Blogtober Day 13: Crafting fun with air dry clay: DIY Poppies🌼

 Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote any products or stores, just sharing some crafting smiles x 

Hi Honeys, 

Welcome, thank you for visiting 💖 How are you today? It's day 13 of Blogtober and I thought I'd share one of my favourite crafts... 

Have you ever tried crafting with air dry clay honeys?  Many people prefer to craft with a polymer or a modelling clay, but I adore using air dry clay.  The main difference of course is that, as the name suggests, air dry clay sets or hardens by being left at room temperature, there is no need for a kiln or oven. 

I'm not any kind of an expert honeys, I just have so much fun with my clay.  The one I use is this one, I discovered it a couple of years ago while shopping in The Works,  it comes in a 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) block and it lasts me for ages.  It looks a sort of grey colour while working with it but as it dries out and sets it becomes a sort of chalk white.  Then it's fun to paint and decorate your creations.    

Remember to only take what you need to work with from the pack of clay, then quickly seal the rest in an air tight container or zip lock bag to stop it from setting or hardening before you have a chance to have fun making your creations.

Speaking of which, that brings us to today's post 😊  I'm not artistically talented honeys, I so wish I was! I've always wished that I could draw or paint or sculpt.  Oh to be able to create something beautiful. Something that makes other people smile. That would be wonderful, dear ones. It really would. 

The thing is though honeys, knowing that I have absolutely no talent whatsoever doesn't stop me from having the most fun 😊  I may not be able to sculpt but I can cut out fun shapes with cookie cutters 😃 

Among my favourites in my growing collection are these brightly coloured blossom shaped cookie cutters...

While I know they're not the perfect shape, I decided to try to make some poppies last year.  Hubby and I proudly wear our poppies every year, in tribute to those who have served our Country, past and present. 

I began by cutting out the shapes in different sizes to see what they'd look like.  Once made, I moulded them by rounding the "petals" upwards so they weren't just flat shapes. Then I just had to wait until they were entirely dried and set...

Once set, then we can really have fun 😊 

I used acrylic paints that Hubby brought me from The Works.  I was so pleased with them, for a first attempt.  What do you think honeys?

As you can see honeys, while making my poppies I also made some roses as well as some Christmas tree decorations...

I really enjoyed making those tree decorations last year honeys, so much so that I'm going to try to make some more this year.  I'll be popping them into our Christmas cards again, in the hopes of sharing a smile or two 😊

Crafting with clay is far more than fun for me though.  By using my hands, by keeping them moving, I'm hoping to (hopefully) keep the arthritis from winning.  

As the old saying goes honeys "use it or lose it" and if I can combine a fun hobby with a little exercise for my hands, well I'm very grateful.  

Have you tried crafting with clay? Making these little tree decorations would be a fun activity for children to help with too, and I'm sure family members would love a special tree decoration made by a grandchild or niece or nephew to be included with their Christmas card. 

Till next time dear ones, stay warm and safe everybody, hugs always xx