on a table top where you can work. Make sure you have some scrap material covering your surface to keep it clean (magazines, newspaper, cardboard, plastic trash bag...) Make sure to ask other people who are using the space if it’s OK for you to set up there!
Gather Supplies:
Salt
Water
Flour
A bowl
A fork and a tablespoon
and, if you have one,
a 1tbsp (tablespoon) measuring spoon
NOW LET’S BEGIN
MAKING YOUR CLAY
Step 1:
Get your bowl and measure ½ a cup white flour into it.
Clue:
There are 16 tbsp’s in a cup.
Can you convert all the measurements in this project into tablespoons?
Step 2:
Measure and add an ⅛ cup salt to your flour and mix together using a fork. Make sure everything is evenly mixed before moving on to the next step.
Clue:
To get more precise measurements, over fill your spoon, and use something flat (like a knife or an index card) to scrape the top flat.
Step 3:
Add an ⅛ of a cup of water and whisk with your fork for one minute.
Wipe the fork off and use your hands to continue to mix for another minute.
Clue:
Use your hands to mix the clay, slowly picking up more and more as you go.
Step 4:
Step 5:
Add one more tbsp of water.
Clue:
The mixture will still be dry with some flour in the bowl that hasn’t gotten wet yet, but there should also be little balls of dough forming.
Step 5:
Knead Your Clay
Follow the next steps for kneading your clay to get it fully mixed and smooth!
5A: Gather your clay
Collect all your clay into one ball, with no leftover pieces in the bowl. Pass it back and forth between your hands, squeezing and mixing it as you go.
5B: Fold and Press
When your clay can stay together in a ball, start flattening it into a rectangle. Then, fold it in half and press it together using your fist. Turn your clay around and repeat this step 20 times.
5C: Kneading
Empty your bowl of clay onto a clean work surface. Use the palm of your hand to press the clay flat and then fold it. Keep turning your clay a little after each press and fold, until it’s gone around in a circle a few times.
5D: Keep Going!
Keep needing your clay for five minutes until it feels smooth and there is no extra flour.
Try some of the techniques in the next pages.
IF YOUR CLAY IS STILL CRUMBLY, ADD SOME WATER.
Clue:
You’ll know you need more water if your clay is still loose and dry and is not forming into a smooth ball.
Step 6:
At this point, you should have something that looks like this:
Don’t know what to make? Check out the design challenges at the end of this presentation.
NOTE: Your clay will dry out if it sits out in the open, so remember to store it properly when you are not using it (tupperware, a jar, or a ziplock bag could work).
NOW YOU CAN MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF YOUR CLAY!
Your creations air dry by just leaving them out in the air. This may take a pretty long time. If you can’t wait, bake what you made in the oven.
If you would like to bake your clay to harden it, ask an adult to help you set the oven to 250 degrees fahrenheit. Put all your clay objects onto a baking sheet, and put them into the oven. Start checking on your pieces after about 10 minutes. Bigger objects will take longer to bake.
Hardening your
Clay creations:
DESIGN CHALLENGES
There are so many different things you can make with your clay.
Try out some of the projects in the next pages!
Clue:
Keep a dish of water closeby as you are working with the clay.
Wet your hands and the clay to help make the clay easier to work with.
You can easily make beads!
Start by rolling your clay into a log and cutting it into pieces that are as long as you want your beads to be.
Then stick something sturdy and straight through the center, like a toothpick or paper clip, and roll it a little until the opening is big enough.
Keep in mind that the clay will shrink a little if you bake it in the oven, so your opening will shrink too!
Beads
COLORFUL BEADS
To add some color to your clay, add 3-5 drops of food coloring and mix. Add more drops as needed.
Roll your colorful clay into logs, twist them together, and roll that until you have one smooth log.
2D CHARMS
(for jewelry or mobiles)
Flatten your clay using a rolling pin, if you have one. If you don’t have a rolling pin, try using a different cylinder shaped object or just use your hands!
Use whatever tools you have around your house to add detail to your charms. I made these leaf shapes using just a fork.
If you would like to make shapes to hang, remember to add a hole to put string through!
CYLINDER
PINCH POTS
Follow this tutorial to learn how to make a pinch pot!
What other projects can you make with your homemade clay?
We want to see!
PLEASE SHARE WHAT YOU MADE:
#beamanywhere