Kitty Clay

Several people have asked me if there was an alternative to using cellulose fiber insulation as the paper source when making homemade paper clays. The answer has always been to make your own paper pulp by boiling, shredding and straining recycled newspaper.

Making your own paper pulp is a fun and rewarding experience but it also time consuming and somewhat messy which is why I now use the cellulose insulation for all of my clay needs. Another option is to buy commercially available products available at craft, hobby and art supply stores.

Tonight I had the chance to experiment with another paper source that could be used to make paper clay, the source is cat litter or more specifically Purina Yesterday’s News natural cat litter made from recycled paper products and is 99.7% dust free. The dust free aspect is a positive because cellulose fiber insulation generates quite a bit of dust when making into clay. Purina Yesterday’s News natural cat litter comes in a 15lb bag and cost me $6.99, it is available at major pet stores and many large grocery stores.

The product comes in the form of paper pellets and the following are the steps I took to turn the pellets into a paper clay useable for your papier mache projects.

The pellets were soaked in water for several minutes to soften.

The soft paper pellets where then shredded with a hand blender.

The water was then removed from the pulp by placing the mixture onto a piece of cotton fabric (old t-shirt) and wringing out the water.

The shredded paper pellets were then mixed with papier mache paste (flour + glue + drywall joint compound) and blended until achieving a firm, moldable clay.

The “Kitty Clay” mixture was then used on several experimental props including a shark and human skull. My first impression is that the clay is very useable although it is a slight bit “grainy” compared to other paper clays I have used. This clay accepts texture and smoothed out quite nicely by using a paint brush coated with papier mache paste.

The pieces will need to dry completely until I can say 100% that this technique works but right now I can’t think of any reason as to why there would be any problems.

The Kitchen Lab

Spent the last several days experimenting with different materials and recipes trying to come up with some new clay variations.



After a great many attempts I’ve had a few successes and many disasters. Here are a few of the clays I’ve managed to make from ordinary household materials:

Cracking Clay. I’m really excited about this clay, once applied to the surface it cracks when dry leaving a very interesting texture appropriate for skulls and bones. Unlike other materials I’ve tried, this clay does not flake, chip or fall off the prop once dry.



Smoothing Clay. A good clay for providing a very smooth surface. The wet clay will not hold any texture, but works well for areas where you desire a very smooth, almost porcelain type of surface.



Poor Man’s Version of Paperclay. This formula still needs some work but I’ve come up with a homemade version of “Creative Paperclay.” The homemade stuff is not nearly as good but it still allows for some texture sculpting and can be rolled very thin.

Still needs much experimentation.



There is still a lot of work and experimentation to be done before I will publish these recipes. They need to be recreated to make sure they work every time and much experimentation still needs to be done to see how they work with different paints and sealants. There is still considerable work to be done.

Papercrete

Papercrete is basically paper pulp and Portland cement, a combination being used in sustainable building and housing projects.

Here are a few links describing papercrete, the reason I am posting this information is because I believe there is a use for this technique in prop building whether it be light, solid tombstones or some application to make incredibly durable weather resistant props.

Time for some experimentation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercrete
http://www.livinginpaper.com/
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/papercrete.htm