Bored of baubles? Putting a twist on tradition, these DIY air dry clay Christmas decorations by Emily Ashbourn are the pop of colour your tree needs. These decs tap into our most favourite pastime ever – snacking.
Finished with a generous sprinkling of glitter, they have the power to transform your tree in the most gloriously garish way. If you can’t go kitsch at Christmas, when can you? Whether you’re handy with polymer clay or it’s become a stranger since your school days, these are simple and fun to make. We have a beginners guide to polymer clay here on Gathered if you want a little help with using the clay. It's a great medium because it's so easy to use and quick to dry, meaning you can get your air dry Christmas decorations up straight away. Grab a couple of pals, chuck on your favourite cheesy Christmas tunes and let your inner child get to work.
If you become obsessed with air dry clay after this fun tutorial don't blame us! Luckily we've got DIY coasters, salt spoons and a tropical trinket bowl for you to make next. But first here's Emily and her air dry clay Christmas decoration tutorial.
You will need:
- Polymer clay in red, brown, white, copper, light green, dark green and black (we used FIMO in Ruby Quartz, Cognac, Translucent White, Pearl Rose Gold, Leaf Green, Jade Green and Black)
- Fine glitter in red and bronze
- Three eye pins
- Baking tray
- Baking parchment
- Craft knife
To make the pretzel, roll a sausage shape approximately 40cm (153⁄4") long using the brown polymer clay. Cut small chunks from the white polymer clay to create the pretzel salt.
Taking one end of the sausage in each hand, twist the ends around each other once, leaving tails approximately 5-6cm (2-23/8") long from the twist.
