A Tip for Recycling PMC Silver Clay

PMC (Precious Metal Clay), or silver clay, is a recycled product.  See my posts here and here for details about how it originated.  It is so much fun to play with (I mean work with) this product.  You can imprint just about anything into the clay, put it in a kiln, and it comes out looking like this...

One of my favorite things about PMC is that you can actually recycle and reuse your "mistakes" (pieces that were chipped or just didn't turn out right).  I had been saving those "mistakes" for just such an occasion.  I read countless tips about how to reconstitute unused dried clay - adding distilled water to the clay, wrapping it in cling wrap and waiting for it to magically turn into the expensive clay that I had bought.  It didn't work as I had planned.  I found it difficult to get the right consistency. Using a little rolling pin (pvc pipe) to press out the lumps helped, but the clay was too sticky to work. It kept clinging to my hands, until... 

I discovered a new tool - the toothpick!  I kept working the clay, poking it with the toothpick, exposing it to air to dry it out, then spraying with water for more moisture. Voila!  I came pretty close to re-creating the original product.  Here are a couple of photos of my new discovery and how it worked for me:

I especially loved how once the clay was in ball form, I was able to use the toothpick like a handle and pick up all the loose bits of dried clay that sticks to the cling wrap.

Hope this tip helps those out there who are frustrated with the challenging process of reconstituting pmc.