Review: Grace Clay

It's me~

I made a FB page!

Today, I will be sharing a review on Grace Clay. Watch out for the long post! (Realise I get rather lengthy. Sorry!)

It is a type of air dry resin-type clay, made with base material of cereal flour. Here's my Youtube viddy on Grace Clay. I will touch on the same point I brought up in the video, throw 'em in this post and add more stuff. (:

Once again, if you have read my Haul Update recently, you can purchase Grace Clay (200g a pack) from Sophie and Toffee for SGD $25.50. You can use this coupon code ( JCSV6NC) for a 10% discount!

PACKAGING 6.5/10

I like the packaging. It's really a lot smaller than what I expect when I see pictures of it online. A lot of items I get in real like surprise me as they are a lot smaller. (Only Hearty surprised me cause it was bigger than expected.) So inside, there are 2 tubes of clay, 100g each. This is nice as it allows you to open 100g and keep the other tube fresh as the packaging is airtight.

HOWEVER! Here is a picture of the Grace Light I wanted to buy. It dried up. Air somehow entered the tube, which was supposed to be airtight. 

Lots of air inside

Not a good sign? Well, these pack of Grace Light and Grace were clearance stocks that were kept for years. It does show us though, that it is not totally airtight, and you should still keep the tube of clay properly, lest this happen. It might also happen you your pack of Grace too! And Grace isn't very cheap. (well, neither is Grace Light)

They are clasped tight with a metal... clip? You can't tear it off. Only snipping the plastic will work. Not much a problem with you make sure you don't cut the clay and throw them away too.

Overall: Not too bad. Though, due to the air in the tube thing, I gave lower points.


CLAY 

No need for scoring as this relative to your preferences (:  I'll go through my feel on this clay.

Dries translucent- Add white so it dries a solid colour. This is an important property to remember. You can toy around and experiment. I saw people using this to make fruit slices.
Becomes more translucent after varnish. (

Elasticity- Not too sure about this. many sites say it is elastic. I try my revived Grace Light and it is.. well, soft? But this clay cracked. Not too sure what to do about that. But..

Cracks seen

Dries Hard- 
It dries hard, so will be sturdy. If you bent it when it is drying, it will leave a white indentation. Or if the bend portion is thin, that portion my be more fragile.

Can be Coloured- With pastel, water colours, acrylic, poster paint etc. All works. I think water colour leaves it more translucent than poster or acrylic. Not too sure.

An example to the point I'm bringing up now

Colour dries a lot darker- So if you want a light purple, add minimal paint. Or it may turn out really dark!
See the panda?
I added black paint into white clay. Black + White = Grey. Logic.
It dried black though.

Colour may run-
When varnishing my Panda charm, which I used black pastel, the colour ran. (Sorry, no pictures! My hand was rather messy with varnish) And messed up the bear.
Be careful. Likely that the darker the colour, the likelier it is to run.

NOT Water resistant- This is the point which was ambiguous. Depending on source, it would say it is water resistant of not. So the test~
When I wanted to varnish my panda, and the colour ran, I thought of washing it.
It killed the panda. (*ﾟﾛﾟ) The panda has 'slimmed down' and details ran.
The clay  is very water soluble. Dissolved very quickly.
Solution-
Find a good varnish. Varnish is water resistant. Do not throw it in water and expect it to come out without damage.

Holds details moderately ok- Details like macaroon feets may 'spring back' a little. It's the resin in it.

Is heavy- Depends on whether you like heavy clay charms or not, because Grace is rather heavy.

Sticks well- I stuck the panda ears, hands, legs and tail together and they stuck well together after awhile. Very good (⌒_⌒) But do not pull on it and expect it to remain undamaged. It will have a whitish mark left (refer to my point on elasticity) 


Overall, Grace is a good clay! But if you are a beginner I think you should start with cheaper clay like Hearty Soft, with is really affordable and worth it as it is a big pack. (will do a Hearty review soon)

Downside of Grace

• Cracks
• Not water resistance
• Air may get into packaging even if unopened
• Can be hard to control to attain desired colour
• Costly

Upside of Grace

• Holds details relatively well
• Details will stick well
• Is sturdy and hard

I think Grace will be a good clay for miniatures! For a small tube is it quite costly, and since it is hard and sturdy, it is good to make minis out of Grace.

So that's it! Hope this review was informative for you! If you have any questions, do feel free to comment! Don't be shy (*´・ｖ・) This is my honest review and feedback based on my impressions. Feel free to Google up other reviews and compare! As I mentioned, whether this clay is good or not is relative to the user. Personally like the weight and sturdiness. 

Hope you enjoyed my review! Sorry it is so lengthy. I tend to ramble (;^-^ )

Enjoy your day!