Tutorial: Black Cat in a Pumpkin

It's Tutorial Tuesday....so let's create this cat in a pumpkin following a tutorial from Makin's Clay  The Halloween pumpkin is made from neon orange Makin's Clay and the cat's eyes are glow-in-the-dark clay, also from Makin's.

Tips for Storing ADC - Update

I often get asked "How can I store my unused air-dry clay so that it doesn't dry out?"  Over a year ago I posted a collection of storage tips.   Today's post is a repeat with some updates!

One of the pros of air-dry clay is that it air dries. No need to bake!

One of the cons of air-dry clay is that it air dries! Long-term storage is always a problem.

Any exposure to light and air will start drying the clay. Some brands start drying faster than others, especially some of the polymer-based clays such as Model Magic, Hearty and Cloud Clay.
  

Tutorial Tuesday 7/24

It's been a  busy week at the homefront and only posted one tutorial this week!    This is a good one to make with the kids...a pink pig made from a water bottle and Cloud Clay.

Tutorial Tuesday

That's me being surprised at
how long it's been since last post!!

Well, it seems I've taken a 6 month vacation from posting here at New Clay News! I didn't realize that it's been so long....my apologies, I've really been busy. Been involved in writing a book about the history of our town and spent some time in the hospital, among other things. 


The book draft is now at the publisher and my health is doing OK, so maybe I can get back into playing with clay and into the old routine of posting often. Let's start with catching up on some of the newest tutorials posted over at my Air Dry Clay Tutorial Directory.

Tool Tips

In the following videos, craft artist PJHornberger shares her tool tips for working with Creative Paperclay and other air-dry clays.

How to make a Rainbow Clay Mouse

Rainbow Clay is a new air dry modelling sculpture medium. Described as paper based modelling medium, non toxic, odourless & safe.  Air drys.  Lightweight, soft & easy to use.   Distributed by Rainbow Clay Australia.  The following video demonstrates a cute and easy mouse.  Kid-friendly and a good beginners project!

(note:  There's a Rainbow Clay available at Amazon.com but I'm not certain it's the same product.  Packaging looks different.   If anybody has the answer to this, please leave a comment!)



If you're a distributor of Rainbow Clay in the USA (or other countries), please let us know!   Our Air-Dry Clay Yahoo Group has members from every continent!  (Well, except Antartica maybe...LOL)

Types of Modeling Clays Explained

Figures made with air-dry clay (paperclay) by Tine Kamerbeek 

There are a few different types of clays popular with today's hobbyist that don't require a kiln or any special equipment.  The 3 basic types are oil-based, wax-based and water-based.*   We can also categorize them as heat-cured, self-hardening, air-dry or non-hardening.

*Note: There are also ceramic and stone-based clays, but these usually require a kiln to be cured and aren't included in our discussion.

The most popular heat-cured clays are the polymer clays.   Polymer clays are oil-based and must be heated to cure, however, a home oven can be used and a kiln is not required.   Polymer clays are available in many brands and many colors.  Most are very stiff when first removed from package and must be kneaded before using.   Polymer clay will be plastic like, waterproof and very durable if cured properly. 

Wallace and Gromit
are made of plasticine
on metal armatures

Wax-based clays are the plasticine clays. This type of clay stays flexible and never hardens. If heated, it will melt.   Plasticine is what's generally referred to as "modeling clay". It's also known as "Plastilena", which is a brand name.   Plasticine is often used to create clay animations because the flexible clay allows the figure to be re-positioned over and over. Air-dry and polymer clays are sometimes used for non-moving body parts.

The air-dry clays are mostly water based formulas, both commercial brands and homemade clays (cold porcelain and papier mache).  Because the water content evaporates as it cures, projects created with air-dry clay will shrink a certain amount.  There are hundreds of brands all with different characteristics and the shrinkage rate varies.   The finer quality brands of air-dry-clay harden to a matte, smooth, durable finish but must be top-coated and sealed because air-dry clay is not waterproof (with a couple of exceptions).

The New Clay News is all about this last type of clay.   If it's no-bake, air-dry or self-hardening...we'll talk about it and search out artists and tutorials!   Many new brands and new formulas of air-dry clays have recently become available and this "new clay" is increasing in popularity every day.  There are also a few new polymer-based air-dry clays sometimes referred to as "resin clay".   Two-part epoxy clays are included because they are also self-hardening.

So, you can see there is a lot to learn about air-dry clays.  If you are used to working with polymer clay and want to try air-dry clay, it will take some practice and some experimenting before you find the one that's just right for you.  Air-dry clays are not all the same and which brand would work best for you depends a lot on what you want to make with it.   The best way to learn is to join our Air-Dry-Clay Yahoo Group, where we have many generous members willing to share their expertise and experience.

The clay artisans in the Air-Dry-Clay Yahoo Group use and discuss all the commercial brands of no-bake, air-dry, self-hardening clays plus homemade clay recipes such as cold porcelain and papier mache. This includes brands such as Creative Paperclay**, Delight, Makin's Clay, LaDoll, Hearty Clay, Deco ClayCraft, DAS Pronto, Apoxie Sculpt, Lyra, Artista, Angel, Aves, FormoFit, Darwi, Flumo, Lumina, Celluclay, Sculptamold, Cold Porcelain, Crayola Model Magic, Crayola Air Dry Clay, Sculpt It, Paverpol and many more brands.

Create these cute dolls with cold porcelain or other air-dry clay.
http://www.mulhercriativa.com.br/biscuit/casal-teen

Materials needed are pre-tinted clay in white, black, blue, yellow, red, brown, green and flesh plus barbeque skewers or lollipop sticks for legs.

Page is written in Portuguese, but lots of good photos show step-by-step without translating ....or use Google Translate. http://translate.google.com/

Air Dry Clay Name Tags or Ornaments

Stephanie shows us a no-calorie way to use candy molds. She uses air dry clay (Creative Paperclay) to create name tags or ornaments.

Tutorial: Make Some Funny Bunnies

Video demo from TatyanaBel  doesn't say what kind of clay she's using but this would be a good project for the pre-colored air-dry clays such as Cloud Clay, Makin's Clay, Hearty Clay and Model Magic. Cold porcelain should work well for these bunnies also.  Bunnies are colorful and the simple shapes make it kid-friendly.  TatyanaBel says: "This is just to show how easy to create something that can bring an instant smile on your friend's face or someone's you care about. I've created few dozens during Easter and placed them in the kitchen at work. Easter Bunnies had their new friends very quickly!"

Miniature Teddy Bear

This video demo from sugarcraft artist Aine shows us how to make a tiny miniature teddy bear.   This demo is using gumpaste to create figure, but the process is exactly the same for air-dry clay.   Just use regular glue where she calls for edible glue.    This is a kid-friendly project and suitable for just about any clay, including the softer air-dry clays like Model Magic and Cloud Clay.

How to Make a Mosaic Box

Decorate a wooden box with mosaic tiles made with Delight air-dry clay.   Frame a photo for top of box!  See step-by-step tutorial at Paperclay.com

How to Make Clay Peony

 

This 4-part video demo from Mayen from Way Beyond Cakes shows us how to make a very realistic Peony flower.   She describes this as a "beginners" flower and demonstrates every step in the process in detail.   Mayen is crafting with gumpaste in this demo, but the process is the same for air-dry clay (just use white glue instead of edible glue).    The softer brands of air-dry clay or cold porcelain are usually the best choice for clay flowers.

How to create this puppy with Cloud Clay

Isn't that a cute face?    In this video demo, Linda Peterson shows us how to create this little dog with Cloud Clay, a soft air dry clay. This would be a good cold porcelain project too, and a good beginners project!

For more information about Cloud Clay visit http://amaco.com

How to Properly Wrap a Foam Cone with Clay

In our last post, we featured a video which demonstrates the proper way to wrap a Styrofoam ball with cold porcelain. The foam ball is the most common armature used when making cute air-dry clay figures but the Styrofoam CONE is also used often.  In the following video, Haydee Miranda demonstrates the proper way to wrap a Styrofoam cone with cold porcelain clay so you don't end up with cracks or trapped air. Note that the ball of clay she starts with is about equal to the circumference of the shape.

Spanish is the language spoken in this demo but I think you can easily follow what's she's doing even if you don't understand what she's saying!

How to Wrap a Styrofoam Ball with Clay

Many air-dry clay projects call for Styrofoam shapes as armatures for figure modeling.   Quite a few people have mentioned they are having trouble covering the foam with clay without getting cracks or trapped air.   In the following video, Haydee Miranda demonstrates the proper way to wrap a Styrofoam ball with cold porcelain.

Spanish is the language spoken in this tutorial but I think you can follow along even if you don't understand what she's saying!

Create This Pair of Lovebirds

In the following video, Haydee Miranda shows us how to make a dove with cold porcelain.  Make 2 and add  a heart and you have a pair of lovebirds!   Perfect for Valentine's Day gift or decoration!  

This is a simple, beginners project and is suitable for just about any type of air-dry clay, purchased or homemade!.  Spanish is the language spoken in this tutorial but each step is clearly shown and I think you can follow along even if you don't understand what she's saying!

Experiments with Coloring Air-Dry Clay

There are 2 main types of air-dry clays....those that are pre-colored and those that are not.  Most of the clays that are not pre-colored are white or off-white in color. (A few are terra cotta or gray.)   The question of what to use to pre-tint the "white-only" clays comes up quite often (the alternative is to paint after cured).  

The answer is:  Just about anything soluble!

Tips for Storing Your Air Dry Clay

I often get asked "How can I store my unused air-dry clay so that it doesn't dry out?"

One of the pros of air-dry clay is that it air dries.  No need to bake!
One of the cons...is that it air dries!  Long-term storage is always a problem.  
Any exposure to light and air will start drying the clay.  Some brands start drying faster than others, especially some of the polymer-based clays such as Model Magic and Cloud Clay. 

I've had pretty good luck with the vacuum bag storage systems.  These storage bags are made for food storage but work great for clay!!   

Make an Easy Owl with Model Magic

A super simple variation of how to make an owl.  Quick and easy.   A great project to get you started with air-dry clay.  A great kids project also!  Make a large one for a paperweight or a smaller one for a fridge magnet!   Tutorial suggests using Model Magic.  Although white is shown, Model Magic comes in a variety of colors.  How about a purple owl??  LOL   Have fun with it.  4 Crazy Kings shows us how it's done.

On same blog is another tutorial with a full body variation

.