There are not many times when I will categorically state that something is a bad craft. After all, a lot of homely, awkward crafts have their up sides, something to love about them. But in the case of dryer lint clay: no. Don't do this. It is gross and dumb and in all ways bad.
Your first hint is the first line of these instructions: "Start saving that dryer lint now." You know what? Don't. Don't start saving that dryer lint now.
To make dryer lint clay, you mix up a whole bunch of dryer lint with Elmer's glue, water, and dishwashing liquid. "Mix all this together, kneading if necessary." Just reading that line gives me the willies. Once again I urge you: do not mix all that together. Throw all that away.
Here is the thing: clay is not some magical, exquisitely priced substance. If you live in the right part of the country, you can literally make it out of the dirt in your yard. Even if you don't, you can buy polymer clay at the craft store for just a few dollars. You can buy large amounts of modeling clay for less than a dollar a pound.
Given that actual modeling clay is cheap and easily available, why would you make it yourself out of dryer lint?
Keep in mind that your finished dryer lint clay creation will be A) gross and B) flammable. And if you have pets it will be C) mostly made of pet hair. Why would anyone want to make something that is gross, flammable, and mostly made out of pet hair?
If you are the sort of person who cannot throw anything away, who relentlessly upcycles everything, then please know that dryer lint is compostable. And it will do the world a lot more good in your compost bin than it will being molded into a shape and sitting on your shelf (not too close to any lit candles).
Image courtesy Flickr/dumbeast
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