Crafting with Air Dry Clay: How to Make Easy Ornaments

Find the easy steps to make ornaments using air dry clay.  A fun craft project that can be customized to your décor for a themed, seasonal or Christmas tree.

Whooooo besides me enjoys an easy and fun craft project? 🦉

We had some frigid temps with the mercury dipping down into the ‘teens. . .

good weather for ‘nesting’ indoors and working on a craft project!

These Air Dry Clay Ornaments are easy to make, joining my parliament of owls

to hang on our Winter Nesting Tree.

With March just a few days away, it’s time for our tree to come down,

but I’m sharing this easy DIY and method that you can refer back to, to make Christmas or

‘winter’ ornaments, that you can customize to your décor or themed tree.

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To make this Air Dry Clay Ornaments,

I used basically the same method as with my Air Dried Clay Flower Frogs,

using wood molds instead of cookie cutters.

If you’re not familiar with air dry clay, it doesn’t require oven baking

and dries to the touch in 24 hours, drying completely within 72 hours

depending on the temperature, humidity and size of your piece.

I used DAS Air Hardening Modeling Clay

in white, but it’s also available in terra cotta and stone gray

in 1.1 lb. blocks or 2.2 lb. blocks.

This fun project is where baking meets crafting!

You’ll need a rolling pin, cookie molds, bench scraper and

bamboo skewer or plastic straw to make a hole for hanging your ornaments.

I used my silicone baking mat to roll out the clay to keep it from sticking

or you can use a nonstick silicone craft mat.

Bird Carved Wooden Mold

Note: I bought these wooden cookie molds for Tea on Tuesdays, but have yet to bake in them!

To make your ornaments, pinch off handful of clay from the block straight from the package, enough to fill the shape of the mold. Roll it into a ball and press into your mold. Press your clay firmly into your mold with your hand, then use your rolling pin to really apply pressure on the clay so all the embossed details in your mold are transferred onto your clay.

Using a bench scraper (or putty knife), scrape off the excess clay from the back of your mold to make it level and flat and unmold your design. Any excess clay can be reworked into another ornament.

If you don’t like your impression, you can reroll and rework your clay, starting over until you get the results you like.

Owl Carved Wooden Mold

 If your clay ornament has some hairline cracks or wrinkles on the surface that are undesirable, you can smooth them out by applying a little water with your finger. Use just a little water at a time on the surface of the clay, until the wrinkles or cracks smooth out and disappear.

Pinecone Carved Wooden Mold  

Make a hole in the top of the ornaments after unmolding, using a plastic straw or bamboo skewer.

Tip: For faster drying, place your clay ornaments

on a metal cooling rack so the air can circulate underneath them while they’re curing.

All air-dry clays are water-based so they require sealing so they’re moisture-resistant.

After your ornaments are dry you can paint them however you like.

I used some acrylic craft paint I had in my stash. After applying a base coat of paint and letting it dry,

I dry brushed a lighter or darker coat to highlight the relief and embossed details on the ornaments.

If you’re not familiar with ‘dry brushing’, it’s a paint technique using an almost dry brush.

Dip the ends of your brush in the paint, then blot your brush on some paper towels,

wiping most of the paint off, before lightly dragging your brush over the surface.

You can apply light multiple coats, building your layers until you achieve the look you want.

You can also use some Rub ‘n Buff to highlight the embossed details.

For a fun comparison, I painted the base coat of this owl white and highlighted

the details by dry brushing brown,

in contrast to the other owl, that was painted brown, then dry brushed in white.

After the paint was dry, give your ornaments a coat of acrylic spray sealer

on both sides to protect the finish and from moisture.

Follow the manufacturer’s directions for applying your sealer.

Hang your ornaments on your tree with ribbon of choice; I found my ribbon at Michaels.

 I got 8 ornaments out of a 1.1 lb package of clay.

Note: Tightly wrap any unused clay in the foil packs and store in an airtight container or resealable bag to use within 3 months

This is a fun and easy project with the most time-consuming part

waiting for the clay to cure and dry between coats of paint and sealer!

If you need to retire your old rolling pin, I love my Rolling Pin with Adjustable Thickness Rings!

It allows you to roll your piecrust, cookie dough or air dry clay for 

DIY Mason Jar Flower Frogs in an even thickness!

The stainless steel tube is easy to clean and gives your dough for a smooth, even surface.

Bonus: it also comes with a pastry mat.

Happy Crafting!

Thank you for your visit!

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