{Make it} Leaf-embossed air-drying clay tree decorations

I can’t believe that I’ve never used air-drying clay before. I’ve written about it, admired other people’s creations and thought about what I’d like to try making with it, but somehow I’ve never quite had the opportunity. So with some craft-focused child-free time last week I made sure to order some DAS white air-drying clay on Amazon in plenty of time so I could give it a go for myself.

I started off with some alphabet stamps, which I used to make small gift tags (I’ll try to post these later this week, Christmas-schedule-craziness allowing). The clay is so simple to use, you just roll it out to about 1.5-2mm thick, use cookie cutters to cut out your shapes, make holes to thread when hanging (I used the blunt end of a wooden skewer) and leave them out to dry (I left mine near the radiator overnight). I had some fallen leaves and offcuts of cypress from the garden which I pressed into the clay to get a textured surface. Once they were dry , I made hanging loops from green embroidery thread and added them to our tree.

I made 10 gift tags and about 25 decorations using about half of the packet of air-drying clay so it’s really fantastic value for money, and I’ve sealed it up well so that it’s ready for my  next project.

Fancy some more Christmas craft and decorating inspiration? Head on over to Pinterest and follow my For Christmas board.