How to make good quality cold porcelain yourself. Crafts from cold porcelain for beginners: tips and master classes. Workshop on making cold porcelain at home

Fresh flowers cannot leave anyone indifferent. But, unfortunately, they cannot live forever and please the eye. It is for this reason that artificial flowers began to be produced. They are made from paper, plastic, clay, beads and other materials. But today, recipes for cold porcelain without cooking have become very common.

Appeared cold porcelain in the middle of the XX century. Where exactly was it invented before today it is not known exactly, but some assumptions exist. Mostly people point to Japan and Argentina. But there are rumors that this material for modeling was invented in other countries around the same period. Its main components are starch and polyvinyl acetate glue. To improve the composition of the material, florists began to add other components to the mixture.

The name of the material is due to the fact that after it hardens, it looks very much like porcelain. The main difference is that during drying, the mixture should not be burned in ovens, and the drying itself is very fast. In order to prepare the composition, two methods are used:

1. The constituent components are combined in one container and heated. The composition must be constantly mixed, which causes difficulties due to its density.
2. The method does not provide for heat treatment. Such a composition is called cold porcelain without heating.

Some crafting tricks

In order for the made cold and liquid porcelain with your own hands to be of the desired consistency and structure, there are certain tricks and subtleties. The most important:

1. To make the resulting mixture flavored, you can drop a small amount of perfume into it.
2. If a product made of this material begins to crumble, then glue should be used to return it to its previous shape.
3. Modified starch must be a component of wallpaper glue.
4. Petroleum jelly can be replaced with petroleum jelly or glycerin.
5. If the prepared mass does not hold its shape well, then you need to add a small amount of starch to it.
6. Automotive plasticizer is used to make the product flexible.
7. In the composition of wallpaper or polyvinyl acetate glue, a plasticizer must be present. Without it, the mass will not be elastic.
8. It is better to use cornstarch to prepare the mass. Thanks to him, the color will be snow-white. But potato starch will give the mixture a yellow hue. It is used only in cases where the product will be painted in dark shades.

In addition to the tricks in the manufacture of the material, there are also some recommendations for working with it. They must be adhered to in order to avoid negative consequences:

If the product is dyed with food-grade liquid dye, the colors are very bright and unrealistic. For a deeper shade, you can apply acrylic paints.

Simple recipes

There are many recipes without cooking cold porcelain. But there are still better recipes. They are most common due to the ease of preparation and the short setting time of the mixture made.

With baby cream

This cold porcelain recipe is very common. It contains the following ingredients:

1. Baby cream - 1 tbsp. l.
2. Glycerin - 2 tbsp. l.
3. Potato starch and polyvinyl acetate glue - 1 cup each.

To prepare such a mass, you need to carry out the following manipulations:

• Pour the required amount of polyvinyl acetate glue into a cup and put the container on a medium heat fire.
• Pour baby cream immediately after that and mix well.
• Pour in glycerin with constant stirring.
• Pour out the starch. But not all at once, but in small portions with constant stirring.
• The mixture thickens very quickly and at first looks like cottage cheese, and then a lump is obtained.
• Grease the table with cream and put the resulting mass on it to cool.
• After you can take the mixture with your hands, mix well until smooth (to get the consistency of plasticine).

With citric acid

This recipe is very popular because the prepared mixture can be stored for a long period. The constituent substances are as follows:

To make the mass, you need to mix all the liquid ingredients well and cook over a medium heat. This should result in a smooth mixture. Only after this moment can the corn starch be added and the brew mixed well until a uniform ball forms. After that, the ball must be removed from the container and mixed with your hands. If you cannot hold the hot composition in your hands, then cover it with a damp towel to cool.

With dry chalk

The advantage of this uncooked potato starch cold porcelain recipe is that it does not need to be heat treated and also does not crack. Its main components are:

The cooking method is very simple and consists in the following actions:

• Combine chalk and starch in one container.
• Pour in petroleum jelly and vinyl glue very slowly.
• Add formalin after compacting the mass.
• If you get a very dense mixture, then you can pour in a little water. Mix well and place in a storage bag. The preservation of the material will be better if it is placed in a cold place.

When working, you can add food coloring or other types of coloring materials.

Starch and glue free

You can cook cold porcelain without glue and without starch. This dough will consist of the following products:

You need to pour a glass of warm water into a bowl and add salt. After dissolving, add wheat flour and mix well for 10 minutes. The finished mass can be considered when it will not stick to your hands.

With cold and hot water

This recipe is very original. Its main ingredients are:

1. Corn starch - 0.5 cups
2. Cold and hot water, as well as kitchen salt - 0.5 tbsp each. everyone.
3. Food dye.

To make the mixture you need to carry out the following processes:

• In a large saucepan, combine warm water and kitchen salt. Stir well and boil.
• In a separate container, dissolve the cornstarch in cold liquid. Stir well and add the right amount of food coloring.
• Pour the starch mass into the boiling liquid and mix everything quickly.
• The mass should be cooked on a minimum flame until thickened with constant stirring.
• After that, you should put the resulting mixture on a wooden surface and wait for it to cool. Stir until smooth.

You can use such a dough in work immediately, or you can store it in a closed container, having previously wrapped it in a film or bag.

Complex composition

This recipe includes a very large number of substances, most of which are of chemical origin. To prepare the dough according to this recipe, you will need the following set of components:

Cooking process:

• Dissolve the camphor tablet in alcohol and mix well with a disposable spoon.
• Combine all other components, except for 50 grams of corn starch and formaldehyde in a large container. Mix thoroughly and let it brew for 30 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into a frying pan or a Teflon-coated saucepan and boil over low heat. In this case, the composition should be constantly mixed with a wooden spoon. This is done until the mass acquires the desired structure.
• After thickening, remove the dough from the stove and let it brew a little.
• After that, transfer the composition to the table and knead well, adding formaldehyde and gradually adding 50 grams of starch. Stirring is carried out until it cools.
• After that, the composition is divided into parts and left on the table, previously sprinkled with starch.
• After cooling, you need to wrap the composition in a polyethylene bag or film and place in a jar. Cover tightly and store in cold storage.

If desired, you can paint the composition with paints or food coloring.

With liquid paraffin

This liquid porcelain recipe also contains chemical elements. The composition of the mixture is as follows:

1. Liquid paraffin - 5 tsp.
2. Purified hot water - 1 cup.
3. Formalin (formaldehyde) - 1 tbsp l.
4. Hand cream, baby body oil, glycerin - 2 tbsp each. l.
5. Sodium benzoate and stearin - 1 tsp each.
6. Vinyl glue or other white - 500 g.
7. Corn starch - 300 g.

The cooking method involves the following procedures:

All recipes for making such a dough are very simple. You just need to choose which one is suitable for creating masterpieces. The method is also chosen by the master: with or without cooking.

Many would like to have porcelain at home, as they decorate the room and create comfort. But few people realize that there is a recipe for cold porcelain without cooking, which everyone can master. Thus, one can

It is important to know: cold porcelain is a very cheap and safe material. To make dishes or a figurine out of such porcelain, it is not necessary to have professional skills and be engaged in modeling all your life. Now there is an opportunity to make crafts from cold porcelain with your own hands for beginners.

Historical aspect

Most historians are inclined to believe that porcelain was first produced by the Chinese in the 6th century. In ancient times, services were made from the material, from which they drank tea. These utensils were also used in the Chinese tea ceremony.

The very first porcelain had blue and greenish tints, which distinguished it from other materials. Previously, the Chinese made art objects in the same style: necks in the form of animals and vessels similar to dragons. White porcelain in China learned to make only after the X century. After that, trade ties between the Asian country and Europe have significantly strengthened. Europeans liked the unique porcelain products from China.

Although the formula of porcelain was not immediately unraveled in Europe, the best minds of that time worked on this for many years. It was only by the 16th century in Italy that soft porcelain was invented, which immediately became popular in Germany and France. But in the 18th century, the famous alchemist Frifrich Bittger discovered hard porcelain, from which they began to make the most beautiful dishes. Even their own masters of painting appeared. European porcelain was very different from other materials, as it had special marks. We started to open porcelain factories in England, Germany, Czech Republic and other cities.

In Russia, the first porcelain factory was built in the middle of the 18th century in St. Petersburg. At first, Elizabeth attracted foreign specialists to set up a production line. But later Dmitry Vinogradov mastered the domestic method of obtaining solid material from local materials. A few years later, the Imperial Porcelain Factory was renamed into the Porcelain Factory named after A. M.V. Lomonosov.

Russian factories began to focus on a wide range of consumers at the end of the 19th century. As a result, the cost of porcelain dropped significantly and the production line was mechanized. However, even now there is a category of porcelain items that are handmade. As a rule, these are very expensive sets. high Quality... Russian porcelain is appreciated all over the world, so it is sold at auctions for huge sums of money. Private collectors are ready to give a fortune to get hold of the coveted porcelain item.

DIY cold porcelain master class for beginners without cooking

In its original form, porcelain resembles clay, although after thorough drying it hardens. Therefore, any jewelry and accessories can be made from porcelain, including flowers, shells, buttons. At the end of the sculpting, there is an opportunity to sprinkle with beads for beauty and varnish.

They learned to make cold porcelain only in the 19th century, it was then that masters began to make figures of stunning beauty from this material. And although there is no exact information about the discovery of the material, many scientists are inclined to believe that the Argentines became pioneers.

However, in Russia there is a large amount of information about the professional craftsman Peter Ivanov. He studied art at the Imperial Porcelain Factory. After some time, Peter began to create original objects from cold porcelain. According to the documentation of those times, it was this master who first made flowers from a unique material. These flowers were then used to decorate perfume bottles that were delivered to the imperial family. Thus, Peter Ulyanovich became famous throughout Russian Empire... He was able to make his own cold porcelain recipe at home without cooking. In this regard, everyone can do-it-yourself cold porcelain master class flowers video.

Although there are earlier archival documents that confirm the existence of cold porcelain. For example, in China, there are chronicles that mention different types cold porcelain moldings. Despite the fact that the recipe for cold porcelain at home is similar to the material created by Ivanov Peter, the name of Chinese porcelain is different.

Cold Porcelain Crafts for Beginners

Of course, figurines and various crafts made of cold porcelain turn out to be exquisite and beautiful. However, they are no less demanding of themselves. It is important to remember to store products away from liquids, moisture and sunlight. The fact is that cold porcelain tends to absorb liquid and turn sour. This means that a toy or figurine can lose color, shine and structure over time. Therefore, it is best to place vases and figurines in a dark place.

Before making cold porcelain at home without cooking, you need to learn that crafts, molds and figurines should be in a room with an optimal temperature regime. The structure of the material will collapse if the room temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius. At this moment, moisture particles crystallize, which negatively affects the quality of the product. But the heat also destroys the cold porcelain, as a result the figurine crumbles. All these nuances should be taken into account before doing cold porcelain with your own hands a master class for beginners.

But experts have learned to extend the performance of cold porcelain products. They are simply varnished. Then, beautiful objects are not afraid of moisture or the sun. At the same time, the product retains not only its shape, but also shine and color.

Cold Porcelain Jewelry

According to experts, this material allows you to sculpt anything, including jewelry and interior items. At the same time, each novice master can bring all his ideas to life by creating unique hair clips, flowers and other necessary things. Even for children, you can make gifts: cartoon characters, heroes of fairy tales, animals and much more. In any case, cold porcelain figurines will decorate any room of the house, including the bedroom and the nursery. Cold porcelain without cooking from potato starch is within the power of every person.

If a person has creative thoughts, then you can make pots for your favorite flowers. After all, now in ordinary stores it is difficult to find original things, since most are produced in ordinary factories. But do-it-yourself cold porcelain makes it possible to create elegant and original items for the home: photo frames, lamps, vases, flowerpots, sculptures and much more.

You can also decorate an apartment or house with cold porcelain: flowers, greenery, garlands, figurines of exotic animals, thematic compositions, figurines, etc. there is no need to go to the store for a gift, as it is possible to make flowers with your own hands from cold porcelain and polymer clay in contact. Loved ones, relatives or a girl will be happy with such a surprise.

Cold porcelain making process

To prepare polymer clay, you do not need to have any special knowledge. There are several ways to do this, but in this case, the simplest option will be considered. You need to take potato, rice or corn starch, polyvinyl acetate emulsion in water, glycerin and cream for children. Then mix everything in the same proportion.

After stirring thoroughly, leave the consistency for 30 minutes. During this time, the components will turn into the mass necessary for modeling. It is important to know: in no case should cold material be placed in a cold room or refrigerator; it should be stored at room temperature. Experts recommend sculpting immediately after preparing the consistency.

In some cases, people add citric acid to the material to improve the performance of the products. This substance creates a conservation effect.

If there is liquid in the composition, then you need to be prepared for the fact that the product will turn out to be fragile. Over time, the figurines will begin to emit an unpleasant odor, and the structure of the material will significantly weaken and change.

Ingredients such as food coloring and chalk give the figurines a vibrant color that for a long time does not come off. Although finished products can be painted after complete drying, but not earlier than a day after modeling.

To create a true masterpiece from cold porcelain, you will need the following tools:

1. Cosmetics for decoration.
2. Paints, brushes.
3. Toothpicks.
4. Some construction tools.
5. Protective gloves.
6. Towel, napkins.
7. PVC glue, metal wire.
8. Scissors.
9. Rolling pin.

If a person has a great flight of imagination and creative groundwork, then in the sculpting process you can use strings, beads, fabrics and other accessories. These decorative elements will allow you to create not only a beautiful, but also a unique piece of art.

For those who are not familiar with modeling for the first time, you can consider a more complex recipe for preparing the material.

Mix PVC glue with cornstarch in a small container. Then add half a glass of plain water, a little glycerin and a spoonful of baby cream. You can also use an inexpensive face cream to prepare the mass. After stirring the elements of the mixture, the texture should be smooth and pleasant to the touch.

It should be noted that finished products dry for about two or three days. During drying, it is better not to touch them, but to let them dry completely. If, after preparing the porcelain, excess material remains, it can be removed in a plastic box and tightly covered with a lid. It is better to put the leftovers in the refrigerator until the next creative evening.

Flowers from cold porcelain master class with step by step photos

Experts believe that it is better for beginner sculptures to start with simple items... In this case, we will focus on the sakura flower. The material must be painted pink and white before modeling. You also need to cut the porcelain into cubes to make petals out of them later. In the process of cutting material, it is necessary to track the length, shape and width of the workpieces.

Having cut the material into small rectangles, you can start sculpting the petals. This will be the first step towards creating an original cherry blossom. The edges of the flower should be white, but the base should be pink. After gluing the petals, you need to make small holes with a toothpick, which will be needed for the wire in the form of a stem.

As for the buds, they are glued to a green cup with a white edging. In this case, it is worthwhile to reliably plant the buds on the stem so as not to damage the flower during transportation.

To create a "living sakura branch", you need to try to create the same one out of wire. First you need to collect all metal blanks in one bundle, and then twist them beautifully to create a single composition. If all actions are performed correctly, then the sakura can be placed in a vase or pot as desired.

Also, those wishing to do modeling have the opportunity to make such a flower as a rose from cold porcelain master class. In this case, the manufacturing process is the same.

Flowers from cold porcelain master class video

Now, to cook cold porcelain with your own hands without cooking a master class, you can use open resources on the Internet. There are sites where not only thematic photos are shown, but also various videos are posted. Thus, beginners can see in detail the master class from professional masters.

Do not be afraid to do something with your own hands, the technology for making cold porcelain at home is very simple. It doesn't require a lot of components to create unique and creative items. It is enough to have a rich imagination and a desire to make a gift to your loved one.

If you use all the tips, you can create real coziness and your own style at home or in an apartment, which will delight friends, relatives and loved ones. Well, the children's room can be furnished with amazing figurines and figurines made of cold porcelain. After all, now there are so many different characters that kids like. Having created a cartoon character with your own hands, you can get a lot of positive energy from a child in return.

Today you and I will make cold porcelain with our own hands without cooking at home. I use cold porcelain instead of polymer clay and make flat figures with magnets from it. You can work with cold porcelain both with molds, and sculpt something out of it yourself. The figures do not break, they are quite resistant to moisture and can be painted with any dyes.


Cold porcelain recipe without cooking

The recipe is the simplest, without cooking. We need the simplest things, namely: corn starch (I didn’t make potato starch, I don’t know how it will lead in the recipe), a metal bowl in which we will mix all this, a plastic cup, sunflower oil and Moment Joiner Express glue. This is the glue I use. Porcelain is made very good with it. If you use PVA, then the porcelain will not work - everything sticks to the molds and then the figures are difficult to get. We also need a bag to wrap it all up. For a whiter color, we need some acrylic paint. You can also use food coloring to color the porcelain.

How to make cold porcelain

It is worth stirring for one portion, so that there is no excess left, and the next time, stir in fresh, and not use the rest. Pour two parts of starch into one part of glue in a bowl, using the glass as a measuring container. Do not worry about the dishes, they are quite easy to clean if you do not dry them. Can be used disposable tableware, so as not to wash, did and threw away. Add quite a bit of white acrylic paint here to make the porcelain white, because the glue is slightly yellow. Then stir the mixture thoroughly. Knead to such a state, until you want to pick it up. Now the porcelain can be collected by hand into a large lump.

Cold Porcelain Crafts

Now you can start working with porcelain. Pour some sunflower oil into your palm and rub thoroughly with the palms of your hands to lubricate them. Take a lump of porcelain and knead it in your hands. It should turn out in the form of plasticine. You can either sculpt flowers or figures yourself from it, or use it for molds. I use for molds. Cold porcelain is ready. A budget option that replaces Fimo clay.
When you work, it is better to put the porcelain in a bag so that there is no contact with air and it does not harden. That is, tear off the piece necessary to fill the mold from the large lump, and put the rest in the bag for now.
Now you can fill the mold with a piece of porcelain and morning it thoroughly so that no air bubbles remain. As in working with polymer clay, the porcelain has a nuance - you must wait until the porcelain has completely hardened before taking out the figurine, otherwise you can damage everything. Cold porcelain dries within 24 hours in bad weather and damp conditions. But you can put it on the battery and wait literally 2-3 hours. Figures from molds should easily lag behind, if you cannot remove them, then it is better to wait until it dries up.
The resulting figurines from cold porcelain can be used as fridge magnets, key rings; in scrapbooking, this is generally an excellent decoration option.

Evgeniya Smirnova

To send light into the depths of the human heart is the artist's purpose

Creative classes involve working with all sorts of materials. When sculpting figures, for example, in addition to clay, you can use cold porcelain, which is much easier to deal with. This plastic composition is more delicate, which guarantees the preservation of the feeling of weightlessness in the finished crafts. Often flowers and small details are made from cold porcelain, requiring careful elaboration.

What is cold porcelain

The main ingredients, without which it is difficult to imagine the preparation of this type of porcelain, have long been considered glycerin, corn starch, PVA glue and oil. Modern recipes are changing in composition. A homogeneous composition for modeling was invented at the beginning of the last century in distant Argentina. Initially, it was created for the manufacture of small figures with many details. Artistic modeling made of cold porcelain is popular among adults and children due to the extreme ease of working with it.

How to make cold porcelain with your own hands

The convenience of soft malleable mixtures for creativity lies in the possibility of making them at home. You can make cold porcelain with your own hands without much effort and money. Step by step instructions vary, but mostly contain the same steps and ingredients. A homemade cold porcelain recipe may or may not contain a cooking step. There are ways to cook even in the microwave, but they are more laborious.

Educational master class for beginners

It will take time to learn how to sculpt beautiful figurines, but even beginners who have never sculpted crafts can easily make cold porcelain. The mass is prepared from the following components:

• corn starch;
• baking soda;
• water;
• vegetable oil.

A more common cooking method looks like this:

1. Take the same amount of baking soda and starch, move between each other in a saucepan.
2. Add water gradually to dry ingredients. The proportions should be 2: 1.
3. Pour in a little oil.
4. Put the composition on a low heat and, stirring continuously, bring until thickened. The porcelain should be dense.
5. After turning off the stove, cover the pot of porcelain with a towel.
6. Once the temperature is right, rinse the material with your hands to ensure uniformity.

Cold porcelain recipe without cooking

To cook or not to cook? That is the question! Craftswomen who prepare cold porcelain with their own hands are divided into two categories: the first for cooking, and the second against it. There are practically no differences in consistency and properties. Cold porcelain without cooking is as plastic and easy to make. Among the necessary are the following ingredients:

• starch - 2 tbsp. l .;
• petroleum jelly - 1 tbsp. l .;
• baking soda;
• pVA glue.

The algorithm is as follows:

1. Take the dishes that have been wiped dry and pour the starch into it. You can take corn or potato.
2. After melting the petroleum jelly in a water bath, add it to the dry ingredient.
3. Add a little baking soda. Knead the future porcelain thoroughly to avoid clumping.
4. Then add glue in a teaspoon to achieve a soft composition.
5. Before work, lubricate the material washed to homogeneity with petroleum jelly.

How to cook from potato starch on the stove

Potato starch is a more familiar ingredient for culinary artisans than its corn counterpart. It can be found in almost every home, so making porcelain from it can be easier in terms of accessibility. If you plan to create light elements, such as rose petals, it is better to skip the potato starch, as the product has a grayish color. The simple classic method involves cooking on the stove. List of components:

• potato starch - 180 g;
• glue - 180 ml;
• lemon juice - 1 tbsp l .;
• glycerin - 1 tbsp. l .;
• petroleum jelly - 1 tbsp. l.

The actions are as follows:

1. Combine all ingredients sequentially in a small saucepan. The mass will turn out to be liquid, it must be mixed to a uniform consistency before cooking through heat treatment.
2. The dishes with the solution are placed on the lowest heat and the composition is stirred. Readiness is determined by the mass adhered to the spoon.
3. The cooled material is kneaded with greased hands for at least 5 minutes.

How to color the resulting mass

Homemade cold porcelain requires staining. To impart color to the mass, food colors, pigments and acrylic paints are used. The first two dyes are used when cooking porcelain, adding to the composition along with the main components. In this case, you will need to prepare several balls of porcelain mass to give each a different color. Acrylic paints are used when the product is dry and you just need to paint it. This option is a little more convenient, more practical and takes less time.

How to make crafts

Cold porcelain is a material that is often mentioned in flower making workshops. You can blind them, without using special tools, with one hand, but the best result is achieved with the help of molds. Besides these, delicate flowers are made using plastic spoons. The plastic mass is laid and rolled along the deepening of the spoon, and then several of these elements are collected into a flower, for example, a tulip. You can use different tools, this creative process is limited only by imagination.

How to properly dry the finished product

Drying the finished craft is an important step in all work with cold porcelain. There are times when, when drying the finished product, the material cracks, leaving ugly grooves. How to properly dry a craft? This is done at room temperature, at least during the day. It is very important to turn the product over if it is lying on one side and not in an upright position. To speed up the process, some needlewomen slightly heat the oven, and then, turning it off, briefly put the craft there.

Video: how to make liquid porcelain with your own hands

The network is literally teeming with master classes of craftswomen, recorded on video, where they share their secrets of modeling from cold porcelain. Such lessons are very visual, they contain a step-by-step recipe for preparing a material and several options for handling it. It is often easier to visually understand how to work with plastic mass than when the phased creation of a craft is described verbally. Check out a few detailed video tutorials below.

Photos of hand made cold porcelain products

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Recently, I increasingly see on the network high-profile articles "The easiest recipe for cold porcelain", which contain very strange advice, and if photos of the products are attached, they are either terrible or stolen from other masters. I didn't want to start the article with such an unpleasant proposal, but the “cold porcelain without glue” master class I saw today was the last straw! I can't be silent anymore

Now I will try to explain on my fingers what happens in the pan during HF cooking, and why so many people do not get it. I will note in advance that the following are my subjective observations. Also, many thanks to the girls from the forum, who tried dozens of recipes and were not greedy to share the results. All right, now more to the point.

Cold porcelain for beginners - basic principles

So, HF is a mass for modeling. We will consider exactly the floristic option, that is, homemade polymer clay, which is ideal for sculpting flowers.

What properties should it have?

- Flexibility and strength of frozen petals - if the leaf is bent, it should not break; of course, you can make a bouquet from inflexible cold porcelain, but just don't try to breathe on it, drop it, touch it, correct it, show it to the children, and get a cat. And it's really ugly to sell such flowers, because they are very fragile.

- The mass is rolled out thinly-thinly, thereby ensuring the realism of the flower. The translucency of the petals is also important.

- Cold porcelain should not crack after drying, at all!

- Shrinkage (decrease in the volume of the product) after drying of the HF should be minimal.

- Rapid drying of raw petals - if the mass dries for a long time, even in a thinly rolled form, then it will take almost a week to sculpt a peony. Purchased clay dries up quite quickly, which significantly increases labor productivity and speeds up assembly.

- Cold porcelain should not stick to your hands and - otherwise you will go crazy, and not dazzle the first bouquet.

- Cold porcelain must hold its shape so that the petals do not fall off and do not straighten during drying. We made a depression in the petal with a gurgle - it remained so, it does not turn back into a cake.

- Water resistance - it is desirable that the flowers do not fall apart when wiped wet wipe, and in the hair clip it was possible to stay in the light rain for at least 5 minutes without dramatic consequences. But - this is already a secondary point.

- Frost resistance is, of course, a luxury, but if you find glue that can withstand low temperatures when dried, then HF will become at least a quarter less brittle in the cold.

It is categorically impossible to freeze cold porcelain in its raw form - any PVA is afraid of frost and simply decomposes into an aqueous phase and a curd-like sediment under the influence of low temperatures. Therefore, you cannot order glue for cold porcelain in winter, and you cannot order purchased clay either! If they freeze, then the properties cannot be restored in any way.

Cold porcelain flowers in the cold simply stop bending and become very fragile, but some brands of glue provide them with a margin of safety in the cold. This is already determined empirically.

If the preparation of cold porcelain was done correctly, you will have a mass with the properties described above, and it will be a pleasure to sculpt from it! The flowers will turn out to be subtle, graceful, realistic. Now let's see how polymer clay is formed at all?

What is cold porcelain made of?

Plasticizer

If you tear the film off the walls of the jar with glue, then it is flexible, it breaks with difficulty - this is the base of cold porcelain. Due to the plasticizer contained in polyvinyl acetate (PVA), the mass for modeling flowers remains flexible after drying. Basically, we could even sculpt with pure glue, right? But somehow inconvenient. Because it is too liquid. Clay is, roughly speaking, a plasticizer and water. What should be done? Get rid of water! Depending on the brand of glue, there may be more or less water in it. Thick glue contains little water, so they put less thickener; for rare glue, more dry ingredients will be needed.

Our task is to make the glue so thick that it can be sculpted from it. At the same time, it is important to minimize the percentage of dry part of cold porcelain (starch, for example), which kills flexibility. For this, chemists have come up with special substances - thickeners. Even a little of their liquid, sweet syrup makes an elastic, hard candy, and from a common slurry - hard processed cheese.

Thickener

This is a substance that, due to specific chemical properties is able to transform liquid into gel, cream or even thicker mass. The classic one suggests using potato or corn starch as a thickener.

Every housewife knows: to make a thick sauce or cream for a cake, you need to add starch to a liquid (for example, milk with butter and sugar) and HEAT. Starch exhibits thickening properties ONLY when heated. There are modified starches that do not need to be heated. I didn’t try to work with them, I don’t presume to judge. But ordinary edible potato and corn starch cannot thicken the mass without heating! No! No "cold porcelain recipe without cooking" - forget it! Just cook! We will return to the raw recipe without cooking. In it, starch does not play the role of a thickener, but a filler.

So, only a certain substance can act as a thickener, which is capable of absorbing excess water, turning the liquid into a viscous jelly or thick porridge. Therefore, you cannot just pour soda or chalk, or flour, or washing powder into the CP! Well, it won't work!

What other thickeners are there? We open the list of food additives and look for. These substances should be generally recognized thickeners, which is indicated in GOSTs and other standards, and not just "my friend advised me."

Sodium alginate, gum, sodium tetraborate, carboxymethyl cellulose (tylose, KSM or SMS), resins, etc. are put in CP. It is with these pieces that cold porcelain is prepared without cooking, because, unlike starch, they do not require heating to thicken the mass ... A very small amount is required to form a dense mass from a liquid. For example, sodium alginate absorbs 200-300 times moisture than its own weight. That is, one teaspoon of the thickener is capable of absorbing 200 tablespoons of water, roughly speaking.

I had a bad experience with alginate. After reading on the clay packagingFleur this component, I began to look for information about its properties, and then even ordered. Only not white, but technical (well, the toad crushed). As a result, I had to throw out a whole kilogram, because the alginate was dirty brown, and was in no way suitable for creating a delicate mass. The girls, at the forum mentioned above, shared their experience of creating cold porcelain without cooking with white, food grade sodium alginate. Flowers from this mass are very delicate, translucent and slightly velvety. To prepare such a HF, you need to tinker with the selection of proportions. I haven’t done this yet, the brown sawdust, which the uncle from the online store described to me as “creamy”, is too fresh in my memory. For example, Irina offers a recipe for cold porcelain without cooking from sodium alginate.

Filler

This is the dry part of CP, which is designed to make it denser, harder and drier, but not due to any specific thickening properties, but just like that. These grains are embedded in the pores of our CP and increase its density. When a "revolutionary" method of preparing cold porcelain without boiling from potato starch is proposed, they usually take 1 part of glue and 2 - 2.5 parts of starch. They just pour it into the glue until the desired consistency is obtained, as if the dough is kneaded into tortillas. Leaves and petals from such a mass will not bend, they will immediately break, because there is too much dry part in the mass! Starch without heating here fulfilled the function of a filler, it completely "clogged" the entire plasticizer. In the traditional recipe with heating, starch is put in the same volume as glue, no more!

As a filler, starch is used (in a recipe without cooking with another thickener), cellulose (even if it is obtained by grinding toilet paper), etc.

Special additives

In an insignificant amount, they put in HF:

- preservative (lemon juice, citric acid, vinegar) - this protects the mass from the growth of mold in it;

- emulsifier (glycerin) - promotes mixing of aqueous and fatty media, apparently, helps us to mix oil paint;

- humectant (glycerin) - prevents cold porcelain from drying out over time; in general, I already wrote - it also thickens quite a bit.

- flavors (optional);

- dyes (optional).

Thus, when preparing cold porcelain, one should understand what it consists of. The main thing is a plasticizer, thickener and preservative. Without them, the mass for modeling will turn out to be unsuitable. We add the rest to make the clay perfect, but these components are not critical.

Consider the schematic.

Option 1 - cold porcelain with starch and heating. The starch removes excess water from the glue, leaving a plasticizer. The additives bring the mass to perfection. There is more glue than starch, so flowers made from such HF remain flexible.

Option 1. Scheme of approximate proportions for cooking cold porcelain

Option 2 - cold porcelain without cooking. The thickener is sodium alginate, carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium tetraborate, gum, or a mixture of just a few. BUT NOT STARCH! Starch is a filler. Again, these comrades are less than the amount of plasticizer. As a result, the flowers are flexible, everything is fine.

Option 2. Scheme of approximate proportions for cold porcelain without cooking

Option 3 - cold porcelain without thickener. For example - glue, starch, soda,. No cooking. We had to put in 2 - 3 times more starch than plasticizer. The mass became dense. Flowers break from the wind. Such HF is only suitable for figurines, one-time creativity with children, smearing clay on the table. But not for flowers!

Option 3. Incorrect proportions for cold porcelain! The mass will turn out to be unsuitable for creating flowers!

Do I need to add water to cold porcelain?

God forbid. The glue is already a solution of PVA dispersion in water. There is already too much of it, which is why we are looking for a thickener to get rid of moisture.

In addition, the more water in the CP, the more noticeable the shrinkage of the product. To write this note I was prompted by a "fantastic" recipe for cold porcelain without glue: water, starch, flour. All this disgrace is heated. It turns out a lump. But: how thin it can be rolled out at all, does it hold its shape while it dries; what crazy shrinkage does it give? Well, that without a preservative, such a mass will grow mold and, moreover, it will beat like sand cakes from childhood - this is the author bad advice not interested. The main thing is that it is simple.

Friends, I ask you, do not try to make candy out of poop! If you need to drink with children, prepare salty dough. But for ceramic floristry, preparing cold porcelain with your own hands follows a certain pattern, realizing what is happening in the process. The clay for flowers must be flawless, otherwise they will not turn out realistic.

Making a good HF is not difficult at all. Of course, you can order factory clay in the store, but after all, it is not always available, not everyone has the means to constantly purchase it, and in winter, clay cannot be transported at all! And homemade cold porcelain with your own hands can be prepared at any time in the right amount, saving at least four times, or even ten times.

I will be glad to answer questions, write in the comments or email.

If you do not agree with the principles described above, write about it. I may be wrong, but I'm ready to improve.

All inspiration and more flowers!

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