Yep. We have all been there.. bought Air-Dry Clay in bulk.. used some.. but over time it has become quite hard and stiff! This is particularly a problem when using air drying clay with kids! Their fingers are not strong enough to knead it back into softness and they will have problems connecting pieces, so that their creations do not later fall apart. It is actually incredibly EASY to soften hardened air-dry clay – as we will show you here! I think this is the easiest way to revive dry clay.
Our favourite Air Dry clay projects have been our Nature Art Projects, and our Monster Pinch Pots. Simple and fun. But there are MANY uses for air drying clay and we look forward to sharing more ideas with you over time.
Do watch this short video (which is part of our handy “Crafts Basics” series on YouTube – let us know what else you would like to see in this series.. we have everything from basic sewing stitches, to removing labels from jars here!).
RED TED ART TVSo.. how do you soften air drying clay??
- Basically…. you get your clay. You get a couple of plastic bags (with no holes in them) and a cup of water.
- Place the clay in the bag. Poke a few times with a knife to make some holes.
- Add the water.
- Seal the bag and leave for a day.
- You will now have very soft clay indeed.
NOTE: It is best that you get your clay out and ready to be used maybe a good half an hour before use. As you WILL want it to harden a little bit again. Depending on whether you are doing this in Winter or summer.. you may want to leave it out resting under a damp art rag. But it WILL be a little too wet for use immediately!
Will this work for oven baked clay
Oh that is a good question. I don’t know. I would suggest experimenting?
I used too much water and now my air dry clay is like chocolate mousse…ive left it to dry, I’ve tried kneading it, I’ve hung it up in an old pillow case but nothing is working..have I ruined my clay?
No, it should still dry out.. it may just take a while? How long have you left it? (I know people who “make” clay from mud in river beds.. so you can definitely salvage it)
Hello what happens if you forget and it goes hard again
You can soak it in water again!
Um my clay was model magic clay, will it still work?
No, I don’t think so..
Ok thank you for telling me?
Should we put water with the holes, won’t it leak?
I keep it all in a big plastic bag and it helps soften the centre.. once you start working with it, you need to drain any excess water anyway