DIY Air Dry Clay Paperweights.
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Air Dry Clay Stone Paperweights.
Happy Friday everybody. I've got another air dry clay craft to share with you today. This time it's diy embossed clay stone paperweights.
Last summer I collected a whole bunch of stones from the beach. I had originally planned to make these with them but I never managed to get around to it and instead they were left gathering dust on a shelf.
I finally decided to do something with them last week and I can't tell you how glad I am that I did. I think these diy embossed clay stone paperweights might be my favourite air dry clay project to date, my stamped clay bowls have finally been knocked off their number 1 spot.
Keep reading to see how I made them.
Supplies:
Stones or Pebbles
Air-dry clay (sometimes also called paper clay),
A selection of stamps - I used these ones.
Optional: Polyurethane Varnish for crafts
1. Start by kneading your air-dry clay until it is soft and easy to work with.
2. Wrap and press flat pieces of clay around your stone.
This part can be a bit tricky, try to keep the clay as close as possible to the surface of the stone, any gaps or air bubbles will be weak spots on your paperweights when they dry.
The more you handle air dry clay the drier it becomes so if you have any trouble getting the clay to stick to the stone use a little water first to wet the clay.
Use small pieces of clay to patch up any gaps and smooth any joins with some more water.
3. Stamp your design onto the clay.
I found it worked best if I rolled or rocked the stamp onto the clay to compensate for the uneven shape.
I overlapped the stamp until the whole piece was covered.
In the places where I'd pressed too hard and the sides of the stamp had left a mark I smoothed it out using a little more water.
4. Leave to dry.
If you've used this clay before you'll know that it's supposed to take 24 hours to dry but it usually takes longer depending on the thickness of the clay and the humidity.
I left these to dry on a windowsill for around 4/5 days, the smaller one dried much faster than the larger ones. Make sure to turn them over so the bottoms have a chance to dry as well.
When the air dry clay dries it changes from an off white/grey colour to a matte, white finish so you should be able to tell when it's completely dry.
I really like the white, matte finish so I left mine as they are but you could customise them any way you like.
They could easily be painted with some acrylic paint and sealed using a polyurethane varnish for a gloss finish or you could highlight the pattern by applying a darker wash of colour on top and then rubbing it away from the raised areas.
