What’s more satisfying than squish? A satisfying squish accompanied by an equally satisfying crack!
Cra-Z-Art has harnessed the viral popularity of sensory play and combined it with classic arts and crafts for a super-sweet experience in Cra-Z-Crackle Clay. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, this activity set comes with Modelite clay, sculpting tools, and a bottle of glaze. Kids can mold the clay into sweet treat-inspired sculpts, then coat them with the glaze. Once the glaze hardens into a shell, kids squeeze the treat to crack into the glaze for a satisfying, sensory experience.
The most important thing to know about this set? Reading the directions is crucial! The well-designed one-sheet is full of tips and tricks that will help kids get the best results with their Crackle Clay creations. For example, it is important that kids only mold one treat at a time, then immediately cover it with glaze using the included paintbrush. The Modelite clay starts to dry pretty quickly, and you want to glaze it while it is still soft and squishy. Similarly, you want to put the opened clay into a resealable bag right away so that the clay stays soft for future crafting sessions.
While one side of the instructions is packed with tips, the other offers design ideas for different clay sweet treats that kids can make. These include an ice cream cone, a s’more, a candy twist, a lollipop, a pineapple, and a strawberry. For each, the directions walk kids through which colors of clay they’ll use, what shapes to make, how to blend colors or add textures, and more. The set comes with a multipurpose tool for cutting the clay, a wooden dowel for making dots and other textures in the clay, and an ice cream-shaped mold. Kids certainly aren’t limited to making these designs, but they provide a great starting point! Young crafters also need to be aware that the clay is not reusable, so they need to reserve enough to sculpt all of the models they are interested in making.
The Modelite clay has a slight odor to it but is overall pretty mess-free. The glazing process, however, can get a little messy. Kids will want to be sure to coat the entire creation in glaze, which means they’re likely to get some on their fingers as they rotate the clay treat. The set includes a sheet of parchment paper to use as a glazing surface, but you may want to put out paper or a crafting mat underneath for a larger workspace. The instructions provide tips for a successful glazing experience, such as avoiding puddles of glaze (which will take too long to dry). The instructions suggest pouring the glaze directly onto the clay creation and then spreading it out, but I found putting glaze onto the included brush and then brushing it on to be equally effective.
After the creation is coated, kids need to take time to wash both their hands and the brush of any glaze. Then comes the hardest part: waiting! Kids will need to let the glaze dry for 3-8 hours before cracking it. (The exact time will depend on the size of the clay treat — If the glaze is still tacky, it’s not dry!) Kids can, of course, use up some of that time by sculpting and glazing additional treats. It may work best, however, to do this project ahead of a sports game or other activity that will have kids out of the house for a few hours. Then they can return to a completed project while eliminating the temptation of cracking it early!
When glazed correctly, the clay treat is super-satisfying to squish and pop. Kids may want to record the experience, too, if they are interested in ASMR and other sensory-based videos.
Unfortunately, the clay creations are effectively used-up after kids crack them. However, this kit only costs $7.99, so the one-time play value is certainly worth it!
This craft kit not only helps kids practice creativity (and patience!), but it also delivers a super-satisfying, tactile experience.
