Create beautiful personalized Christmas ornaments from air dry clay with inspiring words and festive designs!
These charming handmade decorations feature custom messages and stamped patterns that make meaningful tree ornaments, garlands or even gift tags.
Air Dry Clay Ornament Materials
Gather these supplies to create your clay Christmas ornaments:
Essential Supplies:
- Air dry clay (white)
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters (festive shapes like stars, trees, circles, hearts, gingerbread men)
- Optional: Decorative stamps (snowflake, tree, or other festive designs)
- Paintbrush
- Twine or ribbon for hanging
- Black permanent marker (fine tip)
- Scissors
How to Make Your Air Dry Clay Christmas Ornaments
This craft is perfect for teens and adults, creating personalized holiday decorations.
Step 1: Roll Out the Clay
- Take a portion of air dry clay and knead it briefly to soften
- Place the clay on a clean, flat work surface
- Use a rolling pin to roll the clay to approximately ¼ inch thickness
- Keep the thickness even throughout for uniform ornaments
Step 2: Cut Out Ornament Shapes
- Optional: Press your stamps onto the clay
- Press your chosen cookie cutter firmly into the rolled clay
- Choose festive shapes like stars, trees, circles, hearts, or gingerbread men
- Pull the excess clay away from the the shapes
- Repeat to create as many ornaments as desired
Step 3: Create the Hanging Hole
- Use the back end of your paintbrush to push through the clay
- Pierce a hole near the top of your ornament shape
- For stars, pierce near a top point; for circles or hearts, pierce near the top edge
- Push the paintbrush handle all the way through to create a clean hole
- Make the hole large enough to thread ribbon through later
Step 4: Smooth the Edges
- Dip a small paintbrush in water
- Gently brush water along the cut edges of each ornament
- Smooth any rough or uneven edges with the wet brush
- This creates a clean, polished finish on your ornaments
Step 5: Let Clay Dry Completely
- Place ornaments on a flat drying surface
- Allow to air dry for 24-72 hours, depending on thickness and humidity
- Turn ornaments over halfway through drying time for even drying
Step 6: Write Personalized Messages
- Once completely dry, use black permanent marker to write on the ornaments
- Write inspiring words like “PEACE,” “JOY,” “LOVE,” “BLESSED,” “DREAM,” or “RISEN”
- Write names, dates, or special messages
- Allow marker ink to dry completely before handling
- You can also add colored markers or even paint at this point.
Step 7: Add Hanging Ribbon
- Cut a length of twine or ribbon (approximately 8-10 inches)
- Thread through the hole and tie ends together to create a hanging loop
- Trim excess ribbon if needed
- Your ornament is now ready to display
Display and Gift Ideas
These personalized clay ornaments make wonderful handmade gifts and keepsakes! Consider:
- Hanging them on your Christmas tree
- Creating a set with different inspirational words
- Packaging as thoughtful gifts for friends and family
- Using as gift tags with recipients' names
- Creating a garland by stringing multiple ornaments together
- Making matching ornaments for a cohesive tree theme
Final Thoughts on These Air Dry Clay Christmas Ornaments
These air dry clay Christmas ornaments bring personalized meaning to your holiday decorations with custom messages and beautiful stamped designs.
The simple white clay with black lettering creates an elegant Scandinavian-inspired look that families will treasure for years to come as handmade keepsakes that celebrate the season's special messages.
