A Look at Air Dry Clays

It can be confusing deciding what air-dry clay is best to use for an art/craft project.  

I have tried many different air-dry clay brands over the years and have landed on a few that are my favorites.  The things I look for are ease of sculpting, durability, ease of sanding (a big one for me) and how well the clay accepts paints, inks & etc.  The brand I use for larger projects such as my characters is DAS.  I started using it about 6 months ago and decided I love it because it seems very durable and sands super easy compared to other brands.

I only suggest products I use myself.  But... Full Disclosure!  I get a small percentage when you purchase through the links I provide.

 Click here for more information or to purchase   

Creative Paper Clay is one I have used for years.  For example, I created the piece on the left with this clay.  It adheres well to paper & wood when creating mixed media and is not as heavy as the DAS when dry.  It is a little harder to sand but its worth it.  I have created fresco wall art with this clay as well and I have mixed it with a super light-weight paper clay (see below) for creating pieces I wanted to be lightweight, such as ornaments. 

I mix 50% Creative Paper Clay with 50% Hearty Super Lightweight Modeling Clay to get the perfect weight for ornaments like the one below.  Click here for more information about Hearty or to purchase

Creative Paper Clay also makes a super light-weight clay, Delight, that is truly paper-like when dry.  It is almost weightless.  It can also be mixed with Creative Paper Clay.  I have used Delight for small pieces that I wanted to be as weightless as possible. You can even throw it and it doesn't break because of its lightweight paper consistency!  When completely dry, the surface can be lightly worked with a spritz of water, so it is important to seal it completely when finished.  The mittens are made from 100% Delight.    Click here for more information about Delight.