DIY Llama Vase – Air Dry Clay

I love flower vases. I love them so much that I have way more than I will ever need for every room in my home, but that won’t stop me from making more! I had this idea to use air dry clay to create a vase that I could sculpt and make into any shape I wanted. But since air dry clay isn’t waterproof, I added my secret weapon—an internal glass bud vase that I molded my clay around. Now before you say anything about my llama, just know that I really wanted a llama vase so that the flowers looked like a flower crown. I’m not a sculptor and apparently (based on my results) llamas are a difficult animal to make, but hey, it’s still cute whether it looks like a llama or a bunny! Ha! And this technique can be used to make any shaped vase, whether it be an animal or cactus or rainbow.

Materials:
–air dry clay
-glass bud vase
-water
-acrylic paint
-paintbrush

Step 1: Begin by rolling out a large piece of clay and wrap it around your vase so that it is completely covered. Don’t worry about smoothing it out too much at this point; you just want to cover the vase and close up the seam by rubbing over it and blending the clay.

Step 2: Next you will add the features to your llama (a muzzle, cheeks, and ears). These can be rough shapes to begin with, but you will want to crosshatch the back of the piece and spray it with a bit of water before adhering it to the face. This will insure a proper bond between the two pieces and make the vase sturdier.

Step 3: Using the water, get your clay wet and start to smooth out your vase and really fine tune the features.

Step 4: Once your face is finished, let it dry overnight. It will start to crack as it dries and the clay contracts. Don’t worry! I have a fix for this! You will need to create a slip mixture by mixing a bit of fresh wet clay with water to create a paste. Then use this paste to fill in the cracks and smooth out the clay. Let dry for a few days until the clay is fully dry.

Step 5: Paint! You will want to paint your llama (or other shaped) vase with acrylic craft paint to bring out the details of your piece. Once the paint is dry, your vase is ready to use.

This project will take a few days to complete, but most of that is drying time. And even though my llama doesn’t look quite like a llama, I’m still pretty smitten with it! What shaped vase would you make? xo. Kara

Credits // Author and Photography: Kara Whitten. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.