5 Steps for Making Cold Porcelain

Contents

    – Focus on corn dough

    – Step 1: Recipe for cold porcelain

    – Step 2: Work the corn dough

    – Step 3: Colour the cold porcelain

    – Step 4: Shape the corn dough

    – Step 5: Dry the cold porcelain pieces

Less well-known than salt dough, corn dough is also made with inexpensive and readily available materials. Also known by the evocative name of “cold porcelain,” it makes for stunning, perfectly smooth and slightly translucent creations. It is an endless source of inspiration for hobbyists and artists.

This post tells you step-by-step how to make cold porcelain.

Focus on corn dough

The “cold porcelain” technique

The technique of corn dough also called “cold porcelain” (porcelana fria), comes from Latin America, where recognized artists work on this amazing material at a low cost.

After drying, the corn dough hardens and becomes perfectly smooth and slightly translucent, just like real porcelain. However, unlike porcelain objects, objects made of corn dough are unbreakable!

Corn dough versus salt dough

Corn and salt dough are inexpensive ways to make your malleable dough used in creative objects.

    – Corn dough is a little more delicate to make than salt dough.

    – However, it is easier and finer to shape than salt dough and dries in the open air, becoming smooth and resistant to shocks and humidity.

    – Compared to salt dough objects, corn dough objects also have the advantage of being lighter.

1. Cold porcelain recipe

Gather the ingredients

    – 140 g of corn flour;

    – 200 g of extra-strong vinyl glue;

    – 1 tablespoon of white vinegar;

    – 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil.

Prepare and cook the corn dough

    – Pour all ingredients into a non-stick pan (essential).

    – Mix with a plastic spoon.

    – Heat over medium heat, constantly stirring with the plastic spoon: the consistency will become creamy, then lumpy.

    – From time to time, remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir.

    – When the dough begins to form a compact mass that comes away from the edges of the pan, remove the pan from the heat: the dough is still a little lumpy but elastic and does not stick to your fingers if you touch it.

Caution: do not prolong the cooking time; else, the dough will lose its flexibility.

2. Work the corn dough

    – Coat a smooth plastic placemat (or a waxed canvas) with hand cream.

    – Coat your hands with the same cream.

    – Transfer the dough to the placemat and knead it, while still warm, to a soft, lump-free consistency.

    – Cut a square of cling film and coat it with hand cream.

    – Place the ball of dough in the middle of the square and enclose it in the film.

    – Let the dough cool, kneading it occasionally in the film to remove moisture.

    – If condensation forms on the film, replace it.

3. Stain the cold porcelain

It is recommended to colour in the corn body. Proceed as follows:

    – Flatten your dough ball and separate it into several “dough pieces”.

    – Place each dough piece on cling film coated with hand cream.

    – Add a squirt of gouache to the center of the dough and knead it until the colour is uniform.

Be careful: only a little gouache is needed, as the dough will become 2 or 3 shades darker as it dries.

    – Wrap each dough piece in cling film.

    – Store the dough pieces in an airtight box, in the refrigerator or not; it doesn’t matter.

4. Shape the corn dough

    – Take out the necessary amount of dough and immediately fold the cling film over the remaining dough to prevent it from drying.

    – Make the objects of your choice; this dough allows you to model very fine and in three dimensions: beads, jewelry, animals, figurines, and light decorations for the Christmas tree, etc…

    – To glue two elements together, use the vinyl glue you used to make the dough.

5. Dry cold porcelain pieces

    – Once you have shaped your corn dough objects, let them air dry away from any heat source (which could cause cracking).

    – It will take one to several days to fully harden, depending on the size of the objects.

    – Once dry, your objects do not require any treatment: they will naturally look like porcelain. However, you can apply a varnish if you want to give them a shiny look.

Materials needed to make corn dough

Airtight refrigerator boxes 

Saucepan 

Vinyl or polyurethane glue 

Hand cream 

Soup spoon 

White vinegar