Making clay Christmas decorations?

vikki_louise · 25 July 2020 at 9:31PM

I posted in crafting about where is the cheapest place for Fimo but then thought actually this might be a better section to ask in. For those who make Christmas tree decorations out of some kind of clay what do you use? I used Fimo today but it’s probably going to work out at £1.50+ per a gingerbread man and I wanted to be able to give them to lots of people. What do others use? Also what hook/eye do you add to hang it by if it’s a design where poking a hole in it won’t work. Thank you :Xmas tree:

Katiehound · 26 July 2020 at 10:54AM

Would air dried clay work? You can paint it and varnish it but it probably isn't quite as robust as Fimo. Looks like Works have 1kg DAS for £4. DAS also comes in terracotta which might almost be gingerbread man colour? That would make a fair number of ornaments- then paint with acrylic paint or for a cheaper option you might try emulsion tester pots.

A totally different option would be to use salt dough. Very cheap but it degrades over the years because it needs to be kept in a dry atmosphere. Again you can paint with poster paint, acrylic & varnish. Slow cook in a cool over for a loooong time!!
Both these methods probably take more time as you need to add colour!

When I made dough ornaments I used to poke 1/2 paperclip in the top for the loop

If you google 'cheaper options for Fimo' there are some sets of colours such as Baker Ross & other Polymer clay kits.

Katiehound · 26 July 2020 at 12:50PM

I've typed a comment about 5 times now!, You can make a cheaper alternative with cornflour & PVA glue.
I think you need to google it because each time I add the web address here it takes me straight there and I lose this message!!
Creative Cat has a good video. She cooks it, adds vinegar/lemon as preservative and some oil, then works it with oiled hands. Certainly worth a watch. She also uses many kinds of colourants. I will try to add youtube link below!