Cornstarch and baking soda creates a soft white dough that can be tinted or hand-painted. Parents will need to cook the play clay on the stove. When it is cool, it can be formed into beads of many shapes. Air-dry the clay and then string into jewelry that kids can keep or give away. Because the clay needs to air-dry, this project is best for kids at home or children in an art class that meets at least a couple of times.
Make Play Clay for Jewelry
One of the best things about this project is that it is inexpensive. With cornstarch and baking soda as your main craft materials, this is a low-cost project. Add in the string or cord of your choice and some food coloring or acrylic paints and you’ll be able to make jewelry that looks as nice as the beads you’d make with polymer clay only for a fraction of the price.
You will need
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cups baking soda
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon water
- Small amount of flour
- Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan.
- An adult will stir the mixture over low heat. If you are allowing an older child to use the stove, you should still be in the room to supervise. Keep stirring so the mixture doesn’t burn and stick to the pan. Cook until the mixture is the consistency of mashed potatoes (it will start to stick together in a glob) – your elevation and the temperature will affect how long this takes, anywhere from 5-to-10 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the stove and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- With a spoon, push the blob of dough from the pan to a floured surface. When it is cool enough to handle, knead it until the dough is smooth. Use dough immediately.
You will need
- Cornstarch dough
- Cotton string, leather cord, waxed linen, or satin cord
- Toothpick or bamboo skewer
- Acrylic paint or food coloring
- White glue
- If you want to tint the dough or portions of the dough in specific colors, mix in a small drop of food coloring with the section of the dough you want to color. You can also form the beads first and then paint them with acrylic paints or decorate the dried beads with permanent marker.
- Form the beads in whatever shapes you desire. You can use your hands, small clay or cookie cutters, or other tools to shape the beads. The beads should be at least a ¼” thick so they don’t fall apart. For ideas about the tools and techniques you can use to form your beads, see Play with Play Dough – Tools for Parents and Kids and Play Dough and Clay Molding Techniques.
- Make a hole from one side of the bead through to the other with the toothpick. This dough doesn’t shrink much, so judge if your string or cord will slide through the hole.
- Air-dry the beads. The temperature and humidity of your area will determine how long this takes.
- If you didn’t color the beads with food coloring, you can now paint the beads.
- To seal the beads, mix equal parts white glue and water (make certain you aren’t using washable glue). Paint over the beads and allow to dry clear. Apply three or four coats of this sealant.
- String the beads.
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