So, I kept seeing posts on cold porcelain clay on Pinterest and YouTube and I decided to give it a try. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, it’s a type of clay which can be made at home with very few ingredients. It’s mainly cornstarch and glue, with a bit of baby oil and preservative like lemon juice or vinegar. The reason it has been dubbed porcelain is due to it’s fine texture and soft, translucent appearance.
I have to say, I am impressed and it’s much more than I expected! It does make a lovely clay texture. It’s cheap. It holds detail well (but it does shrink up just a bit). It colors easily with a bit of chalk pastels, acrylic paint or dye. Just beware of adding water colorpaint as it will goop up the dough since it messes with the balance of moisture in the clay. It makes beautiful flowers.
I have heard claims that it’s finished product is as durable as polymer clay miniatures and charms. I can’t back that up. Not yet anyway. But it does have a lot of glue, so I can see how it would be very stable when hardened.
I made it for a bakery display I am working on for my daughter. I’m helping her with a project on our family tree. Our ancestors were bakers and candy makers, so I am making a few miniature cakes for part of her display. I didn’t want to use my polymer clay if I didn’t have to. I remembered the cold porcelain recipe from online. I halved the amounts as I only wanted a small ball of clay. What I was left with was plenty to make several miniature cakes and left overs.
All it requires is: 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup white ‘school glue’, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp baby oil. You will also need a small non stick pot, plastic wrap, a resealable bag, and baby lotion for your hands.
An important piece of info: there will come a time in the kneading process where you will wonder if it is ever going to turn from a sticky mess into the velvety clay you see pictured. It does! Just keep kneading. It’s amazing how smooth and unsticky it will suddenly transition into. You just have to see it for yourself.
I quickly snapped a picture of my results but unfortunately did not think to blog about it until afterwards. Instead, I leave you with some excellent videos which may encourage you to give it a try. It’s an economical and fun way to pass an afternoon with your kids.
Here are 2 methods of making this clay. The first is an excellent tutorial for making it in a microwave. The last one is stovetop method, which I used. I hope you give it a whirl and have fun creating!
Blossom Friends 
I’m starting with polymer clay so I’m using cold porcelain clay because is cheap…
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how do you like the porcelain so far? Our polymer clay prices went up..like a dollar more! Our Canadian dollar isn’t the best right now. I did hear about a Brazilian company (called PVClay)that makes great polymer clay for much less than other companies…and it smells like perfumed hand soap! I haven’t tried it though. I have only read reviews.
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I’m just testing my skills for now (so i havent sold anything). I like it, it have a soft texture and it’s easy to model. ^^ there are details that can’t be make with this clay, but it’s a good option for starters like me that don’t wanna pay much.
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This was great – thanks!
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you’re welcome!
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This is something I must try, the porcelain clay looks to have a very smooth silky texture.
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Hi Lee, I’m just about to do a post on a couple of things I made with this clay and a few pointers. It definitely is terrific for some things…not so much for others. Maybe this will help you decide if it’s what you want 🙂
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I was wondering… can you do transfers with this like you can with polymer clay? Also, how do you bake/dry it?
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Hi Megan. You just dry it like other air dry clays. It takes close to 24 hours, depending on humidity in your home.I would caution against trying to rush the drying with fans or hair dryers as it may cause cracking. A couple of my pieces developed fine cracks. I’m not sure about transfers…that’s a good question. I’ll try to find out the answer for you.
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Okay! Thank you!! 😀
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Megan, you may want to check out this blog post. Transferring onto cold porcelain didn’t work for her, in the end she tried many methods but ended up cutting her photo and gluing it to her ornament. Nice medium for Christmas ornaments though! She did her design by hand, but snowflake cutters would also be lovely…I will keep searching to see if anyone had success. http://almostsanesisters.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cold-porcelain-photo-ornaments-sis-1.html
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This lady did have success with transferring but it is difficult for me to understand how. I believe she says she used just water? This is a Serbian blog and something is lost in translation to English. http://radicaartjewelry.blogspot.ca/2008/09/cold-porcelain-transfers.html
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Hello! I’m from Brazil and here, this is the only existent clay. It is very very popular, and yes, it is durable. If not sink, it lasts forever.
Have fun!
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Thank you Jussara (what a pretty name!) I was amazed how long this lasts in an airtight bag. I read that Brazil has it’s own brand of polymer clay called PVClay and that it cost less than other brands of clay but is still good quality. Maybe some day I will send for some and give it a try. Have fun with the porcelain clay!
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I use polymer clay and this one can be a good alternative. It can be a little messy mixing the ingredients though. 🙂 The flower looks really good. I like the translucent effect. I’ve worked with sculpey and it almost looks the same. 🙂
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Hi Gilian, polymer clay is what I usually work with also. I wanted to try this as I read lots of good things about the cold porcelain. It is great for flowers! I know of some miniaturists who use it just for that purpose. I love the translucency too.
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