Making buttons with Model Magic?

Question

I've really been wanting to make some little clay cupcake buttons to sew on to my sweater. I know a lot of people use polymer clay and such, but I've got some Crayola Model Magic that I'd like to use rather than buy more clay. I know model magic is a bit foamy--will it work for making buttons? Is there anyway to make it harder (it's still kind of spongy when dry)?

Answer 1

No , Model Magic will crumble apart , a waste of time . Invest in a block of Polymer Clay ;)))

Answer 2

If you're using them functionally, then buttons from Model Magic won't be all that great.  You can make them a bit harder by using multiple coats of acrylic paint and/or clear acrylic finish though.  

If you're just using them as embellishments, I guess they'd be okay if you don't want much detail in the shapes.

You could also at least *try* using Model Magic over some kind of armature or form to make it stiffer for buttons.  Some air-dry clays shrink more than others though so not sure if there would be cracking... might be worth trying though, even with Model Magic.

If you don't want to buy polymer clay, other air dry clays will get harder than Model Magic will without an armature inside.  

You can buy air dry clays like Makins or Hearty or Creative Paperclay, or you can make your own "bread clay" (which is pretty good) or even salt dough clay at home.  

Those all need to be sealed though even if you're not trying to make them harder.

HTH,

P.S.  If you do end up making buttons again with polymer clay, check out the page at my site on doing that:

http://glassattic.com/polymer/buttons.ht...

Diane B.