Etceteras: homemade clay {take 1}

Have you ever made homemade clay? I clipped a clay recipe long ago and have been wanting to try it out.

My original plan was to leave the clay medallions in their natural white clay color but I hit a snag and ended up painted them. Before I get into that, here’s how you make the clay.

This clay is wonderful. The texture is very fine and it’s easy to work with. You can find the original recipe and more instructions on Woodside Kitchen.

1. Ingredients: 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 cup baking soda, 3/4 cup water
2. Cook the ingredients in a medium sized pot and stir over medium heat. Stir constantly until it is smooth and it thickens. Remove from heat and spoon into a bowl and let it cool.
3. Once the clay is cool, knead it on a smooth surface dusted with cornstarch.
4. Make your creations. 

To make these medallions, I rolled small balls of the clay mixture and flattened them slightly with a rolling pin.

I then used a crocheted doily to make these impressions. Lay the doily on the flattened clay and use the rolling pin to press it gently into the clay. Place the pieces on wax paper or parchment paper to dry. Or you can bake them in the oven at 175 degrees for an hour (turn them over halfway through cooking) to avoid curling.

Here’s where I ran into trouble. I used the air dry method and turned the pieces but my medallions started to crack. The original instructions specifically said to knead the clay very well to avoid cracks. I guess I didn’t knead it enough.

The cracked medallions were a breath away from being thrown in the trash when I thought I’d try to fill in the cracks and save them. I used a tiny bit of Mod Podge and a toothpick and carefully dabbed it into the crack.