Ideas From Clay – You too will fall in love with this adorable polymer clay fruit! Let’s make cute charms, jewelry and more! (Really great gift ideas!)
If you’re feeling crafty, add this gnome mug top to your to-do list. Creating gnomes is always a good idea. Clay is on the workbench, so why not?!
Ideas From Clay
Here at Ruffles and Rain Boots, we’re obsessed with all things small and cute. That’s why these lovely clay fruit ideas are always on our minds. We love making these baby fruits as fun pendants or as little daddies to keep on the table.
Air Drying Clay Project Idea: Embossed Lavender Display Cones
If you’re looking for a simple activity that’s perfect for fun polymer clay crafts, making clay fruit should be on your radar. Let’s get started!
Do I have to come back to this question later? That is understandable. Pin this to your favorite craft board on Pinterest so it’s ready and waiting when you have time.
Once you get started, you’ll see how easy it is to make cute polymer clay charms!
All your shares help the development of this site. Thanks! Keep spreading the word by sharing on Facebook or pinning to your favorite boards on Pinterest. It all started some time ago when I was reading one of my favorite books (Mindful Thinking for Artists, Georgina Hooper). And I had that feminine urge to come out of my shell and try another form of art, so I wrote this in my notes:
15+ Polymer Clay Ideas For Adults
I gave up on the idea for a while, but I seriously started looking for a pottery studio that I couldn’t find in the city.
However, I did not give up and looked for an alternative and eventually came across air-dried clay. A few days later, a close friend of mine (who is also a painter) posted a video of him sculpting clay and I was like bingo, I need this. So I asked her and she was kind enough to give me details on where I could get supplies and jazz.
A few days later, after getting all the necessary materials and watching every YouTube video with the words air dry clay in the title, I was finally able to give it my first try. And I loved it.
It was a very therapeutic but exciting process and really reawakened my love of crafts and DIY that I had as a child.
Diy Air Dry Clay Wavy Painted Bowl
This was my first piece of air dried clay and I’m obsessed with how perfectly imperfect it looks (yes, because it broke later :)).
With that said, here’s a beginner’s guide on how to get started with clay and have fun with it. We’ve also included a list of easy clay project ideas (with photos) that even beginners can try.
For those who are beginners or trying clay for the first time, we have selected these ideas for air drying clay projects. I was there a while ago
These are some of the ideas I kept for myself so you can try recreating them with air dry clay. Share with me in the comments the first air dry clay project you intend to make ❤ Excited to know. I spent the whole summer with clay in my hands. I had so much fun working with my mom, a retired art teacher, to teach 14 clay-based elementary school art lessons. Get inspired by these basic ideas for clay projects. Check out the project highlights and how to buy ready-made art lessons for beginners and art units for beginners at the click of a button. Other basic features can be found here and clay projects can also be found here.
Trying Out Different Polymer Clay Ideas
You can’t skip the clay in kinder. It can be daunting to imagine working with 5 and 6 year olds to control the chaos that is the excitement of clay. However, the advantage of working at this grade level is that they often come with a parapara or teacher’s aide. You can ask your parents to help you on Clay Day or you can ask your parents to help you on Clay Day.
Kindergarten Clay is about learning how to shape and manipulate clay. You don’t have a lot of options for winding thin reels or controlling the thickness. It’s better to be thicker. Make your way through rolling clay balls, fat reels and more. How do I flatten it until it is the thickness of a finger or a little thicker than a pencil?
My clay dragonfly and clay flower pot projects are perfect for preschoolers because they can accommodate thicker shapes. To join the shapes, simply fill with clay to create a flat surface. You can imagine the excitement when you flip the design and the shape remains on the other side.
Skip the kinder frosting. Instead, apply one coat of clear glaze to the clay or one coat of Mod Podge to the air-dried clay. After firing or drying, designs can be added to the glazed clay with markers and colored with pencil on the air-dried clay.
Oven-baked Clay Ideas
When students start working with clay in first grade, they already have some experience with clay in kindergarten. Based on the learned techniques, you can start working on coil rolling.
Keep the thickness of the reel constant and make sure it is not too thin. Make sure the coil is about the thickness of your finger. Use these coils to create fun turtle shell designs. All you need to add are the legs, tail and head. Or use coils to create different patterns on a flat design, smooth one side and flip to reveal the design. Place the design on a ball of paper towel and allow to dry to form a bowl.
If you have a stove, introduce your students to basic sketch colors. The advantage of underpainting with glaze is that it does not move. Students can apply color to specific areas or patterns without the risk of the colors melting or melting as with standard glazes. Add a clear coat to add shine.
If you don’t have a kiln, simply paint the air-drying clay project with acrylic paint or decorate it with pencils. You can also use polymer clay for your coil bowls, but limit yourself to no more than three colors of each to quickly create colorful designs.
20 Easy Clay Craft Ideas
Continue to develop your clay skills in second grade. Polish reel with frame design. This is one of my favorite projects. Because I used to do it with my mom when I was in second grade (see the Baby Me pic above!). It’s very personal for students, so they can take it home as a gift to their parents or guardians. Show students how to use coils to make pattern designs.
Learn board construction and move on to new techniques. Roll out the clay to the thickness of a pencil or press it. Cut shapes to create unique fish and decorate them in the style of Oaxacan art. I love how art history is incorporated into this project.
One of my favorite no-glaze techniques is to dilute white tempera or acrylic paint with water, apply it to the coil design and wipe off with a wet sponge. The white color highlights the bottom of the coil design and creates a vintage look on the flat sections. Red clay is perfect for this technique. Polymer clay is also a great alternative to air drying for creating fun frames with bold colors.
For the Oaxaca Fish project, skip the frosting day again by applying one coat of clear frosting and baking or applying Mod Podge. Create Oaxacan-inspired patterns using a Sharpie on clear frosting or a pencil on Mod Podge.
Summer Fairy House Idea & Tutorial
In third grade, students will further experiment with making clay patterns and adding patterns using surface textures. In my Coilly Top Pinch Pot lesson, I will take the 2D coil design concept from my coil frame project and turn it into 3D using it to decorate the top of my pot. You can check out the standard clay version here and the air dry clay version here.
I love lizard, snake and crocodile projects. Because this project gives students creative freedom. They choose which of the three animals they want to create. Once you’ve fashioned your animal from the thick rings, experiment with different tools to see what patterns you want to add to your animal. After three years of coil focused clay projects, at this point they are coil rolling pros.
When using paint to decorate a project, students have more freedom to choose colors and enhance patterns. This is a great time to discuss the color wheel and what colors go well together.
In fourth grade, students begin building the base of their pots by creating hollow shapes using two pots. They start the school year by practicing pinch pots again and making portrait pinch pots.