Clay Happy Face Pins
A creative weekend
Rowan and I got into clay this weekend after a trip to the children’s museum. The museum has a lovely outdoor area for playing with clay which my mess loving son gravitated to immediately. We sat for almost an hour deep in concentration, both of us on a mission to make something amazing. I made a robot, and Rowan made a cave for the robot to live in. We were both very proud of our creations. When we got home, Rowan wanted more, so we made this very easy recipe for air drying clay.
Clay is an excellent medium for kids to get started early with creativity. It is a wonderful tactile experience for kids where they can press and form the dough and this is a craft that kids can linger and form the dough however they would like. You can take this opportunity to go off-script here too. Let them form the dough in whatever shape they like and then you can draw the faces on later if the children are too young for writing. Then when it dries children can play with the forms knowing the they created them.
Benefits of playing with clay for kids
Sensory Stimulation
The tactile experience of touching and manipulating clay engages the sense of touch, providing sensory stimulation that can be soothing and calming.
Fine Motor Skills Development
Handling clay involves kneading, pinching, rolling, and shaping, which helps improve hand strength, coordination, and dexterity.
Texture Exploration
Clay comes in different textures and consistencies, allowing children and adults to explore and compare various tactile sensations.
This is a wonderful article about the benefits of playing with clay to check out!
“Don’t worry, Be Happy.”
Bobby McFerrin
Inspired by this bead necklace post at Little Girl Designs, I got to playing around with the dough. I thought these little happy faces were cute, and a nice surprise for Rowan when he came home from school. You can convert them into pins making them a fun alternative to a gold star for good behavior.
Clay Happy Face Pins
Brooch pins
Strong adhesive
Paint
Paintbrush
Black pen
Seal spray
Pull of small sections of the dough, and form into little pancakes the size of a nickel or quarter. Lay out the circles onto parchment paper, and let dry overnight.
When fully dry, paint colored circles and let fully dry, about an hour.
Draw a happy face, and coat with a sealer. Set out to dry.
Glue a brooch pin on the back, or they are cute keepsakes for smaller children as is.
• • •
Air Drying Clay
2 cups baking soda
1 cup cornstarch
1.5 cups cold water
Add all of the ingredients to a pan and stir over medium heat. Mixture will be liquid, but will change consistency as you stir and it heats up. Continue stirring until dough has a dough consistency.
Remove from heat and spoon out onto a plate. Set it to cool all the way through. You can stick it in the refrigerator to speed things up.
When dough is cool lay out on a work surface that has been dusted with cornstarch. Cover hands in cornstarch, and knead dough and it will turn into a pliable dough. Keep dusting with cornstarch to keep it from sticking.
If you like this craft, try this one!
You probably have all of the material to create these paper beads. This is a craft that harkens back to the simple crafts I did when I was in elementary school. You can make bracelets and necklaces. Have fun with it!
