Inquisitive Reader Interviews Eileen about Cornstarch Based Clays

The following interview developed out of a series of e-mails between Eileen and reader Marie, who had some excellent questions about homemade polymer clay recipes.

Marie: Thanks for the [cornstarch clay] recipes. I had been planning to look for a recipe to make this sort of clay and stumbled upon this one by chance. I am so glad you and the others have shared this. I can't wait to try it!

Eileen: Wow Marie, you’ve put me through my paces with your questions. But you've asked some really good ones and I enjoyed researching them. I had to contact my friend Raquel in Uruguay for an update on her work with vinegar as a substitute for formaldehyde in Pasta Francesa as well as consult several chemists regarding what makes a polymer a polymer. LOL.

Marie wanted more specifics on how to get the controversial formaldehyde out of the popular Pasta Francesa recipe, whether the cornstarch recipes made at home are true polymers (plastics), how to store, color and cure homemade cornstarch clays, the differences between the well-known commercial polymer clays and much much more.

You'll find the full interview here and Eileen’s first attempt to model Pasta Francesa made with vinegar in place of formaldehyde here.