Color Plus Clay is colored and all-natural, air-drying, self-hardening clay that is wheat and gluten free, non-toxic, and non-carcinogenic. In other words, it’s very safe to handle! It comes in your choice of six colors, with each package containing just over a pound of clay for $7.20. The colors can also be mixed together to attain a variety of hues. No firing is required, and once it has dried completely, it has the strength, hardness, and solidity of fired ceramics!

We tried the green, red, and yellow colors, and all were vibrant and bright. My twelve-year-old daughter, Haylee, loved this clay. She said the thing that made this product stand out against other clays she has tried is that it was incredibly soft and pliable with her hands. She was truly surprised at just how soft it was and how easy it was to manipulate it right out of the package.

We printed off the tips and techniques sheet from the company’s website, and it recommended using varnish to give completed projects a glossy, waterproof finish, but we didn’t have any. It also said that, although it’s not required, you could even paint on it once it had hardened! Haylee was excited about that, and her first project was to mold a pretty yellow butterfly. She let it set out on the table overnight, and by the next morning, it was so hard she said it sounded just like fired ceramics when she tapped it with her fingers! Then she painted it with acrylic paints. She said it was easy to paint, and it accepted the paint well. Next, she made a puffy heart and a textured cup to decorate for her new room, and she painted everything she made. She thought they turned out “really cool,” and she looked forward to making more creations to display on her shelf.

Once the packages were open, we just stored the remaining clay in plastic storage bags and pressed out the air to keep the clay fresh and moist. I must admit that I was impressed with how easy it was for her to mold and harden this clay. No special steps were required, and she could take her creations to finished projects in a short amount of time without a long curing process. This clay has a nice feel to it, and because it’s completely natural and non-toxic, it’s appropriate for artists of any age. We would definitely use this product again! I feel pretty certain my daughter would appreciate a fresh supply of these vibrant colors in her Christmas stocking this year!

-Product review by Kelly Burgess, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2017