Frequently asked questions

What would you like to know?

How do I remove paint stains?

Accidents happen. With the steps below, you can remove paint stains from clothing (or other textiles).

Rinse the stain with cold water. Make sure to do this from the back of the stain, so that you will wash the paint from the fibres. If you rinse on top of the stain, you could push the pigments further into the fibres. That is also why you shouldn’t scrub on top of the stain. Rinse until no more colouring agents are released by the textile.
Is the stain still not gone? Lightly rub some stain remover into it (such Vanish Oxi Action or Ossengalzeep (ox gall soap)), before putting it in the washing machine.
Fill the washing machine with (preferably) liquid detergent and wash the clothing at a maximum of 40°C in the washing machine.
Do you still see the stain after washing it? Repeat steps 2 and 3.

Please note: do not use hot water, make sure the washing machine is no hotter than 40°C, do not iron the clothing and do not put it in the dryer. The heat will make the paint set in the clothing. That means that you won’t be able to wash it out.

Do you want to prevent paint stains (next time)? Give your students painting aprons or old clothing to wear, so a little stain won’t be a problem.

How can I remove modelling material end sand from carpet?

Regardless of the type of clay, first you can try to scrape the clay from the carpet with the flat edge of a knife. Always make sure to scrape towards the centre of the stain. If you scrape towards the edge of the stain, the stain could get bigger.

Is there still some clay on the carpet? Depending on the type of clay, we have a few more tips for you:

Ultra soft, Super soft and other types of clay based on wax: get a piece of kitchen paper and a blow-dryer. Wave the blow-dryer over the stain to warm it up. Once the stain is warm, you can dab it with the kitchen paper.
Do & dry or other air-drying clay: get a moist cloth and try to dab at the remnants. You could also keep scraping with the flat edge of a knife.
Therm soft or other types of clay based on synthetic material (plasticine): if there are still remnants of Therm soft clay on the carpet after scraping, you can try vacuuming.

Did you remove the clay from the carpet but are you still seeing a white stain or colour pigmentation from the clay? You can try a stain remover for oil-based/greasy products. Always follow the advice on the label of the stain remover.

To remove modelling sand from carpeting, it's important not to use water. Vacuum up the sand with a vacuum cleaner. If some sand remains stuck, use a stiff brush to loosen it and remove the last remnants with a vacuum cleaner

Are Creall paint and modelling material vegan?

Creall modelling material and paint are made without animal components, so that everyone can enjoy our products without any worries.

What is the shelf life of paint and clay?

Creall paint and modelling material have a guaranteed shelf life of 2 years, but usually you can keep using them for a few years afterwards. This also applies to Creall Fingerpaint and modelling clay types without preservatives. Do you have doubts if you can still use your product? Always use your nose and your eyes: does it not look right? Or does it smell strange? Then it’s better to stop using it.

So in principle you can continue using the modelling material for a long time. Are you using it in the classroom? Then it’s better to replace it more frequently. Children are usually a little less strict about hygiene, so if they’re all putting their hands in the clay, it can get dirty more quickly. That’s why we recommend putting a fresh bucket of modelling material in the classroom at least once every school year.

How long before air-drying clay is fully hardened?

That depends on how thick the clay project is. Is it 1 cm thick? Then it will be hard after about 24 hours. A clay project of 5 cm thickness will have to harden for about 3 to 4 days. The temperature and the humidity in the room where the project is, can also have an impact on the hardening process. If it’s warm, it’ll harden more quickly, if it’s very humid it’ll be slower.

Tips:

Ensure proper ventilation in the room where the clay project is
Put the project on an absorbing surface, so that the moisture will be absorbed
Is it still drying too slowly? You can also bake the project in a regular kitchen oven at 50-60°C (122-140°F).

Are Creall clay and paint made without preservatives?

The Creall Fingerpaint, Sculpt it! and Play it! modelling sand and all modelling material types are made without preservatives.

Why?
Children are sometimes sensitive or allergic to preservatives. They could get skin irritations or allergies from touching the products. In order to prevent that, we have adjusted our recipes to make Creall paint and clay safe and durable without adding preservatives.

Which paint and clay products are suitable for children with an allergy?

That depends on what they’re allergic to. All of our products are made without gluten, cow’s milk, latex and nuts. A lot of Creall glue products are also made without solvents. And we have various products without preservatives for kids who are allergic to those.

Do you have doubts if a certain product can be used with a certain allergy? Feel free to contact us. We’ll be happy to check it for you.

How sustainable are Creall paint and modelling materials?

We are constantly looking for ways to make our clay and paint more sustainable in a safe way. A few examples are our clay buckets that are made of recycled materials and our gouache and glue products that are made of mostly natural, non-harmful materials (98-100%).

Would you like to know more about our steps towards a sustainable future? You can read more about it here: https://www.havo.com/en/sustainability/.

Which modelling material is suitable for my students?

That depends on how much strength your students have in their hands. The modelling material that you give to your students has to correspond to that. If the clay is too hard or much too soft, your students may not be able to do a lot with it during your lessons or a creative afternoon.

Fortunately, our line of permanently soft clay types will offer the perfect clay for the strength that your students have in their hands. Ultra soft is our softest modelling material, and we recommend it for children from the age of 2. Super soft is a little firmer than Ultra soft and we recommend it from the age of 3. This modelling material is still nice and soft, and easy to knead. So both types are perfect for child care of kindergarten classes. For children from the age of 8, we have Therm soft. This is the firmest variety of our permanently soft modelling materials.

You can check the softness of our clay types on our product pages and clay buckets: from a little soft (one hand) to ultra-soft (3 hands).

Please note: the temperature may impact the hardness and softness of the modelling material. Cold will make the modelling material firmer, and warmth will make it softer.

For permanent pieces/projects
Are your students making something of clay that they want to keep or give away, like a present for Father’s Day or Mother’s Day? Then you should not go with permanently soft clay. Creall Therm soft can be baked in a regular oven at max. 130˚C/265˚F in 20-30 minutes. Do you not have an oven or would you prefer to not bake? Creall Do & dry is an air-drying clay. This variety is also a little more supple than the Therm soft and we recommend it for children from the age of 6. Once it’s dry, this clay is also ideal for painting.

What is the difference between finger paint, gouache, water paint and acrylic paint?

Water paint
Water paint has been around for centuries. The oldest cave paintings (made about 44,000 years ago) were already made with water paint. Water paint is made of a colour pigment and a lot of water, so that was easy to make even then. Other paints have substances added to make them more opaque. That’s not the case with water paint. That means that there’s also nothing in water paint that can decrease the colour strength. So this paint is transparent, but it does have bright colours. The way the paint flows on moist paper is very fun and interesting, especially for children. That’s why this paint is commonly used at schools.

Gouache
Sometimes you need paint to be opaque. That is why white pigment is added to water paint to make it opaque, and a binding agent is added to make the paint thicker. This basic method is still commonly used to make gouache. In comparison to other kinds of paint gouache is cheap, which makes the paint popular at schools. Students use it to learn to mix colours, paint, express themselves and develop their motor skills and creativity.

Finger paint
Finger paint is usually also made on a water base. In order to be able to paint with your fingers, the paint also has to be thicker than water paint or gouache. Otherwise, the paint would drip off your fingers before you can reach the paper. In order to stop children from putting their paint-covered fingers in their mouths and ‘eating’ the paint, usually a bitter agent is added to the paint. Since this paint comes into direct contact with your skin, it also has to be extra safe. That is why finger paint must comply with strict European regulations. So that is something to pay attention to if you’re looking to buy finger paint.

Acrylic paint
The biggest difference with the other types of paint is that acrylic paint is usually not made with a water base. Instead, it is based on acrylic resin. This makes acrylic paint more water resistant when it’s dry. So this paint is perfect for making projects that you want to enjoy for a long time. You can dilute this paint with water, and as long as it’s not dry you can clean the brushes with water.

How much clay do I need for a whole school year?

The amount of clay that you need for a whole year, depends on the number of students in your class. And of course it also depends on what you will be doing with the clay. Will students be making small or big projects? Will they keep reusing the clay or will they making permanent (craft) projects? Will each student get their ‘own’ piece of clay in their drawer? All things to consider when determining how much paint you will need.

To give you a general idea, we think that at least one big bucket of clay per year will be enough. Each bucket contains about 15 bars of clay: enough to give all your students one piece of clay or use clay in small assignments with the whole group. Do you teach multiple groups or do you want to use the clay for bigger projects? In that case it’s a good idea to get multiple buckets.

Are you getting one bucket of clay? This doesn’t automatically mean that you’re getting only one colour of clay. In our collection buckets, you’ll find five colours. This way you can apply the clay more widely, for example in assignments where colour is important.

What is the best way to store my modelling material?

The best way to store clay is in a sealed bucket, container or bag. This will keep the clay clean (no dust) and it won’t dry out as quickly. Especially with air-drying clay, like Creall Do & dry, that is very important.

The temperature of the room also has an impact on your clay. If it’s warm, the clay will be a lot softer. And if it’s cold, the clay will be harder. The ideal temperature for using the clay is between 15°C and 25°C, but it’s better to store the clay cooler than that. If you do store it at cooler temperatures, keep in mind that this will make the clay firmer. You can knead it to ‘warm it up’ and make it supple and easy to use again. Do you want to let your students warm up the clay? Then you should give them a smaller piece. This is a lot easier to warm up than a big bar of clay.

Are Creall paint and clay made without gluten, latex, peanuts and cow’s milk?

Yes, are products are made without any gluten, latex, peanuts and cow’s milk.

Is your question not on the list?

Feel free to send us an email via the form on this page. We will be happy to answer your questions.

Send