Play Doh Crafts 4 Scouts?
I’m a girl scout troop leader and I was wondering if I could use Play Doh to make beads. Because Play Doh dries out I knew it would be a good and safe Choice for my girls but if the beads wet they would be ruined. Would painting them with clear nail polish help? Any suggestions?
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The “Play Doh” brand of clay that’s purchased in a store is honestly the least good air-dry clay to use for much of anything. (It doesn’t take detail well and gets cracks easily while drying, for example.)
Other kinds of air-dry clay would be better, and there are 2 that you could even make at home which would work quite well (and are frequently used)….those are salt dough clay and bread clay.
Salt dough clay would be easier to make in bulk, but bread clay is a bit more refined. Either should be fine though.
Here are some sites that give the recipes, as well as info on how to handle the dough, drying, finishing, etc.
http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+salt+dough
http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+bread+clay
Other kinds of air-dry clay you’d see at a craft store would be Creative Paperclay, Crayola’s Air Dry Clay, pre-colored Makins clay perhaps, and the very lightweight Model Magic (which doesn’t take quite as much detail), as well as bumpier-finish basically-paper-mash clays like Celluclay. There are others as well, in addition to modeling clay (that never hardens) and polymer clays (Premo, FimoSoft, etc., that harden in a home oven).
All air dry clays must be sealed after drying (which takes about a day) or they will be susceptible to moisture (and to bugs too if they’re grain based like salt dough, etc.).
Acrylic paint will seal them, so if they’re painted afterward with acrylics (all over) that will work.
However, if you want to build the color into the clay before shaping (by mixing in acrylic paint, or non-permanent paints/colorants), or if you leave dried items their original color, or if you paint them after drying with something that’s not permanent, you’ll want to seal them with a clear acrylic sealer. The cheapest sealer would be a permanent white glue like Elmers GlueAll thinned down with water about 3 or 4 to one before brushing on…that will dry clear and a bit glossy. Other clear sealers could be a polyurethane (water-based) which is very glossy to matte depending on which you buy, clear fingernail polishes (more expensive), and some other things.
HTH,
Diane B.