Toddler-Friendly DIY Christmas Clay Ornaments Crafting Tutorial
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Discover a simple, safe, and engaging way to create crafts with your toddler using homemade air-dry clay. This easy-to-make clay, perfect for festive occasions, requires only common kitchen ingredients like white glue, cornstarch, vinegar, and oil.
Here's a reliable recipe and step-by-step instructions to create your own clay:
Recipe:
- Gather your ingredients: 1 cup white glue (such as PVA or school glue), 1 cup cornstarch, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons oil (e.g., vegetable or baby oil), and food colouring (optional).
- In a bowl, mix the glue, vinegar, and oil until well combined.
- Stir in the cornstarch thoroughly.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until it thickens and pulls away from the pan’s sides, resembling mashed potatoes.
- Let it cool until safe to handle.
- Knead on a cornstarch-dusted surface until smooth and no longer sticky.
- Optionally, divide and knead in food colouring.
- Roll out the clay and use festive cookie cutters to create shapes.
- Allow the shapes to air dry completely (usually 24-48 hours).
- Once dry, apply Mod Podge to seal, protect, and add a slight sheen to the finished pieces.
This homemade air-dry clay does not require baking or special equipment, is non-toxic, and suitable for toddlers under supervision. An alternative cornstarch-based clay uses baking soda and water, but the glue-based recipe tends to be softer and more flexible, better for delicate toddler crafting with cookie cutters.
Using Mod Podge over dried clay shapes preserves them and can add a glossy or matte finish, making the crafts last longer and look polished. This makes a fun, festive crafting project ideal for toddlers and kids using holiday cookie cutters to create themed ornaments and decorations.
Always supervise toddlers closely during crafting and ensure the clay is safe and non-toxic. Store unused clay wrapped airtight and at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Note: After the paint had dried, a layer of Mod Podge was added to the decorations. Once the sealer had dried, a ribbon was threaded through the decorations. The Mod Podge was used to seal in the paint and make the decorations shimmer and sparkle. The individual, referred to as I, provided F with red and green paint. This post about this event was originally published on Cocktails with Mom.
Enjoy creating memorable moments with your little ones as you embark on this fun and easy crafting journey!
