Pinch pots made from air drying clay

“Hey, kids? How about we make some Pinch pots made from air drying clay?” I suggested this pre-holidays to the boys… and it transpires, it’s not about the craft, it’s about how you PHRASE the craft…

Try – “Hey kids, how about we make some funky pots for your new cacti?” and that seemed to work…

My older boys aren’t quite as keen as crafting with me as they were when they were little… however, they do have a NEW hobby… and that is – collecting Cacti – (yep, that’s the plural of Cactus, and probably all I can tell you about these little prickly plants – apart from the word ‘succulent’ which, it turns out, is a very popular hashtag on instagram…)

So we ordered some air drying clay off t’internet (it’s heavy and I’d have struggled to carry it back from the art shop without a wheelbarrow).

And we had a go at making some pinch pots!

Pretty easy… and you don’t need any fancy tools either.

So – you’ll need some clay – and to follow these instructions, to look as cool as me with your pinch pot!

1. obtain some air drying clay
2. cut off a slab of clay – make sure to wrap up the open clay, as obviously, ummm, the air, will umm dry it…
3. start to squish the clay in your hands to just taller than the pot height you desire
4. squish the slab to make it into a squat, cylindrical shape
5. roll the cylinder to smooth it
6. push your thumb into the ‘top’ of the clay
7.  push your thumb whilst pinching all around the edge
8. smooth and pinch a bit more
9. check it’s the right height for your cactus
10. smooth off any cracks with a bit of water and your finger
11. keep smoothing
12. trim off the top if you’d like a flat level lip on the pot
13. Leave to dry for a couple of hours before you add any decorative marks, to avoid cracking.
14. Leave to dry thoroughly for a couple of days before you paint your pots, if you prefer, you can leave them naturally unpainted!

Air Drying clay is not food safe or waterproof, however, applying a waterproof sealer or couple of coats of varnish will help it to be more waterproof. Fortunately cacti don’t need as much watering as other indoor pot plants, so a light misting or small drops of water shouldn’t penetrate the air dried clay pot.

So let me know if you’ve ever made any of these yourselves?

Tag me on twitter or instagram, I’d love to see what you’ve been up to with clay!

I’m @incredibusy over on twitter, insta, pinterest and facebook too….x

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