Oven bake clay projects are fun! We use oven bake clay to make jewelry, crafts, and more. Here are a few tips and tricks for getting started with oven bake clay as a hobby. This post contains affiliate links which, when purchased through, add no cost to the consumer but help support this site to bring more fun crafty tutorials.
Are you thinking of getting into the oven bake clay hobby? Oven bake clay crafts are great for girls’ craft nights, and there are so many crafts that we can do. From simple projects for tweens to sophisticated adult jewelry ideas, getting started with oven bake clay can be a fun new craft category to dive into!
Get the feel of the clay.
If your own experience with clay so far is Play-Doh, oven bake clay feels different! Purchase a brick, take it home, and get the feel of the clay.
Practice “Conditioning” the clay.
What is conditioning? Conditioning is warming up the clay and making it pliable for using in your project. When you purchase a brick of clay, it is pretty firm. The firmness can vary depending on the type of clay that you’re using. There are dedicated conditioning machines, but you can do it just as well without one. Use your hands to break off a piece of the brick and knead it until it is workable.
Keep clay supplies separate.
If you have chosen to use a few items around the house for clay projects (such as cookie cutters, knives, and pans), keep these items separate from the general kitchen items. Once you’ve used items for oven bake clay projects, they should never go back into use around food. I keep mine labeled and on a shelf in a different room (I don’t want the kids finding them and putting them back into the kitchen item rotation!).
Think Outside the Box.
Before I began with oven bake clay projects, I only thought that I could make those little clay animals with oven bake clay. And I didn’t have any use for that, to be honest. Then I started experimenting with the clay and jewelry or kid’s projects and found it to be fun!
Clean Supplies after Each Color.
My most major uh-oh I make on a regular basis is not cleaning my clay roller after changing colors. Even if it looks clean at first glance, it’s almost always NOT! Then the tiny pieces of clay are transferred into my other color when I use the clay roller. Sigh. Definitely wipe your supplies clean when changing colors!
Choose the Variety of Clay that is for your project.
Clay brands make varieties for different projects. To maximize success for your project, be sure that you’re using the variety that is best for what you are doing. Most of the time, the clay package or store display will give you a good idea of which variety to use.
When it comes to oven bake clay, just jump in! Buy a brick and experiment. You may be surprised with what you can make!
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I think we should have a clay jewelry making party 🙂
That would be fun!!