How to Make Clay Santa Ornaments

Making clay Santa ornaments is a great project you can do by yourself or with your kids. The ornaments make great keep sakes that you can use for years or give as gifts.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Polymer modeling clay in red, white and black
• Aluminum foil
• Cookie sheets
• Rolling pin
• Santa Claus cookie cutter
• Corn starch
• Brush to apply the corn starch
• Putty knife (a butter knife can be used)
• Plastic straw
• Narrow (curling) ribbon

1. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Put about a half cup of corn starch in a small bowl. Dip the brush in the corn starch. Dust the inside of the cookie cutter liberally with corn starch.
3. Remove the red clay and knead it until it's soft and pliable.
4. Use the rolling pin to roll the clay out on the cookie sheet to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Make sure you have a surface that is wider than your cookie cutter.
5. Press the cookie cutter firmly into the clay. Move it back a forth a little and then remove it. Reshape it with your fingers if needed. You can cut out several ornaments at once.
6. Remove the black clay from the package and knead it until it's soft. Roll it out to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Use the cookie cutter to cut out more Santas. This time you will only be using the boots.
7. Use the putty knife to cut the boots off to a good height. Press them onto the red cut-out Santas. Press a tiny amount of black clay on the face for the eyes and mouth.
8. Roll some black clay onto the tray with your palms to make a "worm". Flatten the "worm" out until it is about 1/8 inch thick and about 1/2 inch wide. Use the knife to cut a length of the black clay that a little wider than Santa's middle. Press this on for Santa's belt.
9. Remove the white clay and knead it until it's soft. Use the palm of your hand to roll some of the white clay into a long "worm" about 1/8 inch thick.
10. Use more white clay to make the eye brows and beard. Cut or tear off small pieces and press them onto the Santa cut outs to make cuffs on the sleeves and pants and for the collar and around the base of the hat. Don't forget the tassel at the end of his hat.
11. Press the end of the straw into the middle of each Santa's hat to make a hole all the way through. This will be used to hang the Santa later.
12. Dust the cookie cutter with corn starch. Press it over each Santa one more time before baking to even out any imperfections that occurred during the creation process.
13. Bake the ornaments for about 10 minutes in a 250 degree oven. (Check the instructions that came with the clay for slight variances in brands.) Make sure the room is well-ventilated. Turn on the fan and, if possible, open a window.
14. When the ornaments are cool remove them carefully from the tray. Cut pieces of narrow ribbon into eight inch lengths. Slip the ribbon through the hole in Santa's hat and tie the ends together to form a loop.

Tips & Warnings

• See the eHow article "How to Make Clay Christmas Tree Ornements" for another great idea.
• Let the ornaments cool completely before removing them from the tray.
• You can use an acrylic glue (such as krazy glue or super glue) if needed on the dried ornaments.
• You can use acrylic paint to add a name or year to the back of the ornament.
• Make sure you have adequate ventilation when baking. The polymer fumes can give you a headache if inhaled.