Bring a little glow to your craft table with this homemade glow in the dark clay! It’s soft, stretchy, and super fun to squish — plus, it shines bright when the lights go out.
This easy DIY glow in the dark clay recipe is perfect for creative kids and teens. Have fun making glowing stars, beads, or mini sculptures that light up your imagination!
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How to Make Glow in the Dark Clay
Materials:
Equipment:
- Paper towel (or tea towel)
- Clay roller (or rolling pin)
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Make homemade clay
- Add 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup cornstarch, and 3/4 cup water into a pan.
- Turn the burner on medium heat and stir the ingredients to combine.
- Continuously stir the liquid, scraping the bottom of the pan as you do so. Eventually you’ll feel the mixture begin to thicken and it’ll start sticking to your spoon.
- Keep stirring the clay mixture. It will bubble up a lot as it thickens more.
- Continue stirring until the clay mixture is thick like mashed potatoes and no longer liquid feeling (about 5 minutes).The clay will be quite hard to stir at this point. Remove from heat.
Step 3: Cool the clay
- Spoon the clay onto a plate or baking sheet, smoothing it down into a thinner layer.
- Cover with damp paper towel (or a tea towel) and allow to cool to room temperature before handling.This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the temperature of your room.
Step 4: Colour the clay (and make it glow in the dark!)
- Divide the cooled clay into equal sized balls. We decided to make 6 colours of clay, so we separated the clay into 6 balls about 78 grams each. You can weigh the clay or just eyeball it — it’s up to you.
- Flatten 1 ball of clay and set it on a baking tray or sheet of parchment paper. Then add 1/4 teaspoon glow in the dark pigment powder.The amount of pigment needed will depend on how much clay you’re working with. 1/4 teaspoon worked well for our amount of clay.
- Fold the clay around the pigment powder, then squish it together.
- Continue kneading the clay until the colour is fully mixed in. Use the clay to pick up any stray pigment that’s fallen on the tray.
- Repeat to make the other colours of clay.
- Now turn out the lights and see how the clay glows in the dark!
Step 5: Make things with your glow in the dark clay
- You can roll out the clay and then use cookie cutters to create fun shapes.
- You can also use your hands to sculpt things. Here we made a crescent moon shape, creating the curve by shaping it around a finger.
- Or, if you want to make marbled/tie dye clay, you can do that too. Start by making “snakes” of each of the colours.
- Push the clay snakes together into a log and then twist them around each other.
- Fold the ends of the log in and then roll out the clay.
- If you want to make a trinket dish, place a small bowl upside-down in the clay. Press down to make an impression and then use a craft knife to cut out the circle.
- Place plastic wrap in the bowl and set the circle of clay on top, creating a rounded dish.
- Once you’ve made your clay creations, set them on a parchment lined tray and cover them with a tea towel. This will slow the drying process, helping to prevent cracking.It will take at least 2 days for larger objects to dry. Flip them over after 24 hours to give the bottom a chance to dry as well.
- Your glow in the dark clay creations are complete!
- Now place them near a window or another light source and have fun seeing how they glow when the lights go out!
Helpful Tips:
- Keep the clay moist while cooling: Cover it with a damp paper towel or tea towel while it cools. This helps lock in moisture and keeps the texture soft and smooth.
- Store it properly: Keep leftover clay in an airtight container or zip-top bag. We wrapped each colour in plastic wrap first so they wouldn’t mix.
- Work on a non-stick surface: Silicone mats or parchment paper are perfect for rolling and shaping your clay without it sticking or leaving residue.
Can I make glow in the dark clay without pigment?
We do recommend using glow pigment — it mixes in smoothly and creates the best, brightest glow with minimal mess. You can use glow in the dark paint, but it adds extra moisture and can get a bit sticky.
If you don’t have glow in the dark pigment, try making our regular clay recipe. Then paint your dried creations with glow in the dark paint instead.
What can I make with glow in the dark clay?
There are so many fun ideas! Try making:
- Stars and moons
- Ghosts or pumpkins (perfect for Halloween!)
- Glow pebbles (they look amazing in jars or dishes)
- Cute beads
- Simple ornaments (cut them out with cookie cutters)
- Trinket dishes or ring bowls
- Mini photo or note holders
My glow in the dark clay cracked. How can I stop this?
Homemade clay is more prone to cracking than store-bought versions since it doesn’t have added binders. To prevent this, make thinner items and let them dry slowly under a tea towel.
If cracks appear, press a little fresh clay into the gaps, smooth it out, and let it dry again. You can also gently sand any rough spots once dry.
How can I make my DIY clay glow even brighter?
Expose your creations to a bright UV light or sunlight for a few minutes before turning off the lights. This “charges” the clay under the light, making the glow stronger and longer-lasting!
There’s something so mesmerizing about homemade glow in the dark clay. It’s soft, colourful, and full of creative possibilities. Every part of the process feels a little bit magical, and once the lights go out, it’s impossible not to smile.
Seeing your new creations glowing in the dark is pure, bright joy! So grab your ingredients, have fun creating, and get ready to watch your imagination shine.
Here’s even more glow in the dark craft ideas:
Now available
Low-Mess Crafts for Kids Book
72 cute and fun crafts that kids and parents alike can enjoy. All with as little mess as possible!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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