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Pearly Soda Play Clay

Recipe #43548 | 20 min | 10 min prep | 1 batch (Change Servings)

RECIPE BY: SaraFish

Play clay that's smooth, silky and feels really good in your hands! Easy to work with. Dries hard overnight to a pearly porcelain like finish that has a soft shimmer! Great for making gifts! Roll out and use cookie cutters (use a straw to poke a hole in the top) to make Christmas ornaments!

Posted on: Oct 18, 2002

Ingredients

  • cup baking soda
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup water
  • food coloring
  • Directions

    1. 1
      Stir the soda and cornstarch together in a saucepan then add water and mix well.
    2. 2
      Cook over low heat, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes then cook another 2-5 minutes while stirring constantly until it looks like mashed potatoes.
    3. 3
      Remove the pan from the heat, set aside and let cool.
    4. 4
      When cool, put on your floured breadboard and knead it, adding more cornstarch as needed until it's a smooth workable clay.
    5. 5
      For tinted clay, knead in a few drop of food coloring.
    6. 6
      Create clay masterpieces!
    7. 7
      Let creations dry overnight.
    8. 8
      Store leftover clay airtight in the fridge, it'll stay good for a couple of days.

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    Featured Reviews for This Recipe

    From: AllForHim

    On Mar 9, 2007

    Loved it! I put red food coloring and peppermint in it. Thanks so much for the fun recipe!

    0 people found this review helpful

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    From: ladypit

    On Nov 3, 2006

    I really really wanted to love this recipe. I did. I had all the ingredients and went and whipped it up right after I saw it. I followed the instructions exactly but found the clay to be so crumbly we couldn't work with it. I tried all sorts of things to make it work, but it didn't work. We had fun kneading it, but weren't able to make it into anything because it wouldn't form together. I'll keep looking for a play clay recipe we like.

    0 people found this review helpful

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  • From: Charishma Ramchandani

    On Dec 15, 2002

    These are EXCELLENT! I began this at 1:30am tonight, after I was really bored of writing my assignment. This called for a change of mind, and I enjoyed, most thoroughly, each and every step of this awesome recipe. Please note that in step 2, I cooked the mixture for 5 minutes and it was ready - it left the sides of the pan and felt like clay to my touch, plus it resembled mashed potatoes, as you have so aptly put it. For one thing, this clay is really smooth, silky and feels so good in the hands. Trust me, I wanted to stick this on the soles of my feet before going to bed tonight- my feet are really tired and this clay is the softest I've set my hands on till date, but then, I had to make the clay figurines I must share with you how creative I got once this clay was made. But before that, I must mention that while preparing the clay dough, I poured a few drops each of chocolate essence, orange essence, strawberry essence and pineapple essence into the dough mixture while on low flame - mmmmmmmm! I had my nose halfway into the saucepan. LOL. Anyways, that was just me who wanted my clay to smell nice and I added in my favourite essences Then, once the clay was ready, I took it out of the saucepan and allowed it to cool. Once cooled, I divided the clay dough into 2 equal parts. To one part, I added a few drops of green food colouring and to the other, a few drops of pink food colouring. Then, I added additional cornflour(which is what I used instead of cornstarch as a substitute) to each of the coloured doughs' and kneaded them individually. I could knead the green dough without getting tired, but by the time I kneaded the pink dough, I was tired, and I just mixed up the latter with a little of the green dough that remained and some cornflour, and, I got this beautiful colour dough that was a beautiful shade of pink with these small sharp pink dot like things that stared out of it- probably those bits of the mix that had more of th red food colour- these looked like "candy sprinkles"! Then, I tried using my cookie cutters to make shapes, but those attempts were futile. However, determined as I am, I refused to throw away my beautiful creation(yet to be!) into the dustbin. So, I thought of doing something simple yet nice. This is what I did... I pinched off small balls out of the coloured doughs(I got about 7-8 of them in total). Then, I flattened out each ball in the palm of my hands. Next, I took simple things like whole peppercorns, whole cardamom seeds, whole cloves, whole green cardamoms, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and believe it or not, lentils- red, green, yellow, black, brown and white! Gosh, now, my mind started ticking at infinite rpm, and, very diligently and tactfully, I made eyes, a nose, ears, a mouth - as such, a whole face, for each of the balls that I'd pinched off! What started off as timepass to change my mood, ended up as 7 of the most handsome clay faces staring out at me out of a golden rimmed glass plate!! I am really excited with what I've done - it's like, I really got creative at 1:30am and my creativity will bring happiness to many! Oh, and by the time I finished, it was 2:30am! Now, my 7 heads are sitting in my freezer; some smiling back at me, the others with a tale of their own to convey with expressions that'll make you pause and say, "Oh wow"! Can't wait to show them to the rest of the family and my friends' tomorrow and in the days to come. These smell as good as they appear to the naked eye. Thanks so much, Sara, for posting these. I have really enjoyed making these and I bet I'll have to make this alot more often now on for gift giving! Speaking of gift-giving, I'll give these(only if I can bear to part with them, gosh, they are precious already!)as gifts to the little kids that visit me this X'mas. Thanks a bunch for sharing this magnificent non-food good recipe. Though at the end of it, my finger nails were green and pink and my palms must've been similar to those of Leonardo Da Vinci after he painted the Mona Lisa, I still am so contented with what I've done. Thanks a million for this recipe!!!!

    7 people found this review helpful

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  • From: Terry Heer

    On Dec 18, 2002

    Too fun! This worked perfectly. I watch my little neighbor boy every morning and wanted to surprise his mom and dad with a hand-print ornament. I had no problem with rolling it out and Karl had no problems pressing his hand in the dough, over and over and over. We had a blast. The ornament appears to be drying well and we will suprise mom and dad in the morning. Thanks so much.

    6 people found this review helpful

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  • Read all 8 reviews
    Nutrition Facts

    Serving Size 1 batch 466g

    Recipe makes 1 batch)

    Calories 243
    Calories from Fat 0 (0%)
    Amount Per Serving %DV
    Total Fat 0.0g 0%
    Saturated Fat 0.0g 0%
    Monounsaturated Fat 0.0g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0g
    Trans Fat 0.0g
    Cholesterol 0mg 0%
    Sodium 61326mg 2555%
    Potassium 1mg 0%
    Total Carbohydrate 58.4g 19%
    Dietary Fiber 0.6g 2%
    Sugars 0.0g
    Protein 0.2g 0%
    Vitamin A 0mcg 0%
    Vitamin B6 0.0mg 0%
    Vitamin B12 0.0mcg 0%
    Vitamin C 0mg 0%
    Vitamin E 0mcg 0%
    Calcium 4mg 0%
    Iron 0mg 1%

    how is this calculated?

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