Forming Clay

(Flower made with this clay recipe.)

What You Will Need

2 1/3 cup flour
1 1/3 cup salt
4 teaspoons powdered alum
2 cups boiling water
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
mixing bowl and spoon



Instructions

1. Combine the flour, salt and alum in a mixing bowl. Mix well.



2. Very carefully add the boiling water and vegetable oil.



3. Blend well.



4. Knead until smooth.





Additional Details

The wet-clay should have a consistency similar to bread dough.



Alum can be found in the spice isle of better stocked grocers. It is a pickling spice and not always readily available. (Kid Buckaroo Craft Tip:You may substitute alum with cream of tartar, if necessary.)

This clay will last for weeks in the refrigerator, if stored in an airtight container or freezer bag.



Projects will take 48 hours to dry well.

An unpainted sample project made with this clay recipe and air dried:

Tin Foil Card

(card by Thomas, 2 years old)

What You Will Need

glue
handful of uncooked rice
tin foil
scissors
string, about 20 inches long
heavy paper, card stock if possible, about 12" x 7"
construction paper, about 6" x 6"



Instructions

1. Cut a piece of tin foil and the construction paper to be the exact same size. In this example they are 6"x6".



2. Fold the heavy paper in half. Crease the fold well.



3. Draw a simple pattern on the construction paper. In this example we made a square.



4. Smear glue over the entire surface of the construction paper. (Kid Buckaroo Craft Tip: Tape the construction paper to the table. This will stop the paper from moving about as your child is working with it. A loop of tape, or two, on the back of the paper works perfectly.)



5. Place the string over the lines of the object that you have drawn. Trim string as necessary.



6. Pour the rice inside the string lines of the object.



7. Spread the rice out evenly and remove any rice grains that may have fell outside of the stringed lines.



8. Carefully place the tin foil over the construction paper and press down. Smooth over the tinfoil pressing and rubbing the tin foil into the shape below. Gently run your fingernail along the outside edge of the string, to give more emphases to the shape.







9. Glue the tin foil art onto the centre-front of your card.



10. Sign the inside and give this card to someone you care about.

Additional Details

If the tinfoil gets ruptured by a piece of rice, during step 8, simply cut another piece of tin foil and glue it over the ruptured piece.

Simple shapes are the best to work with in this project - circles, hearts, triangles, etc.

Comb Painting

What You Will Need

thick coloured construction paper (or cardboard)
2.5 tablespoons of flour
3 tablespoons of water
about 10 drops of food colouring
comb (flat, not curved, along exposed end of teeth)
mixing bowl and spoon



Instructions

1. Mix flour and water well, smoothing out bumps.



2. Add food colouring to mixture. Mix well.



3. Spread the paste on the paper.



4. Drag the comb through the paint for different effects.


Additional Details

Use combs with assorted spaced and sized teeth for different effects.

This recipe makes about 6 tablespoons of comb paint.

Puffy Paint Recipe

What You Will Need

1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup salt
1/3 cup water
about 12 drops of food colouring
squeeze bottle
thick paper or cardboard
bowl and spoon for mixing



Instructions

1. Mix the flour, salt and water.



2. Add the food colouring.



3. Fill the squeeze bottle with the paint.



4. Repeat this entire procedure for each paint colour that you want.




(Puffy paint picture of "a shiny day" by Thomas, age 2)

Additional Details

This recipe makes 1 cup of paint.

Depending on how thickly you have painted, it may take many hours to completely dry.

The paint will be puffy with a slight sparkle when dry.

To transfer your paint easily into the bottle (step 3), choose a bottle with a wide opening. Here we have used an old mustard container.

The cardboard we used in this project was the inside of an old cereal box.

String Paintings

(string painting by Thomas, 2 years old)

What You Will Need

white paper sheet
string (one piece for each paint colour, about 6 inches long)
non-toxic paints, approximately 2 tablespoons per colour



Instructions

1. It works best if the paint is spread in a swallow dish or bowl. Dip a piece of string in the paint, saturated it well.



2. Drag and drop the string against the paper.



3. Repeat with the other paint colours.

Additional Details

Use strings of different textures and widths for a varied effect.

Fold your paper in half to make a pretty card.

Paper Mache Bowl

What You Will Need

1 recipe Paper Mache Paste
bowl (to mold)
newspaper
scissors (big ones for you, safety ones for the kids)
an assortment of non-toxic paints
a paint brush
scotch tape
piece of thin plastic wrap (big enough to cover your bowl)



Instructions

1. Cut strips from the newspaper - about 1 inch wide, 2 inches long.




2. Cover the bowl (to be molded) with a plastic wrap. The wrap will allow the bowl to be removed easily when the project is complete. Tape the wrap into place. Turn the bowl upside down on your work area.





3. Dip the paper strips into the paste. Put the covered strips between your thumb and index finger. Slide your fingers down over the paper, with an easy pressure, to remove excess paste.





4. Place the strips on the bowl in a crisscrossed fashion. Make sure you overlap layers. Be certain to give good coverage to the sides of the bowl as well as the bottom.



5. Let your project dry, sitting it in a dry, warm place. It will take about 48 hours for the project to be well dried.



6. Carefully remove the paper-mache form from the original bowl.



6. Peel away the plastic.



7. Any excess, or uneven edges may be trimmed with scissors.




8. Paint your masterpiece and let dry.




(painted by Nicholas, 7 yrs old)

Additional Details

Light paint colours let the newsprint show through as in the photo below.



Use dark coloured paints if you do not want the newsprint to show.

This is a messy project but very fun to do and the end result is well worth the effort.