Christmas Decoration making demonstration

What’s in your kit:

• Hunk of soft clay

• Cheesewire (corks + fishing wire) for cutting clay

• Sharp clay knife

• Rolling pin

• Slurry / soggy clay

• Brush for applying slurry

• Modelling tool

• Tea towel to work on

*plastic straws are reused. They come when we order paint brushes as bristle protectors, and we save them up for another use. If yours is still in good condition when you’re finish with it, send it back with your kit and we’ll use it again.

WATCH THIS VIDEO BEFORE YOU GET STARTED ⤵️

 It’s less than 20 minutes in total, and hopefully covers everything you need to know! We refer to angels in our video, but all the advice given is exactly the same when you’re making penguin, elf or anything else that is formed from a cone shape. We’ve added more specific tips further down the page, but do watch this video first.

If you were making in the studio last year we'd be buzzing around in the background, lending a hand when needed and adding more relevant hints and tips as your pieces develop, but as you’re are getting your clay on at home, we’ve tried to load you up with as much guidance as one can fit onto a webpage to set you on the right track for great decorations!

Time to get inspired

Think of this as a virtual version of rummaging through our folders of images, but instead you’re gliding through our Pinterest boards for example, plus some of our favourites from last years Christmas bell making workshop. There’s loads of great ones, so go on, have a look!

Now for the music! You’ve got to set the mood haven’t you, get that relaxing focus on, or perhaps you need some disco in your life to let your creativity run free. Here’s our offering for you - it’s the Spotify playlist we play in the studio, carefully chosen by our Anna. It covers everything from your classical bangers [The Nutcracker to make it feel as though your brush is practically dancing along the clay], to music to get your pulse racing [cue Jurassic Park theme].

We’ve also got a classy Christmas playlist if you’re that way inclined, as the name suggests it’s classical versions of Christmas songs and film scores from your favourite festive films.

Decoration making TIPS

Plan first: I’d advise this no matter what you’re making, but it’s good to plan a shape, to work out how things attach, does it need holes for a string hanging to be added after firing? You might even make a little template from an old cereal box.

Cutting out using your template: rest the template on the wet clay, don’t press it down or it will stick to the clay and you’ll have to peel them apart which can distort your clay, it’s like a pancake where you might mess up the first one but then you’ll get the hang of it.

You’ve got too much clay: because we don’t want you running out of clay, we’ve given you far too much. Anything you don’t use please return to us in the bag. It’s best not to scrunch it up as it makes it easier to recycle. Please don’t take advantage of this and make more than 5 x 3D decorations or 10 x flat decorations.

Bell dingers: I think that’s the technical term for the bit that makes a bell ring right? Anyways, if you want a dinger, let us know and we’ll add one in after your kit’s been glaze fired. It will be a plain clay ball with a hole through that you can string up in side your bell. Side note: if you want to attach a dinger, make sure to have a loop of clay inside the bell cavity to tie it to, or a hole that goes from the top of the decoration, right through to the inner bell cavity. I’m just making up terms now.

Give you clay time to rest/firm up: patience is key here, if your clay feels too floppy, give it time to firm up, trust us it’s much better than trying to power through and work with a frustrating squishy bit.

Adding bits on: it’s good to sketch onto your clay lightly with a pencil to plan where things will attach. You can blend your lines in if it’s not quite right and try again. Every extra bit of clay your add on for decoration needs a bit of slurry to make it bond or it will fall off when it dries.

Adding extra texture: lie a piece of chunky lace, or a well defined leaf or sprig of rosemary etc on your clay, and use your rolling pin to lightly press it onto the surface, gently peel the sprig away and admire your new texture.

Adding pattern work with tools: obviously your kit doesn’t include Dad’s ratchet set, but if you have a spare allen key from some ikea furniture, or anything else that could make a cool shape when pressed into clay get them out and have a play on some of your scraps to see what they can do. Just make sure to support the clay from the inside when pressing things into your cone shape.

Things always look pants to begin with: don’t give up! It’s a process, one that starts looking a bit rough, but once your clay has firmed up a bit you can work on it for hours tidying up edges, smoothing bits in. Trust the process.

Make sure the hole for hanging is big enough: as we say the clay will shrink when it fires, so make sure you can fit some ribbon or string through it or you’ll have to balance it on the branches or a mantle piece.

Any questions: do send me and email / instagram message if you have any questions after reading / watching all this xoxo

EXTRA TIPS

Drying your pots: please don’t try to dry your pieces out completely before returning them to us. Clay needs to dry slowly to reduce the chance of it cracking. If you need your clay to firm up a bit you can leave it in the sun for a short period of time but keep checking on it.

If you need to take a long break while you’re making, cover your clay + piece with a plastic bag to stop it from drying out. If you piece starts to dry while you’re making flick some water at the area and use your finger to blend in any fine cracks.

❗️ Clay thickness: if you are modelling extra characters such as mice etc for your pieces, please don’t make them thicker than 1 inch (about the length of the top section of your thumb). If clay is too thick it is very hard for us to dry it out completely before firing, and clay with moisture trapped inside explodes when it goes through the kiln.

❗️ Trapped air: likewise as we mention in the video, trapped air also causes pots to explode. If you were to try and make a hollow ball (as a slightly ridiculous example) you’d need to have a hole somewhere in the surface of your ball for the air to escape through, otherwise it would definitely go bang. Small amounts of air are less dramatic and if you’re lucky they simply make the bit you stuck on fall off.

RETURNING YOUR FINISHED KIT

1. Wash all used tools with warm soapy water and pat dry.

2. Once your piece(s) are firm enough to move round without changing the shape, make up the cardboard box in your kit and put your pots in. If you’re worried they might slide around you can pack out the box with our tea towel or any other scraps of fabric you have - just remember to take your fabric back when you reach the studio.

3. Use the checklist from the top of this page to make sure you pack everything back into the bag. Scraps of clay should be returned as they can be recycled. Used paper can be disposed of.

4. Return your kit and pottery to the studio in your designated time slot. Take care to support the bottom of the box as the damp clay may make it a little soft.

5. We’ll be in touch once your pottery is ready to paint/collect, we’re aiming for 2-4 weeks depending on when you’ve ordered your kit, and whether you poted to paint them.