{DIY} Air Dry Clay

 

Last weekend I attended the cutest art fair here in Milwaukee and discovered such talented artists. I came across tons of clay hanging planters, pots, and plates. I searched the internet, primarily Pinterest, to look for the material used to make these cute little projects. My research of course lead me to Michael's and Joann's were I purchased my first package of Air Dry Modeling Clay. There are tons of choices out there with all different price points and different colors to chose from. I ended up with what you see below. It was super easy to work with and it is pure white.

As soon as I got home I ripped it open and started thinking "what could I do with this clay". Well I ended up making several things actually. They all turned out pretty cute.

First I started with a hanging planter--I just cannot get enough of those things. I want them everywhere.

::Directions::
-You want to figure out how large you want your circular plate to be. I took about a golf ball size amount of clay and rolled it out flat until it was approximately 1/4 inch thick.
-Then I used a coffee mug to create the circle. Feel free to use any shape or size that you want.
- Lastly I used a straw to punch through the clay to create the holes.

At this point you need to let it dry completely before doing anything else. It dries to the touch in 24 hours but it took my planter 72 hours to dry completely.

Once it is 100% dry you can use sandpaper to even out any imperfections. Go ahead and paint it if you would like as well. Make sure you are using an acrylic paint that can be used on glass/clay. For this specific project I opted to use just a sharpie paint marker to create a very simple triangle.

I used Realeather deerskin lace (can be bought at Joann's) to threat through the holes and hung it from the ceiling.

You want to make sure to double knot the underneath so that it is secure.

Then go ahead and add an air plant or a succulent pot.

I don't want to leave you with just that. I also followed the same steps again making it quite a bit larger (minus the holes) and rolling my grandmothers doily over the clay. It created such a beautiful pattern. I let it dry inside of a bowl to keep its shape.

After it was completely dry I hand painted each raised part with Martha Stewart's Acrylic Paint -- Mother of Pearl.

And lastly, a mini bowl for our wedding rings. This time I rolled a different doily on the back side and let it sit in a smaller bowl. Finished it off with some letter stamps and black ink.