DIY Air Dry Clay
How do you make air dry clay at home?
This is a homemade modelling clay made from PVA glue and cornflour. It is gooey and tactile like slime, but unlike slime it dries hard without an oven, so the shapes children make actually last and can be painted afterwards.
The recipe is equal parts Selleys Aquadhere Interior and cornflour, plus a tablespoon each of vegetable oil and lemon juice, kneaded with extra cornflour until it stops being sticky. Rolled and cut shapes need 24 hours to dry before painting.
What you need
- Selleys Aquadhere Interior — 100 grams
- Cornflour — 100 grams, plus extra for kneading and dusting
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Food colouring (optional)
- A bowl and spoon
- Baking paper and a board
- Rolling pin and cutters
- Paint, for when it is dry
How to make it
- Combine the base. Pour equal parts Selleys Aquadhere Interior and cornflour into a bowl — 100 g of each in this example.
- Add the oil and lemon juice. One tablespoon of each.
- Mix until it forms a slime-like consistency. At this point you can split the dough and add food colouring to tint it, or keep it white and paint it later once dry.
- Knead it. Put baking paper on the board and sprinkle it with cornflour, then pour out the slime mixture. Knead the mixture, folding in more cornflour as you go. It will start to come together and become less sticky and tacky.
- Roll and cut. Once it reaches a dough-like consistency, sprinkle more cornflour to prepare your surface, then roll it out and cut out shapes.
- Dry for 24 hours before painting.
Why the recipe works the way it does
The cornflour is what turns a liquid adhesive into a modelling material — you add it progressively during kneading rather than all at once, because how much a batch needs depends on how humid the day is. If the dough is still tacky, it needs more cornflour; if it starts cracking as you roll it, you have gone slightly too far.
The 24 hour dry is the figure to work to before painting. Air-dried shapes lose water from the surface first, so something that feels dry after a few hours can still be soft in the middle, and paint applied then will crack as the centre finishes drying.
About the glue
Aquadhere Interior is a PVA (polyvinyl acetate) wood adhesive — water-based, and the reason the mixture cleans up with water and dries hard and clear. It is what gives the clay its strength once dry.
Its limitations matter for where the finished piece lives. Aquadhere Interior is interior only, not waterproof and not suitable for structural use. That means anything made from this clay is an indoor object. A shape left on a windowsill in the rain, or a garden marker, will soften. For exterior woodwork, Aquadhere Exterior is the weatherproof version of the same chemistry — but it is a woodworking adhesive, not a craft material for children.
Handling and clean-up
Uncured PVA comes off hands, boards and bowls with water. Once it has cured it has to be sanded or scraped, so wash up before the mixture dries — particularly the bowl and spoon.
Keep the finished pieces indoors and away from damp. If you want to seal them, paint is what does that job.
Common questions about homemade air dry clay
What are the proportions?
Equal parts Aquadhere Interior and cornflour — 100 g of each in this recipe — plus one tablespoon of vegetable oil and one tablespoon of lemon juice.
How long does it take to dry?
Twenty-four hours before painting.
My dough is still sticky. What do I do?
Keep folding in more cornflour as you knead. It becomes less sticky and tacky as it comes together.
Can I colour the clay?
Yes. Split the dough after mixing and work in food colouring, or leave it white and paint the shapes once they are dry.
Do I need an oven?
No. This clay dries in air, which is the point of it.
Can I leave the finished shapes outside?
No. Aquadhere Interior is interior only and not waterproof, so the pieces are indoor objects.
Is the glue safe for children to handle?
Aquadhere Interior is a water-based PVA and cleans up with water. As with any craft material, adults should read the product label and supervise mixing.
Can I use a different Selleys glue?
The recipe is built around Aquadhere Interior. Aquadhere Quick Set is a faster-setting PVA for woodwork rather than a craft base, and Aquadhere Exterior is a weatherproof woodworking adhesive.
How do I stop the shapes sticking to the bench?
Work on baking paper and dust the surface with cornflour before rolling.
How do I clean up?
Water, while everything is still wet. Cured PVA needs sanding or scraping.
Can I make ornaments to hang?
Yes — poke a hole in the top of each shape before it dries so you can thread string through. See DIY Christmas ornaments, which uses this same clay.
What are the proportions?
Equal parts Aquadhere Interior and cornflour — 100 g of each in this recipe — plus one tablespoon of vegetable oil and one tablespoon of lemon juice.
How long does it take to dry?
Twenty-four hours before painting.
My dough is still sticky. What do I do?
Keep folding in more cornflour as you knead. It becomes less sticky and tacky as it comes together.
Can I colour the clay?
Yes. Split the dough after mixing and work in food colouring, or leave it white and paint the shapes once they are dry.
Do I need an oven?
No. This clay dries in air, which is the point of it.
Can I leave the finished shapes outside?
No. Aquadhere Interior is interior only and not waterproof, so the pieces are indoor objects.
Is the glue safe for children to handle?
Aquadhere Interior is a water-based PVA and cleans up with water. As with any craft material, adults should read the product label and supervise mixing.
Can I use a different Selleys glue?
The recipe is built around Aquadhere Interior. Aquadhere Quick Set is a faster-setting PVA for woodwork rather than a craft base, and Aquadhere Exterior is a weatherproof woodworking adhesive.
How do I stop the shapes sticking to the bench?
Work on baking paper and dust the surface with cornflour before rolling.
How do I clean up?
Water, while everything is still wet. Cured PVA needs sanding or scraping.
Can I make ornaments to hang?
Yes — poke a hole in the top of each shape before it dries so you can thread string through. See DIY Christmas ornaments , which uses this same clay.