Chefs save the water used to boil pasta to flavor and thicken sauces. Bring this same mentality of using scrap materials to your creative practice by making your own recycled, recyclable, and compostable modeling materials using leftover kitchen and art supplies with a blender.

I created the Cai Modeling Materials because I was tired of breathing in plastic dust while making models as more and more data came out about the harm caused by microplastics. They are DIY  alternatives to plastic-based modeling materials that you can make at home or in a studio. Cai Clay is an alternative to air drying clays and Cai Board is an alternative to sheet foam.

This 48 page eBook walks you through how to make both materials. It provides alternative ingredients for making them so that you can choose whatever is most accessible and affordable for you. It also provides 5 recipes for compostable homemade glue, all while encouraging experimentation and guiding you through ways of re-thinking your household waste. 

This eBook will be available for download upon purchase.

Chapters

1. Preface
2. Intro
3. Building Knowledge
4. Equipment
5. Safety
6. Sourcing Waste Materials
7. Binders
8. Starter Recipes
9. Cai Board Guidelines for Making It Your Own
10. Cai Board Recipes
11. Cai Clay Guidelines for Making It Your Own
12. Cai Clay Recipes
13. Troubleshooting
14. Molding & Drying
15. Gluing
16. Finishing
17. After Life
18. Conclusion

Which version is right for you?

A printed workbook version that is 124 pages long and contains five extra chapters is also available. The eBook only cursorily covers coloring the Cai Modeling Materials and does not discuss making Cai Clay as a paint for use with stencil printing and stamping. Most chapters in the printed workbook contain extra content not in the eBook. Compare the tables of contents for both books to see if the eBook or the printed workbook will better suit your needs.

Want both the eBook and the Printed workbook? Check out the listing for the printed workbook.