Artsy Craftsy Mom

Top Indian hobby, art and craft blog for kids

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Start Here
    • About ArtsyCraftsyMom
    • Fostering Creativity At Home – Starter Guide for Parents
    • My Favorite Art & Craft Supplies
    • Search by Age, Date or Category
    • Subscribe
    • Hire Us
    • Join our Team
    • #ARTSYCRAFTSYBREAK
  • Art ideas
    • Exploring The Great Artists
    • Folk Art
    • Printmaking Ideas
  • Craft Ideas
    • Holiday Crafts
    • Printable Crafts
    • Educational Crafts
    • Paper Crafts
    • Clay Crafts
    • Pipe Cleaner Crafts
    • Button Crafts
    • Stick Crafts
  • Exotic India
    • India Republic & Independence day
    • Indian Hindu Mythology
    • Indian Art / Craft suppliers
    • Indian Folk art
    • Festivals of India
    • Indian Books
    • Indian Recipes
    • Our Travel Tales
  • Lifestyle
    • Home Decor
    • Party Ideas
    • Books we love
    • Recipe corner
    • Parenting
  • Shop
    • Artsy Blog Planner
    • A to Z Alphabet Animal Craft Ebook
    • Learn with Play – Our Craft book
    • Printable Packs
    • e-Books on Indian Mythology
You are here: Home >> Craft Ideas >> Clay Crafts >> Crafting with Clay

Crafting with Clay

Shruti Acharya | October 12, 2010 | 4 Comments

Sharing is caring!

0shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Reddit
  • Email

We love working (playing) with Clay. Be it plain chappati dough or clay dough or ceramic clay. The messier it gets, the better. When I announced the theme for this month, I assumed that most of you would be using clay already. If not, here are a few questions answered.

What type of Clay to use?
There are clays available, Play-Doh or modeling clay, to mold and shape that stay soft, are easy to work with, and can be used over and over again. There are clays available that you can use to make sculptures that will set-up and harden without heat, such as Air dry clay or Makin’s Clay. There are also clays made of polymer, with such brand names as Sculpy or Fimo, that are a little tougher to manipulate, but they can be shaped into finely detailed items that, once baked, will keep their shapes forever. Finally, you can also make your own clay if this is what you desire or try your hand at ceramics.

Where do I buy them from? Playdough is available in all toy shops and comes in a variety of colors. Do buy the non toxic ones if your kids are handling them. I have noticed that commercial clay like playdough is most suitable for kids 3 and above. For younger kids, chappati atta mixed with a bit of oil works better. For slightly bigger kids aged 5 and above, give them air dry clay or oven dry clay and make tougher projects. Staples, many shops in Commercial street and avenue road in Banglore  stock them too.
If you are looking for polymer clay, you need to buy them online – at Himalaya Fine art .
If a pidilite store is nearby do check them out too.

What do I make with them??
Ages 1-3 : Make simple structures like a snake, ball, Its fun and improves dexterity in younger kids. Learning to roll dough into a ball takes some practice 🙂 use the atta. Line their palms with a bit of oil though
Ages 3-5 : Make play dough animals, fruits, flowers, flat faces. Most kids enjoy bright colors at this age. Also give them a variety of tools – Rollers, moulds , cutters to play. Reuse.
Ages 5-7 : Buy natural air drying clay for these young ones. Make pencil stands, Fridge magnets, animal sculptures, ganapati, jewellery. Give them acrylic colors, glitter, sequins, colorful stones to decorate.
Ages 7 and above : Make more complex sculptures using polymer clay and pottery clay. Try making photo frames, personalised gifts, Pots. Enroll them in a pottery class. Make Mseal flowers, The possibilities are limitless.

Some tips that work for me

  • Cover the dining table with an old bedsheet. Kids are limited to their seats and its easier to clean.
  • Most craft sessions happen in the balcony. I cover the floor in news paper and let my daughter play on her own with colors or dough.I usually sit at the entrance while the younger kids play to my left and the older ones are to my right. [ I’m talking about my neighbours kids. I have no experience with 2 kids 😀 ]  
  • We have a painting shirt and pants. An old pair of shirt and night pant that is kept exclusively for craft sessions.
  • Keep old rags handy and within reach.
  • Always supervise when you give colors or items that have a choking hazard.
  • Have fun. Be silly. Nothing has to be perfect. the more you restric the less fun it will be.

Some books that I might buy

So what are you waiting for?? Send me your entries soon. 
Edited to add:
 
Saffron Tree will soon host CROCUS 2010 in the last week of October.Don’t forget to check them out.


Filed Under: Clay Crafts, Craft Ideas Tagged With: #GlitterCrafts, ArtsyCraftsyMom, Clay Crafts

You might also enjoy these crafts:

  • DIY Glitter Paper Table LanternsDIY Glitter Paper Table Lanterns
  • Ice Cream Card by SoniaIce Cream Card by Sonia
  • Googly EyedGoogly Eyed
  • New Artsy-Craftsy Entries
  • Latest Christmas Crafts for the AC-DecLatest Christmas Crafts for the AC-Dec
  • Christmas crafts by Esther

About Shruti Acharya

Shruti is a writer, photographer, DIY lover, passionate homemaker, and the chief dreamer at ArtsyCraftsyMom.com . Shruti lives in Bangalore, India with her husband and daughter. She loves showcasing fun art activities, crafts for kids, celebrations, childrens books & all the craziness that is India.

« Artsy-Craftsy-October-2010
Play Dough Crafts by Adi and Ani »

Comments

  1. Patricia Torres says

    October 12, 2010 at 3:37 am

    huummm… you make this sound really really easy.. I must try it with my girls for sure!!

    Reply
  2. ಪುಟ್ಟಿಯ ಅಮ್ಮ says

    October 12, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    Very informative!! Have made play doh at home many times, love the no cookones.. recipes here
    http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/no-cook-dough-709023/
    and here

    Reply
  3. Meira says

    October 12, 2010 at 12:43 pm

    this is brilliant stuff. like most other posts, I’l refer to this in some years 😉
    bookmarking it.

    Reply
  4. hookingtheyarn says

    April 12, 2013 at 1:46 pm

    I’m not able to find polymer clay anywhere. Could you please suggest where I can find it in Bangalore ? Or any shop online ? I couldn’t find it in himalaya fine art.
    Thanks!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

 About ArtsyCraftsyMom
 ArtsyCraftsyMom on Instagram
 Quick access
  • New? Start Here
  • Advertise
  • Join our Team
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
  • Google Privacy Policy & Declaration
 ArtsyCraftsyMom on pinterest

© Copyright 2020 · ArtsyCraftsyMom · All Rights Reserved · About ·