April 08, 2015

DIY Painted Air Dry Clay Bowls.

April 08, 2015/ Emma

Painted Air dry Clay Bowls.

So, I think we all know by now how much I love making things out of air-dry clay. It's really easy to use and you can make so many different things with it (here are 6 of my favourites).

Today I thought we'd go back to basics and make the classic DIY clay bowl. There are a lot of different versions out there including these marbled ones, these cute little bunnies and my own ink stamped ones but today I'm going to show you how to make a smooth, hopefully wrinkle-free clay bowl you can decorate any way you like.

I know the last time I made these a few of you had trouble getting the clay not to wrinkle and bunch together so this time we're going to make the bowls by forming the clay to the outside of the bowl instead of the inside.

I found this to be a much easier way to get a smooth finish to the clay and hopefully you'll think so too.

As always if you have problems or any questions please pop them in the comments below and to Julie, if you're reading, who emailed me asking about using gloss varnishes with air dry clay hopefully this post answers your questions.

I tried replying several times but my email kept being sent back saying your address wasn't recognised. I'm really sorry about that. I've also linked to a few gloss varnish alternatives at the bottom of the post for those of you that don't want to go the diy route.

Things you'll need to make your own Diy Hand-Painted Glazed Clay Bowls

Supplies:

Air Dry Clay
Greaseproof Paper/Parchment Paper
Acrylic Rolling Pin
Small Glass Bowls
A Knife/Craft Knife
Fine Sandpaper
Acrylic Paint
Paintbrush
Polyurethane Gloss Varnish or your own diy clay craft tinted glaze.

The above links are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase through them I receive a small commission.

1. Knead your air dry clay until it is soft and easy to work with.

2. Roll the clay out to around 5 mm thick. Remember the thicker the clay the longer it takes to dry. If you find your clay getting stuck to your tabletop try rolling it out on to some greaseproof paper first.

3. Lay a bowl on top and cut around it using a knife or clay cutting tool. Don't worry if the edges look a little rough, you can sand them down later when the clay is dry.

4. Turn your bowl upside down and place your clay circle on top.

5. Gently press the clay down around the bowl. To begin with the clay will ripple up but don't worry it does flatten out.

All you need to do is cup your hands around the bowl and press down gently as you move your hands around the bowl. You want the clay to flatten out and not clump together so try to keep the pressure as even as possible.

If you're using a glass bowl as your mould take a look inside and check for any air bubbles or ripples. Apply a little extra pressure to smooth them out.

6. Use a little water to smooth out any imperfections and leave to dry.

7. After your clay has been drying for around 24 - 48 hours (depending on the humidity) and is half dry you need to remove it from the bowl as air dry clay tends to shrink as it dries.

If you leave the clay too long it can shrink onto your bowl and be practically impossible to remove without damaging the clay. You need your clay to be dry enough to hold its shape but wet enough to slide easily off your bowl.

8. Leave to dry for another 24 - 48 hours. You'll know when the clay is dry as it will turn white and matte.

If you're making clay bowls like these and pressing the clay into the inside of the bowl and not the outside the shrinking can actually help. The clay should come away from the inside of the bowl and pop out quite easily.

8. Sand away any rough edges.

9. Decorate your bowls.

For the first bowl, I built up three layers of my own diy pink tinted glaze and left the outside of the bowl matte. If you're interested in making your own diy glaze you can find the recipe here.

I painted the second bowl with some watered-down fluorescent pink acrylic paint.

The thinner the paint the more the brush strokes will show through which I like. I left a 1/2 cm white trim around the rim and sealed it with a coat of clear polyurethane gloss varnish.

For the third bowl, I used some more of the watered-down acrylic and let it drip down the sides. I didn't worry too much about any splatters or mistakes as I think it adds to the handmade nature of the bowl.

I applied a couple of layers of my diy pink tinted glaze and then when this had dried did the same on the bottom of the bowl.

March 23, 2015

THREE THINGS I LOVE RIGHT NOW.

March 23, 2015/ Emma

1. These tasty pink strawberry donuts from The Proper Blog.

2. Pretty spring diy Easter foliage eggs from Say Yes.

3. And this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess on how to marble with shaving cream and ink. Has anyone tried it? I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

Summary Block

This block has no content yet. Items you add to the page connected to this block will display here.

SIMPLE SOFTCOVER NOTEBOOK DIY.

March 18, 2015/ Emma

I discovered this fantastic blog called Design & Form whilst trawling Pinterest on the weekend, sadly it isn't being updated any more but you can still pore through the archives and enjoy it's beautiful minimal aesthetic and clever diy's. I loved these diy felt slippers, braided trivet and origami paper lily but it was this diy for an xl notebook that really caught my eye. You know how much I love notebooks and you can never have too many, right?

To make my notebook I used some A4 printer paper that I already had lying around. For the cover I used a couple of pieces of scrapbook paper from the Diy Shop range from Crate Paper. It's another one of those easily customisable projects that you know I love. The original diy used plain black paper for the cover but by choosing your favourite patterned or non-patterned paper or even making your own and adding some colourful ribbon or twine you can put your own unique spin on it.

Things you'll need to make your own Simple Diy Softcover Notebook: A4 paper, Scrapbook paper, A pencil, A ruler, Hole punch, Bakers twine, And some scissors.

1. To make sure all your holes are in the same place you'll need to make a guide. Mark on a piece of paper where you want the holes to be. I measured mine 1.5 inches and 2.5 inches from the top and the same on the bottom.

2. Line up the hole punch and punch out the holes. To make sure I only punched one hole at a time I used the end of my hole punch and then moved it in an inch. A single hole punch would work even better.

3. Take a stack of paper (10 sheets at a time worked best for me), use your guide piece of paper to mark the holes on the top piece and punch. If you're worried about your stack of paper moving around you can use a couple of binder clips to hold your paper in place. Keep going until you have a thick stack of paper.

4. Measure and cut out a couple of pieces or scrapbook paper for the cover. The piece I used is a calendar made up of rulers, I really like that you can use it to highlight and take note of certain dates. I wanted my book to be soft and flexible so I choose scrapbook paper for the cover but you could use a thin card if you wanted a more sturdy notebook. Just remember your hole punch needs to be able to punch through it.

5. Line up your stack of paper with the covers on both sides and thread some bakers twine through the holes. Tie in a tight knot on the back of your notebook to keep the front looking neat and tidy and you're all done.

How to make a Simple Diy A4 Softcover Notebook

Pretty easy, right? I love that it's nice and thick and the pages rip out easily as well. I think it would make a great sketchbook although I'd probably need a thicker cover if I was going to carry it around with me. For now this one is sitting on my desk so we'll see how it goes. If I end up liking it as much as I think I will I can always make another but this time with a stronger cover and maybe even some watercolour or sketchbook paper as the pages.