Crafts

Looking for a cute and easy air dry clay craft? Look no further! These cheeky air dry clay garden markers fit the bill.

Supplies Needed for Air Dry Clay Garden Markers

Thank you to ACTÍVA Products, Inc. for providing the air dry clay used in this post.  The project and opinions are my own.  Also, some links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no added cost to you if you purchase through them.  Read my disclosure policy here.

• Round dowels
• Hearty Clay lightweight air dry clay
• Clay text embossing tool
• Acrylic paints in colors of your choice
• Paintbrush
• Triple thick clear glaze
• Wax paper

How to Make Air Dry Clay Garden Markers

To begin, paint dowels in any color you like.  To make painting dowels easier, I always stick them into a piece of floral foam so I can get every part of them without smearing the paint. 

Once the dowels have dried, take two chunks of air dry clay and work some acrylic paint into them.  Make sure your air dry clay accepts acrylic paints as a pigment or a finish.

I used Hearty Clay, which accepts acrylic paint prior to drying, because it is SO lightweight and I knew it would not be too heavy for the dowels – like making them fall over once they were in the flower pots.

Some air dry clays are really heavy once dry, so make sure you don’t choose a heavy clay for this project!

I kneaded the paint into the clay, and then joined the two pieces of clay together to create a marbled look.

Next, I formed a ball and stuck it onto one of the dowels.

I flattened the clay ball on a piece of wax paper, and then I used my clay text embossing tool to write cute little messages on my air dry clay garden markers.

I’ve seen a million versions of garden markers, but they’re all so descriptive – saying things like “basil” or “parsley.”  Mine are funnier.  🙂  

I let the garden markers dry for about 1.5 days, and then I sprayed them with triple thick clear glaze to give them a shiny look and to protect them if I use them outside.

Because the Hearty Clay is so porous, I sprayed about four coats of glaze onto the garden markers before I got a decent level of shine.  

Once they dried, they were ready to go!  

I love their marbled look!  

They stand up just perfectly on their own – the clay is definitely light enough to work great on this project!  

And can I just say that I’m so happy I had an excuse to buy all these pretty spring flowers?  They smell ridiculously good!  

I’d really appreciate it if you’d PIN this post to share this idea with fellow creatives!  

Next time you go on vacation, make sure to be prepared with a DIY Travel Laundry Bag.  It’s the perfect solution for keeping those dirty clothes organized in your suitcase while traveling!

And, I have a feeling you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make a travel laundry bag.

OK, now I know you’re excited to see how I made this laundry bag because laundry is such an interesting topic!  😉  Just kidding.  But I promise you’ll love this project; it is so easy and turns out so cute!  So let’s get started . . .

Supplies Needed for a DIY Travel Laundry Bag

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• White cotton pillowcase
• Wide ribbon (at least 1.5″ wide)
• Fabric scissors
• Needle and white thread
• Safety pin
• Optional: pinking shears
• Optional:  Silhouette machine and heat transfer vinyl OR inkjet printable iron on transfer sheets

How to Make a DIY Travel Laundry Bag

You guys will not believe how easy this project is to make!  

Begin by unfolding your pillowcase and making two small vertical cuts in the top layer of the fabric and on either side of the seam, near the top of the pillowcase.  

Next, use the needle and thread to sew along the inner edges of the cuts.  You are doing this to prevent the fabric from fraying – not to sew the pieces back together.  

Next, cut a piece of ribbon to a length long enough to wrap around the top of the pillowcase, with a little extra.  Then pin a safety pin through the end of the piece of ribbon.  

Guide the ribbon into one of the holes in the pillowcase, safety pin side first, and bring it all the way through the other side and out of the other hole.

If the seam on the other side of the pillowcase is sewn shut and you cannot thread the ribbon through, use the fabric scissors to make a small cut in the outer layer of fabric at the seam.  Then loosen the inner seam so that you can thread the ribbon through.  After you’ve gotten the ribbon all the way through you can sew that little hole.

And that is really all you have to do to turn a pillowcase into a laundry bag!

But, if you want to make your travel laundry bag even cuter, consider adding a design or pattern to the front of it.  I found this cute design for my Silhouette Portrait (the most basic of all the electronic cutting machines, but it works like a charm!), and cut it out onto some purple heat transfer vinyl.

Then I ironed it onto the front of my laundry bag (this is really the only time I use the iron, friends), and that was it!

If you don’t have an electronic cutting machine, you could easily add a design with inkjet iron on transfers or iron on letters!  Or grab a stencil and paint a design!  

I honestly am so glad to have this bag!  I usually forget to pack any type of dirty clothes bag and end up using a trash bag or grocery bag for my yucky clothes.  This is so much cuter!  

And I just love that most of the sewing is done for you, thanks to the use of the pillowcase!  No need to get out that sewing machine!  

If you’re a fan of easy projects like this, I’d love for you to ‘pin’ this post to share!  

St. Patrick’s Day has been a holiday I’ve enjoyed since, well, college.  I’m sure you can figure out why.  At a Catholic university Milwaukee, we really knew how to honor St. Patrick and his contributions to Irish life and culture. wink wink

Because I’ve grown up now and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a little differently, I decided to make an adorable bit of St. Patrick’s Day decor – these Rainbow Sand Art Terrariums!

Can’t you imagine a leprechaun finding his pot of gold in these sweet sand art terrariums?

Supplies Needed for Rainbow Sand Art Terrariums

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• Rainbow colored sand 6 pack – the 6 color multipack is perfect for this and much less expensive than buying the sand colors separately!  If you also want pink sand, you can buy that separately.
• Gold glitter
• Faux succulents
• Clear glass vases
• Optional embellishments: shamrock floral picks, paper straw, washi tape
• Optional: long stick to create patterns in the sand

How to Make Rainbow Sand Art Terrariums for St. Patrick’s Day Decor

This project is pretty self-explanatory.  I poured colored sand in rainbow colors into clear glass vases, layering the sand in different amounts and moving the containers around slightly to vary the height of each layer of sand within the containers.  

To make these terrariums extra rainbow-like (kind of like my DIY Rainbow Candle Holders), I poured chunky gold glitter on top of the sand once all of the layers were poured in.  

In the taller vase, I then used a long stick to poke along the edges of the glass.  This created some patterns in the sand that looked kind of cool!  

Finally, I popped fake succulents into the containers.  

In one of them I made a little flag with washi tape and a paper straw, and in another I put a shamrock floral pick for extra St. Patrick’s Day festiveness!  

See how easy and fun this project is?  I love how colorful it is!  If you like it, too, please “pin” it to share!