MAKE BREAD CLAY

BREAD DOUGH CLAY RECIPE
This is an easy, homemade, air drying, Bread Dough Clay recipe for creative sculpture projects. It's made from two simple ingredients and no baking is needed. Use it to roll shapes for handmade beads, impress and mold it to make original pendants, sculpt small figurines, create unique Christmas tree ornaments... the creativity is limited only to the imagination.

You will need the following items:
A small, smooth glass or plastic bowl
A butter knife or wooden stick to stir with
Measuring spoons
A plastic placemat or other smooth working surface
A small Ziplock storage bag

Ingredients:
3 Slices of white loaf bread, aged *
3 Tablespoons of Elmer's "Glue All" White Glue
3 drops Glycerin (optional)

Use the following proportions, and any amount of Bread Dough Clay can be made. Just mix one scant tablespoon of glue per slice of loaf bread. *Aged Bread: Lay day old bread out overnight turning often to dry out a little on both sides or until it crumbles easily. Tip: Laying bread slices on cold stove burners will dry them from both sides at the same time.

Directions:
♥ Remove and discard colored part of bread crust from *aged bread reserving as much white bread as possible.
♥ Crumble bread into fine pieces in a bowl add Elmer's Glue All and mix until it forms a soft lumpy ball. Mixture will be sticky. Scrape and use everything left on the bowl sides. Pour out onto clean work surface. (i.e., plate, cutting board, plastic placemat) Allow to rest about 3 minutes to dry a little.
♥ Pick ball of dough up in your hands and knead dough vigorously. Your hands will be very sticky and messy. However, continue kneading and in a few minutes the dough will clean away from your hands and easily form a smooth cream colored ball.
♥ Place in a ziplock bag.
♥ Bread Dough is an air drying clay. Work with small portions at a time. Store reserve in the ziplock bag or under a cup or glass to keep it from drying out as you work.

Coloring: Break off small portions of the dough and make a well in the center. Add 4 to 5 drops of liquid acrylic paint in desired colors. Knead paint into the dough until it makes a uniform color. Make primary color portions in Red, Yellow, & Blue. Intermix the colored doughs to get Green, Purple, & Orange. Tip: Create a marbled effect and custom color shades by only partially mixing two pieces of the colored dough together.

Shape & Finish: Sculpt your project by rolling and cutting shapes. Glue pieces together with Elmer's Glue All. Make an equal mixture of glue and water and coat your finished sculpture. Allow to air dry for about a week. Coat again with the thinned glue mixture. When completely hard and dry, give your piece a shiny finish by spraying lightly with a clear gloss paint spray.

Store: Soft Bread Dough keeps for up to three weeks if kept airtight and refrigerated. Finished pieces will last for years if encased or stored carefully, and kept away from moisture.