Air Dry Clay Review : Martha Stewart Air Dry Clay

Thanks to a sale which my aunt informed me about, I managed to grab a pack of Martha Stewart Air Dry Clay as I was really curious to try out its texture. If not for the sale, I probably would not have gotten this as I think it is rather costly in my opinion.

Looking at its texture just from the packet, to be honest, I really can't expect it to perform like resin clay. But I was really curious to know how does it performs compared to the other air dry clays.

I have a feeling that this clay is targeted for scrapbooking enthusiasts who wants to make flatback embellishments to further accessorize their scrapbook. There are quite a few reviews out there with that purpose in mind, so my review is probably more targeted for deco sweets makers who might want to know how this clay works compared to other air dry clay.

Texture

When I took it out from the packaging, my first impression of this clay was - it was FRESH and definitely very wet. It was probably the wettest air dry clay I've touched in my life. ;)

Just wanted to show how the Martha Stewart Clay looks like fresh out from the packaging...

 I think the closest comparison to this clay would be Hearty Clay. It feels the same to me, so I decided to compare them side by side.

Is crumbly good? It all depends on what you want to make. No matter how I press the Martha Stewart Clay, the edges doesn't fray out and crumble slightly like how Hearty Clay does.

One thing about the Martha Stewart Clay is, even if it is very wet,  when you try to roll a round shape between your palms, you might not get a very smooth crack-free ball.

TIPS

If you are using the Martha Stewart Clay with molds, perhaps you might want to smooth out a larger surface area of the clay first to make sure there are no cracks on it before you press it into the mold. This is a better method than inserting a round shape into the mold and pressing it down. Cracks, lines, whatever you call it - should be eliminated this way. 

I actually tried the way I described above with a mold, and that worked for me. I did not see any cracks when I release the clay from the mold.

Towards the end of this review, I am going to show you my failed result when I did not do what I described in one of my earlier experimentation with Martha Stewart Air Dry Clay.

But first, I also wanted to show you another texture comparison between Daiso Clay and Martha Stewart Air Dry Clay so you have a better idea.

Molds are just one way to use this air dry clay, but what I was really interested in, was how the texture really is when I sculpt a more challenging item such as a macaron since it involves more than just popping the clay out of a mold.


Having used other clays to create the fake macarons with the ball method to get the clay into the mold had always worked for me....so naturally I would think that it would work with the Martha Stewart Clay as well.

 See the crack/lines in my experiment

The reason why I would not sculpt macarons with Martha Stewart Clay is NOT because of the cracks and lines, but purely because of how much time it takes me to texturize the feet of the macarons. It's just not the  ideal clay for me to get the most natural effect that I want.

When dried, the Martha Stewart Clay is very lightweight, and flexible. (Think Hearty Clay). You can twist it, so don't expect it to dry to a rock hard finish.

Right now, I shall probably just use this as a Hearty Clay substitute till I find a way to use it for something else. :)