When my children were very young, we made a lot of homemade modeling clay for projects we wanted to keep. Many an ornament, set of strung beads, brooches and little sculptures found their way into our family and friends home as gifts. I still find the receipe to be a welcomed change from the stoneware clay we use at the studio with our younger students for some projects. There are so many receipes out there you can try with different mixtures from here and here and here and even here. Here is my tried and true receipe which you let dry and keep forever (in a dry place)! Remember, when the object d’art gets very thick, it needs some toothpick holes in it to actually dry. Luckily, they can represent freckles, spots, seeds, etc. instead of just holes!
Corn Starch receipe:
1 cup Corn Starch
2 cups Baking Soda
1 and 1/4 cups water.

Combine ingeredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until thick and dough like. Turn the warm (not hot) mixture out onto a board and knead slightly.

Cover with a damp cloth until cool. Keep unused portion in aluminum foil while you work, to keep it soft.
This clay will air dry and can be painted with acrylics, watercolors or tempera paints, then coated with a mixture of half white craft glue and half water to seal the work. Use wax paper on your work surfaces to keep things less sticky, both in shaping and painting with this clay.
The sky is the limit when making things three dimensional with children. Cookie cutters are great for children who are timid about making their own shapes.
These clays are non toxic, taste terrible and usually children keep them out of their mouths. With the amount of sodium in them, they may make the skin tingle on some people. If so, give them wooden spoons, rollingpins and popsicle sticks to work the clay with. Another good choice for them is to have them model with the clay inside a clear plastic bag. Toothpicks are fun to create free standing sculptures as long as the child is old enough to use them, and it is a good challenge for older children.

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