July 2020

Mmm…so air dry clay. Air dry clay is just one of those things I remember playing with as a child (usually the brown coloured one), but I can’t think of any recent experiences with it. That’s until I spotted a few interesting pins on Pinterest that caught my attention. I decided that it was definitely worth give this medium a try, but was’t interested in investing in expensive equipment, but rather using tools I already had in my possession.

I went through lots and lots of pins and tutorials, trying to figure out which appealed most – both aesthetically and technically speaking, and decided to try making three objects I could also find a practical element in preparing them- a trinket/jewelry bowl (desperately needed for organizing rings), a clay coaster (always need some of those), and a pair of clay earrings.

First, I picked up a packet of 500 g Das Air Clay.

I placed a small plastic bowl next to the clay, where I could wet my fingers before picking up a piece of clay.

I then rolled a piece of clay until it was about 3 mm- 4mm thick. Since clay tends to pick up almost EVERYTHING from the surface it’s rolled on, I found a spare floor tile on our balcony that turned out to be the perfect working surface (once scrubbed clean). If you don’t have a spare tile, I’d try rolling the clay on some parchment paper attached to table with removable sticky tape. BTW- If you have a pasta machine you barely use, you can press the dough using your machine. We actually own one but my husband didn’t like the idea of finding bits of clay in his pasta (: .

First item up- the jewelry dish. I actually tried rolling a paper doily first on top of the thinned out dough, but this turned out to leave a weak trace of a pattern that was barely noticeable. I didn’t have a crochet doily on hand (which would probable fan out much better) so instead I tried pressing a plastic serving dish my mom picked up at a party store a while ago. This time a lovely pattern appeared.

Pressing the serving dish on top of the thinned out air clay

I then started pinching the sides of the clay to create a small bowl. I used a damp wiping cloth and went over the clay to eliminate any unwanted dents and fingertips.

I let it dry for 24 hours (Ok, not exactly 24 hours I’m not a very patient person, maybe 16 hours (:). At this point the bowl seemed dry enough to be painted. I used some sandpaper to gently polish the bowl exterior, and then added a dab of gold paint with a marker to the edges.

After finishing the jewelry dish, I moved on to the second project – the clay coaster. I repeated the same steps again in prepping the clay – rolling a small portion of clay on the tile. I placed a dried lavender leaf (I dried the leaf between two books a few days prior), over the clay and rolled the roller to create the imprint.

I then waited for the clay to dry and again added a bit of gold paint to the patter.

Then I moved on to the last project- clay earrings. I cut out a few small circles with a small tube bead I had from a previous project (but anything round will do), and using a toothpick created small holes.

I tried painting the circles with the gold marker, but wasn’t satisfied with the final look, so I tried using some deco metal flakes and decoupage glue/varnish instead. This was my first time using metal flakes- very cool product! I’ve got to find additional uses.

I spread a thin layer of glue on the clay, then gently placed a leaf above and pressed with my fingers or small brush. I removed any excess clay with a knife.

I used a plier and some jump rings to assemble the earrings together.

Here are the three finished projects-

Air clay projects left to right- jewelry bowl, clay coaster, and clay earrings.

So the bottom line is- If you have some spare time on a weekend, air dry clay is a great medium for creating practical items you could either make for yourself or as gifts. Have a go at it yourself (:

So my next post will be about ear savers! As a physician, I spend most hours of the day with a mask on my face. I find that the most difficult part with wearing a mask around the clock is the strain the elastic causes on my ears. A fellow resident – Natalie – suggested I make a crochet ear saver (there are endless options if you search the phrase on Pinterest or Youtube), but I found crocheting an ear saver was too time consuming. I went on to search for a fabric version of the ear savers, and followed several tutorials to make a few samples of fabric ear savers for myself and fellow healthcare workers. I also tried making a few samples with large elastic bands instead of fabric, but found they tended to feel a bit flimsy when trying to attach them to the mask several times a day.

I found the cotton ear savers had the nicest feel- especially when worn over many hours, , however most cotton fabrics I owned (I used a lot of leftover scrap fabric from previous projects) tended to be light – medium weight and would crinkle and not retain their original size and texture when worn repeatedly, not to mention it was hard attaching the elastic strings to the buttons on the fabric.

I then came up with the following idea to help use up my cotton fabric stash with its pretty patterns, using some basic wiping clothes you can find just about anywhere.

You will need-

Light- medium weight cotton fabric- I used scrap fabric from previous projects, ironed before used.
Wiping clothes- I picked up a packet at the local convenience store. It said on the label they were both washable and reusable.
Two colourful buttons- at least 20mm-25mm in diameter.
Thread
Optional- sewing machine, cutting mat, rotary cutter, point turner.

Cut a 16x10cm rectangle from the cotton fabric. I actually created a stencil and then cut around it with a rotary cutter, but using a pen and scissors would work just fine. Btw- the pink pattern weight I made following tutorials I found online, you can see an example here- https://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2014/01/simple-easy-pattern-weights.html

I placed a stencil I created over the fabric a laid a fabric weight to keep it steady while I cut around the stencil with a rotary cutter.

Take the cotton rectangle, fold wrong side to wrong side (the side without the print) and sew the edges together at a 10mm/1 cm seam allowance, leaving a gap of about 5 cm in the middle of the longer edge.

Turn the fabric inside out through the gap, so the pretty side is now facing you. I used a point turner to smooth out the corners.

Now cut a similar rectangle from the wiping cloth. You can use any basic absorbent cleaning cloth, look for those that are washable.

Take the wiping cloth rectangle, fold in half, and remove 10-13mm from the edges.

Removing the edge of the folded wiping cloth

Step 4- Sew the edges of the wiping cloth together.

Insert the wiping cloth through the gap.

Topstitch the ear saver- best to stay close to the the edges so the gap closes properly. I actually should’ve stayed closer to the edges to ensure a proper seal.

Last but not least- add two buttons to each side either by hand or with a sewing machine.

Voila! Your very own padded ear saver.

Feel free to customise the size or materials, it’s a lot of fun experimenting!

Experimenting with Air Dry Clay – Easy Weekend Project

Padded Fabric Ear Savers