CLAY TAG D.I.Y. RESOURCE

I have been slammed with the holiday rush (hooray!), but I took a few minutes yesterday to photograph some of the clay tags I made the other night. I had so much fun! It was easier than I anticipated as I have never used clay in a project before and wasn't sure what to expect.  I tried a few different ideas I had been toying with using the Besotted Brand stamps. One was creating a faux wax seal, I think it came out better than I envisioned (disclosure, I actually didn't think it would turn out at all). I also used the banner stamp that I customized; it reads 'handmade with love'. This was an easy one, I just stamped it on a rolled out piece of clay and cut out with a sharp Exacto knife using the stamp border as my guide. Last one I made was using the vintage postmark stamp, I love how much detail I got out of it.  I used air dry clay, mini cookie cutters for the circles and a nail to create the holes for stringing.  It took me about 20 minutes start to finish + clean-up. I let the tags dry overnight and then used an Emory board (for your nails) to smooth out rough spots (easier for me to use than sand paper on these small objects).  I was really happy with the results and have been thinking of a ton of other ideas. The clay dries hard, but not as hard as a kiln fired object, so it is still relatively delicate in my opinion, but it does have a nice raw ceramic feel to it. Below is my supply list and clay tutorial resources.

::SUPPLIES USED::

Air Dry Clay

Mini round cookie cutter

Exacto knife (you could use a disposable butter knife)

Nail

Faux wax seal stamp

Banner stamp

Vintage Postmark stamp

There are a plethora of great clay tutorials/resources but these are the ones that I felt explained the process well enough so I was able to have a modicum of success.

::CLAY TUTORIALS::

Urban Comfort Clay Bowls Tutorial

Creature Comforts Star Garland Tutorial

ReFreshRestyle Clay Tags Tutorial

Post Road Vintage D.I.Y. Clay Tags Tutorial (she even makes her own clay!)

You also don't need to stamp on them prior if you don't want, just make any shape flat surface (circle, square, oval, etc.), let dry and then ink + stamp on the smooth surface, the clay takes the stamp impression very well.  Let me know if you have any questions!