DIY Gift: Accessory Clay Plates

Seven days to go before Christmas! It’s the final stretch when we find ourselves busy wrapping presents, attending parties left and right, exchanging gifts with loved ones and also caught in heavy, frustrating traffic everywhere we go. It’s horrible, alright. I have a number of friends who did all their shopping online to save on gas and precious time. Kayo and I did some shopping online too, but we still hit the stores last weekend and while the shopping itself was not a nightmare, the bad traffic was! I’m glad that I’ve decided to make gifts for a significant number of people in my list this year and that I started working on them early. It saved me time and money!

If you’re looking for DIY gifts to give away because you refuse to go to the mall and you want something special and personal but easy and inexpensive, perhaps these decorative clay plates which I made for some of my dear girlfriends are just what you need!

I used DAS air dry modelling clay in white which is available online at Hey Kessy or at the shop at Loyola Heights. It’s quite easy to use and very affordable. There aren’t any directions on the pack but basically, you just mold it into whatever shape you desire, let it dry out for 24 hours and then paint or stamp on it. I chose to make little plates which are decorative but can also be used to hold accessories.

I used acrylic paint in tubes for this project and some metallic gold and silver brush pens for the details which are Moroccan inspired patterns. Some are more minimalist and Scandi in style, leaving them all white with silver or gold foliage.

These were fun and relaxing to make, also super easy! If you cannot wait 24 hours for it to dry completely, you can even stick the molded clay into the oven for half an hour to bake. With a pack of 500 grams of clay, I made 13 pieces of plates 4-5 inches in diameter and about 5 mm thick each.

These accessory plates are just one idea. There are so many other things you can create with a pack of air dry clay, but whatever you choose to make, remember that handmade presents, specially when carefully and lovingly done for the recipient, say a lot about the giver. Yes, it can be really inexpensive but it always involves time and effort. So if you’ve decided to make some or even all of your presents this year, you are giving a piece of yourself to your loved ones, therefore, it is valuable.

I wish you all a merry, meaningful, stress-free and creative Christmas! Happy crafting! 🙂