I first made clay houses with my husband in 2020...

when everything was locked down in the pandemic and we had to make an extra special effort to have date nights indoors.

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I find making anything with clay so extremely therapeutic, and a great hour spent for some self-care which is so important this time of year, as sometimes the holiday season can be pretty overwhelming.

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I initially took inspiration from Laura Brand at the Joy Journal who made beautiful Pinch Pots using this clay - I'm a massive fan of Laura's and her everyday ideas for magical playtime activities for children, and we've used her book so many times for different play times. I wasn't sure if the same materials would work with the idea I had in mind for the clay houses, but it worked perfectly. Laura and Russell Brand were tagged in the Instagram post of my clay houses and made some of their own on an Instagram live they did and gave me a shout-out - So cool and appreciated.

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I've used Das air drying clay in a few tutorials in the past. The Pearlescent Light Up Clay Ghosts and Air Dry Clay Easter Egg Hanging Ornaments were a big hit with you guys and had so much positive feedback. Along with the little bee badges I made for Bee Craft Ideas To Celebrate World Bee Day. I've linked them so be sure to check them out if you haven't already.

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Supplies needed

•     Das air drying clay 
•     rolling pin,
•     craft knife
•     cardboard to make your house walls/roof template
•     ruler
•     baking parchment paper
•     Cutters. Mine are from Craft Company
•     Battery tealight candle
•     Glue gun and glue sticks

Method

1. Take your cardboard and make your house walls and roof panel templates. Make sure your edges are straight as you'll need this to successfully glue your house together when the clay is dry. I made 4 walls and 2 roof panels

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Mother of Grom - Christmas Light Up Clay Houses 1

2. Take a piece of air dry clay and knead it for a couple of minutes. I used the lovely Das air dry clay for this craft. It was soft and smooth. It also has a beautiful off-white colour that looks natural and blends in with any Christmas colour scheme perfectly with its muted tones.

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3. Take your rolling pin and roll out the clay to an even thickness.

4. Place one of the templates facing down onto your rolled-out clay and use your knife to carefully cut around your 4 walls and 2 roof panels.

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5. I find craft knives are the best for cutting out the windows, but you can also do it with a regular knife. Cut out the windows and door, and add any other details using your cutters.

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6. Leave them to dry for 48 hours. Turn them now and then and monitor them at the beginning so they won’t curl on the corners.

7. When dried, assemble the house walls using your glue gun. Hold in place for 20-30 seconds after gluing to ensure the hot glue has dried 

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Once all dried and assembled you can pop your little battery-operated tealight candle underneath and voila, you have your own cosy little clay house! 

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You could mix up the designs of your houses, adding more walls, making them bigger/smaller, painting them with coloured paint, or even making small versions of them and attaching a twine/ribbon to the top when gluing the roof panels and making them into hanging decorations for your Christmas tree.

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As always, it brings me pure joy to see your Mother Of Grom creations so please tag me on Instagram with your wonderful creations. And please remember nothing is perfect, the little quirks make everything unique and add character. Most of my fondest crafting memories are of laughing with my friends and family when things go wrong.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas crafting season x