Martha Stewart air dry clay and silicone molds review

 

First time i watched the introduction of Martha Stewart air dry clay on Youtube. It was introduced to UK audience via Create and Craft channel  some time ago.
 

I bought this clay recently and can not be happier. I am a complete beginner in clay modelling. Tried to work with other air dry clays and polymer clay previously, but without success.


This clay is ideal for novice as me, small children, people with problems in their arms. It is easy to manipulate, very light, non greasy or sticky to hands. Once it dries (within 24 hours, depending on thickness) you can paint it. Alcohol markers work on it exactly as on paper. Easy to cut with scissors. Despite the thickness of design you can easily break it and tear, then glue in place and nothing is visible. Feels wet when you take it out of packet, due to water within clay. When it is dry it feels more like foam.

 

I learned that it is better to use silicon glue to fix ready forms in place rather than ordinary glue. Cosmic Shimmer glue is reasonably good, because of its quick fix qualities. But i would not recommend slow drying glue.

The clay comes in white, yellow, red, blue and brown colours. The colour mix chart is provided. Due to high pigmentation usually you will need a very small amount of coloured clay and a lot of white to create desirable colour for your project. Colours are bright and clear.

There are two kits available on the market: Nature starter kit and Heirloom starter kit, as well as few silicone mold kits.
 

 


Starter kits include clay of all colours, 4 silicone molds, 2 detailing tools, floral tape, floral wire and instructional booklet with colour mixing chart. Heirloom kit contains instructions of free-form rose clay project, Nature kit - hydrangea project. If you wish to watch this projects you can find professional movies on Martha Stewart Youtube marthastewartcrafts  channel.

Silicone mold kits  usually contain 4 silicone molds, exception letters silicone mold. These molds are very easy to work with. Can be used with other products such as ultra thick embossing powders, other clays, even wax or soap. Gilding wax, gilding flakes, glitter, mica or embossing powders can be used on finished projects. WARNING: can not be used with icing sugar, as icing ingredients can damage the mold.
 

The molds are so easy to use that even my 5 years old daughter easily was making flowers after few minutes of working with this clay.
It is advised to make an even sided ball of clay before molding it to avoid cracks in finished project. However it is not necessary if you firmly press clay into mold. The best option for me was pressing small amount of clay into mold and after add more as much as necessary. So you can control the thickness of project. Always smooth the sides around mold, as this gives you beautifully finished edges. You can remove clay from mold as soon as you are happy with result.

From some molds with more intricate designs you can create more that one design by using only part of mold.

I tested this clay on other silicone molds. The results were beautiful, therefore you are not limited only to Martha Stewart silicone molds. If you require information where to buy silicone molds please contact me.
 

Overall this clay is a great clay for everybody, even who is not interested in crafts, but have got kids. Price could be a bit lower, but it is similar to other paper clay which is available on market. Finished designs  can be used for cards, scrap-booking, to create pictures, jewellery,etc. It needs sealing if intend to wear outdoors.
 
If you consider to buy kit or just clay, do not doubt, it is worth it.On top of that it would make an excellent gift, because packaging is beautiful.