Today’s project is part of our Monthly DIY Challenge series. If you’re new here, each month we get together with a few other fabulous bloggers to each make a project based on the same item or theme. This month we’re working with air dry clay.
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This was our first time working with air dry clay and we had no idea what to expect. We worked with this brand of air dry clay, but some of the other girls used Crayola brand.
I was fairly certain that anything I tried to make with clay would look like a preschooler made it, so I decided to keep it simple and make these tags that could be used on a gift, as a keychain, or even as an ornament.
One thing I was surprised by when working with the clay was how sticky it was. I used a rolling pin to roll it flat on my kitchen counter and it was so completely stuck to the counter I could barely scrape it off. I thought it would be similar to working with cookie dough or even play-doh but it was much stickier (which is probably normal for clay, I just didn’t know what to expect).
The second time I rolled it out, I rolled it onto a gallon size ziplock bag, and it was easier to peel the tags off after I cut them. The other girls had good luck rolling it onto wax paper, but I was out so improvised with the ziplock bag.
I used a circle cutter from my kid’s play-doh toy stash, but any type of cookie cutter, a cup or even a shot glass would work. I used a drinking straw to create the small hole at the top for the twine.
We have this inexpensive alphabet stamp set and I used it to add words to the tags.
Even though the package says air dry, I’m impatient and decided to try drying the tags in my oven on the lowest setting and it worked great. I let it bake for a couple hours and it was mostly dry. I left one on the counter overnight just to see how long it took to dry and it was still really wet the next morning.
The clay never became “white”, but I actually prefer the natural color. I also noticed that every imperfection and fingerprint stayed on the tags through the drying process. I didn’t necessarily expect them to disappear, but it made me wish I had taken a bit more time cleaning them up before drying.
I did use a fine grit sanding block to clean up the edges once they were dry. I gave them a quick coat of GF poly, then rubbed a little dark wax over the top with a paper towel, taking care to get it inside all the lettering.
So would I work with air dry clay again? Meh.. I’m on the fence. I’m not really good at sculpting things, and while I didn’t have any issues with the dried clay breaking, a few of the other girls did. We had some pretty funny text messages going on behind the scenes. After reading the Amazon reviews, it looks like it’s not really known for its durability. If I were going to the trouble of making something with clay again I would probably look into a polymer clay which is supposed to be more durable. If you have experience with different clay products and/or their durability, I’d love to know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Ready to see what the other girls made? Just click the photos below to see the full blog posts for each project.
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I love how these turned out! The dark wax was a great idea for giving them perfect aged look.
Thanks Katie!!
What kind of dark wax do you use?
I used Annie Sloan, but any brand should work.
What dark wax did you use? Thanks for the help!
I love these tags Amy! I never would have thought to use wax on clay! I love how it makes them look aged!
Thanks, Nicole! The wax made a huge difference in how they looked.
SUCH a pretty project, Amy! Great idea to use rubber stamps, too. More bang for your buck since you aren’t limited to using the letters just on clay.
Thanks Bre! The little stamps worked out perfectly.
I totally want to buy an alphabet stamping kit now! And I really like that you used dark wax on the clay. I would never have thought to do that…
The little stamping kits are so fun! Really inexpensive too. You need one!
I am absolutely in love with these little tags….the dark wax makes the entire tag look perfect. I’ve never had good luck with air dry clay, but am a big fan of polymer clay. The fingerprints are a little easier to get out of the polymer, in my opinion. Oh….and it works really well to use a piece of glass out of an old picture frame to roll the clay on. Everything peels right off and doesn’t move around on you like the wax paper or ziploc.
I definitely need to try polymer clay. Great tip to use an old piece of glass! Definitely going to try that next time.
I really love the natural feel of these tags – they look like you could buy them at Anthropologie or something! Perfect gift tags 🙂
Thanks Erica!
I second the Anthro vibe 🙂 These will be PERFECT for the holidays!!
Thanks Emily!
I bought an inexpensive alphabet set recently, and your post has inspired me to make clay tags. Thanks for giving helpful tips about how this clay actually performed and for sharing that you used dark wax to highlight the stamped letters.
Judith
I love hearing that, Judith! Can’t wait to see what you make!
I’m sorry you had so much trouble with your clay but these turned out super cute! And such a great idea to use the dark wax on them!
These are so awesome Amy! I love the natural look and the different words you used for each piece. They’re really pretty. I can’t wait to try these. Hugs, CoCo
I love these, Amy!! They’d be perfect for so many things.. from gifts to decor to using at Christmastime! Have a great week, friend!
this may be a silly question as from other comments people appear to know the answer to this already but what type of wax did you use?
Hi Lauren! Not a silly question at all and I should have made it clear in the post. It’s Annie Sloan’s brand of dark wax. Any dark wax would work though. Hope that helps!
The clay tags turned out so cute ! I think that we’re all overly critical of our own work – you did a
fantastic job, not only making them but photographing them. You mentioned using a dark wax
to highlight the letters, what kind or brand should I pick up. Can’t wait to try this + thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Donna! I really appreciate that. I used Annie Sloan’s dark wax because that’s what I already had but I think any brand would work. Hope you have a great week!
I just googled the Annie Sloan wax – thank you ! I always attempt to tie tags with that
pretty loop that you have shown – not sure what that technique is called – maybe you
could do a tutorial on that lol ! I tried to find one on Youtube but not sure what it’s called
or what to search for lol ! Really looks professional and gives a finished look.
Im going to use the polymer clay as you suggested + make these for a fund raiser
for my sons school. It’s a special needs school for students with Autism. This will be a
great Christmas project for the students, they are young adults learning new skills.
Thank you again + I can’t wait to try this with the students !
xx Donna
Hey Donna! I love that you’re using this project for a fundraiser at your son’s special needs school. Seriously LOVE it. Thanks so much for sharing that with me! I hope you guys have so much fun making them! Oh, and for the loops.. just cut a piece of twine, fold it in half and push the center section through the hole in the tag. You’ll now have a loop of twine sticking out of the other side of the hole. Push the two ends of the twine through that loop and pull. Then you just have to tie the ends together. Super easy, pretty loops!
These are amazing!! I am definitely going to make these. I just want to be clear though. You put the only on 1st and then the dark wax to bring out the letters. The lettering is Perfect! I hope I can do it as nice as yours!
Thank you, Allison! That’s exactly right- I did poly first to seal them then dark wax over top. It just aged them a bit like in the pics :).
Love these wee tags. Once the tags were dry, did you give them a coating ( sheen) perhaps if what did you use. Unsure how the wax is applied, can you expand on that process as well. Thanks in advance DS.
Thanks Deb! I sealed the tags with General finishes high performance top coat (link to the product in the article), then aged them with a tiny bit of dark wax once the poly was dry. You could use any poly to seal them, that’s just what I had on hand.
Hello,
Please, how do you get this darker effect on the letters?
Beautiful the tags!
Hi Lilian! I just rubbed a bit of dark wax on them with a paper towel. I used Annie Sloan brand, but any dark wax will do. Make sure you seal the tags with a water based poly before applying the wax or the clay will soak up the stain in the wax and turn the whole tag brown.
I Needed a little tag for a scripture reference for around a little sheep’s neck….for a women’s retreat.& these are so cute and a perfect idea for what I need..thanks ♥️
Honestly…beautiful!
I wish you had taken a picture of how you used the dark wax. I have never used it before. Do you have a YouTube Chanel?
Hi Kari! I don’t have a YouTube channel (that’s a great idea!), but applying the wax was super easy. I just scooped up some clear wax on a paper towel wrapped around my finger- wiped it on then used a clean paper towel to wipe off the excess. Then I did the same with the dark. Just a paper towel wrapped around my finger, rubbed it all over the tag then wiped the excess off. I hope that helps!