Polymer Clay

Fimo and clay tips and tutorials

Polymer Clay Like New

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If you do any amount of polymer clay… you end up with oodles of scrap clay. And scrap clay is useful for a ton of projects. Sometimes, though, you just want more clay to use and that’s what spurred my previous week’s project in my studio: to sort and turn my scrap clay stash back into good sheets of clay.

This project was a lot of grunt work for my studio assistant and I. You could do a smaller version of this by just picking a few blues and doing those, for example.

We’ve already turned a lot of that pile of fabulous new clay back into projects (and more scraps). Many of the colours are fabulous tones of favourite clay colours – there’s a whole range of blue-greens in the photo because I use a lot of turquoise and teal in my work – and it’s so useful to have these. A con is that almost all of the colours end up with a little sparkle or glitter since piles of mica containing clay get mixed into clay without those.

You can see other times I’ve blogged about scrap clay storage and sorting here and here.

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How To Make A Milk Mache Molding Compound

There are some craft projects that feel like they belong on a rainy afternoon kitchen table, and this Milk Mache Molding Compound is exactly one of them. It is part craft, part science experiment, and part “wait… did we just turn milk into something solid?”

This clever little project from CraftBits shows you how to make a simple homemade molding compound using just milk and vinegar. The idea is wonderfully old-school: when the vinegar reacts with the milk, it separates into curds and liquid, leaving you with a soft mixture that can be pressed, shaped, and dried into a hard, stone-like material.

It’s a lovely one to try with kids, especially if you enjoy hands-on STEM-style crafts that do not require a trolley full of supplies. You can use the finished compound to make small charms, beads, ornaments, rustic tags, or simple molded shapes. Just keep the pieces small and thin, as this is not really the sort of compound you would use for large sculptures or anything that needs to be perfectly smooth.

What I like most about this project is how accessible it is. Most of us already have milk, vinegar, a bowl, and paper towel in the kitchen, which makes it a brilliant last-minute craft activity. It also has that slightly magical quality children love — one minute it is liquid, the next it is turning into a moldable material.

A couple of tips before you try it: use whole milk if you can, as it tends to give a better result than skim or semi-skimmed milk. White vinegar is also the best choice, as darker vinegars may affect the colour and texture. And don’t rush the draining stage. If the mixture is too wet, it will be soggy and hard to shape; if it is too dry, it may crumble.

This would be a fun companion activity for our other kids craft ideas, especially if you are looking for something simple, inexpensive, and a little bit educational. It also fits nicely with home crafts and handmade gift embellishments if you want to turn your dried shapes into tags or decorations.

Would I call this a polished, professional clay substitute? No. Would I call it a wonderfully curious, messy, memorable craft experiment? Absolutely.

If you enjoy homemade craft supplies, kitchen-table experiments, or easy projects that make children ask “how did that happen?”, this Milk Mache Molding Compound is well worth a try.

You can find the full project instructions here: Milk Mache Molding Compound