Learning how to make clay is so easy! This homemade clay recipe uses simple ingredients you probably have in your kitchen already, and it’s so nice to work with!
How to Make Clay – Only 3 Ingredients!
Air dry clay is so easy and so inexpensive to make! Why spend tons of money on store bought clay, when learning how to make clay at home is so much cheaper and so much fun?!
We tested a few different clay recipes and this one was the BEST! And you only need 3 ingredients – water, cornstarch, and baking soda! You don’t need lotion and you don’t need glue.
This simple air dry clay recipe is super easy to work with. It’s smooth, doesn’t crumble, and it dries to a beautiful crisp white. It’s the perfect medium for both adult projects and kids crafts.
Check out our DIY Clay video tutorial:
*Note: Scroll down for the step-by-step photo tutorial.
Looking for more fun craft ideas? Here’s some of our favourites:
Here’s what you’ll need:
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The full printable instructions are at the end of this post, but here’s a list of products on Amazon that are similar to the supplies we used:
Baking Tips: How to make the clay dry faster?
This clay will harden (air dry) in about 3 to 5 days. Or you can speed up the drying process by baking it in the oven. Generally with air dry clay you want to let it dry slowly to prevent cracking.
To bake it in the oven, preheat an oven or toaster oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the items on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, flipping the objects over half way through. Turn off the oven and allow the items to cool to room temperature in the closed oven before taking them out.
What can I make out of this clay?
There are so many items you can sculpt out of air dry clay! You can make little pinch pots or plates, or you can create a jewelry holder.
Try using a rolling pin and cookie cutters to cut out clay ornaments. You can also sculpt little figurines, like a clay turtle or a clay frog, or even clay mushrooms.
How long will this homemade clay last?
This clay will last up to 2 weeks. Wrap the unused portion in plastic wrap and store it in an air tight container (the plastic wrap is important if you don’t want it to dry out).
A batch of clay that we made over a week ago is still soft and workable. This homemade clay is even nicer to work with after it sits for a few days.
Can this clay be coloured?
Much like with homemade playdough, food colouring works well to colour this homemade clay. If you want one colour of clay, add the food colouring to the water before mixing it with the dry ingredients.
For several colours of clay, wait until the clay has cooled to room temperature. Separate it into balls (4 balls for 4 colours, for example) and knead the food colouring into the clay until the ball is evenly coloured. You can do this kneading in a baggie to keep the mess to a minimum.
We chose to leave our clay white and painted our sculptures with acrylic paint to give them colour.
How to Make Homemade Clay
Materials:
- 1 cup Baking soda
- 1/2 cup Cornstarch
- 3/4 cup Water
Equipment:
Instructions:
Step 1: Cook the Clay
- Add baking soda, cornstarch, and water to a pot and stir together.
- Place the pot on a burner over low heat. Stir continuously until the mixture starts to pull away from the pot and it forms a "mashed potato" consistency.Pull the pot off the heat immediately when it reaches this thickness. Do not overcook!
- Put the clay into a bowl or spread it out on a baking sheet to cool. Let the clay reach room temperature before working with it.It will take at least half an hour to cool down.
Step 2: Use the Clay
- The texture of the clay should be very soft and moldable, but not sticky. If the clay sticks to surfaces, or your hands, dust the work area with cornstarch.
- You can roll out the clay or form it with your hands.
- Cookie cutters are a good tool for making shaped items, such as ornaments.Allow the clay to air dry for 3 to 5 days. Or bake it in the oven at 200F for 1 to 1.5 hours, flipping the piece half way through (see baking tips above).
- Your air dry clay recipe is complete!
Helpful Tip:
Making clay and working with it are very tactile, sensory activities that the whole family can appreciate. Since this clay is taste safe, kids of all ages can enjoy working with it.
You’ll have hours of fun with this clay made from three simple ingredients. Use the clay to sculpt little animals, make keepsake ornaments, and more!
Here’s even more fun craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
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 |  Indigo |  Amazon Canada
I tried the clay recipe. It was a bit dry after about a minute of working with it. I added a few drops of baby oil to it and it worked perfectly!
Thanks for the tip, Krista!
I love this recipe, but is there any way to add cinnamon to it for color and smell? I also use Elmer’s clear school glue after they are dry to “paint” (usually 2 coats) the clay and it gives them a bit of shine and makes them more durable.. I’ve used these as ornaments and “tags” for presents, etc.
Hi Becky, you might want to check out our Cinnamon Ornaments post and see if that would work for you. Otherwise, I think you could add cinnamon to the clay recipe, but you might have to add more liquid to compensate? Let us know how it goes if you try it!
How long does it generally take to mix on the stove before you can take it off?
Hi Stephanie! Once the burner is up to temperature it should get to the right consistency within 5 minutes or less.
About how much clay do you get with just one batch? Would it be enough to make a few items or would you suggest one batch per person? We have a group of 10.
Hi Marie, the recipe makes about 2 cups of clay. It really depends on what you want to make with it, but between 1/2 – 1 cup per person should work.
can it be painted?
Hi Vanessa! Yes, we’ve used acrylic paint to colour most of our sculptures. Check out our Clay Frog or Clay Mushrooms for more information. 🙂
Would things made from this Clay stand up to weather? For example, could I make a garden ornament for use outside and expect it to last, or would rather break it down over time?
Hi Angela! We haven’t put any of our creations outside, so I can’t say for certain… generally, air dry clay on its own will not hold up outside because it can still absorb moisture.
If you apply a sealer (spray acrylic or polyurethane varnish) the clay will become water resistant and will be able to handle a bit of weather, but it still won’t be completely waterproof.
Does this stay white forever? I’ve made homemade clay that starts white then discolors slightly as it ages.
Hi Stacey! So far everything we’ve made from last summer is still a nice, bright white.
I made this clay and made a couple of projects with this batch but, they are cracking as they dry. What did I do wrong?
Hi Sharon, did you turn the project as it was drying? It’s important that each side dries the same amount. You can also try putting your projects on a cooling rack so that air can reach all sides as the clay dries. Rolling the clay too thin can sometimes cause cracks as well.