Why does my cold porcelain clay crack when dried?

I’ve gotten the question “why does my cold porcelain clay crack when dried?” “What am I doing wrong?” And it has been asked quite a number of times. Well I’m going to point out a few reasons why your cold porcelain clay is cracking and what you can do about it.

If you’re interested in making cold porcelain clay, All you have to do is Google the recipe and give it a try. I mean it sounds pretty simple right? Well not so much. There are so many different cold porcelain clay recipes out there. There’s even a no cook recipe (that i haven’t tried) that calls for the same ingredients but the method is one that doesn’t require cooking the dough.

Crack is Wack!

So you’ve tried the recipe, cooked your clay and you’re ready to use it but when you use your clay you noticed that there are multiple cracks everywhere! All your efforts are gone down the drain. What am I doing wrong you ask. Well, first you need to understand the formula and the process. If the recipe you chose doesn’t call for some kind of oil such as mineral oil or olive oil then it’s something you should consider adding. I like to add a big table spoon or 2 of mineral oil to every batch of clay I’m mixing up. The oil really helps with giving your clay a very smooth and polished porcelain look and feel. In addition to oil we like to add our very own Stacie Laurell Crafts conditioning lotion for some added plasticity.

“It’s the mixing for me”

Another important factor you should consider when wanting to avoid cracks is mixing the batch of clay thoroughly. All the ingredients you’ve put into this batch must be mixed out properly. Try to avoid having any lumps or dry pockets in your clay batter. You can do this by mixing your clay batter until it’s perfectly smooth.

Water is the enemy

You can drink as much water as you can tolerate but make sure no water is in your batter. Water is your enemy. So before you start your mixture, make sure your bowls, spoons and any other items you are using to make your clay batter is 100 percent dry. If you see a layer of water settle on top of your clay batter simply take a paper towel and dab at it to remove the water. Try to avoid getting any water in your batter. Period.

Weight it right!

Do you have the right proportions for the clay mixture? For our clay we use 1 cup of glue to every cup of cornstarch. Measuring out the appropriate amount makes a difference and you can always add a half of cup of extra glue if you’ve measured out too much cornstarch or a little over the amount. It’s also good to remember not to over cook your clay as that can dry it out and create cracks in your finished product when dried.

Knead your dough!

Sometimes clay creators overlook this simple but necessary step. Kneading your clay. When your clay is done cooking it’s important to remember to knead your dough thoroughly and make sure all air bubbles and lumps and bumps are smooth out of the batch. Also, try and let your clay sit for at least 24 hrs before using it.

Salvage your dry clay

Starting over and over again with a new batch can get expensive. Especially if you’re wasting ingredients. Believe it or not your burnt dried clay can be saved. On rare occasions we may slightly burn out clay in the process. It’s pretty rare because we have got a pretty good formula and process going on but when it does happen we always condition our clay with Stacie Laurell clay conditioning lotion. It smoothes out the clay, adds back ample moisture and prevents cracking!

I do hope these tips were helpful and please come back again to learn more about crafts and cold porcelain clay!

Turquoise nugget beads by Stacie Laurell

These are Handmade turquoise nugget beads. It was a long process to make these beads.  My sister asked me why are my prices so low on my website http://www.etsy.com/shop/STACIELAURELL?ref=si_shop because i put so much time and effort into making one bead? I guess i felt like people wouldn’t buy my stuff. I don’t know why because i know my work is gorgeous and worth much but I guess i didn’t want to scare people off.

These beads were made from my air dry craft clay sold in my store. I had to then color it using precise measurements of coloring gel then the beads were dried in a machine, hand designed with an 18 kt gold leafing pen and then sealed with a special gloss sealer to seal the beads and give it a glass like appearance.
I am in the process of trying to figure out new techniques when working with air dry clay. i’m not sure if I should put tutorials up here for new techniques i’ve learned. There is a lady who i’ve heard of that writes book tutorials of how she discovered new techniques when working with clay. she even has her own line of products that’s sold in Michael’s.  I would love for that to be me one day…. well i guess i will have to wait and see.

Running your own business on Etsy

Trying to start and run your own at home business can be stressful!! and so very hard. who would of thought that opening a shop on etsy and throwing up a few items would get you almost nowhere unless you dedicated day and night to your business. IF you don’t know anything about promoting seo or advertising you’re basicly screwed. and don”t you just wish the super successful shops on etsy would tell you the secret to success? I know once i reach that level of success i will gladly share it with others. Untill then, I have to keep praying, listing and advertising best i can but discouragement is easy to set in after waiting weeks for a sale. Not making daily sales to many is no big deal but if you have no job and trying to make your online store a fulltime career it can get pretty depressing and discouraging in the world of Etsy.

However, although i’m not one of the very successful shops yet i plan on getting there someday somehow and hopefully very soon and if you’re in the same boat as me i encourage you to get up early every morning as if you’re going to work and work on your shop. at the end of the day all of those successful shops have one thing in common. They have people running it who put in HARD WORK and never gave up.

Quitters never win and winners never quit 🙂

Congrats to all on your upcoming success.

Polymer Clay vs Cold Porcelain Clay

Polymer clay is a very popular oven baked clay. Almost every artisan uses polymer clay in their creation. I too use to use a lot of polymer clay when making jewelry. In fact I was always at Michael’s arts n crafts picking up polymer clay in a variety of colors. Although the polymer clay bars were going for 2.45 a piece, it began to add up and my pockets were getting large holes in them. I thought to myself I wish i can make my own darn clay. I hit up Google and found “cold porcelain clay”. This type of clay doesn’t require baking and air dries within 24 hrs. I’ve never heard of it before but wanted to give it a try. I found out that cold porcelain clay isn’t sold in the U.S in the masses and people who were selling it online were selling it at ridiculous prices.  So i decided to make it myself and it came out perfect on the first try! So I started make more and more of this great cold porcelain clay. Then I decided to sell it in my Store on Etsy and it has been a hit ever since.

Now that i’ve started making my own clay I realized that it’s ALL I USE. I’ve stopped using polymer clay. Not many people can master the art of making the clay even though it’s made with simple household ingredients. But i’m pretty certain that if many people knew about cp clay and made it themselves they would use it more than polymer clay. Here’s why i think Cold porcelain clay is better

• You can make very thin pieces with it
• The texture and softness is fabulous which makes it easier to mold sculpt and carve more effectively.
• No baking required
• Can make it in a variety of colors that isn’t always offered with polymer clay
• you can make it yourself therefore you can save lots of money
• it’s non toxic so you don’t have to worry about fumes releasing while baking.
• if your piece dries and happen to have a crack or flaw you can easily correct it where as with polymer clay, once it’s baked, that’s it!
• conditioning cold porcelain clay with your hands is less difficult than polymer clay
• you can make beads, jewelry, just about anything with cold porcelain clay.

If you would rather try cp clay than make it yourself you can buy some at my store for a reasonable price. visit stacielaurell.etsy.com

here are a few pieces i made with cold porcelain clay