Sculpting, Clay, Playdough

[Andriel_Isilien]

Last fall I got back into making fairy houses with baking clay. I take my time with these because I want to put in lots of details and sometimes have to step away for a bit in order to get the creativity back in flow. 🌟 Covering my project with a plastic bag does the trick in keeping the clay from drying out. Here is the process I do.

Phase 1: Picking out glass jars and arranging tin foil with cardboard for the skeleton of the house. I'm doing a Hobbit Hole inspired from Tolkien. Be liberal with the hot glue gun and press down the foil to be firm. I do not recommend plastic bottles unless the clay you are using is the kind that you let air dry instead of baking in the oven. I usually set my jars upside down because I want the opening to go over a fake candle. I have seen fairy houses made with the lids as part of the roof so that you can open the house up and close it again.

Next comes the clay! Keep the layering as consistent as possible. This will help the drying/baking process to be even over the house. I go for 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness. You can roll out the clay like a pancake to make sure the thickness stays the same and then drape over your house, working in the nook and crannies. Press it in all over to cover the entire house except the bottom. Unless you want the bottom be part of the piece to pick up and be seen. I just want to save clay.

Now comes the SLOW part for me with this project. I want to put in details, so this takes up a lot of time. This is my preference, but you can go as simple as you want. Cut out the windows, carve textures, apply more bits of clay, stick in rocks or any heat proof materials you want. Remember to take breaks, not only for your own sanity but to also not let the clay dry out too early. When you are not working on the piece, cover/seal the entire thing (and leftover clay) in a plastic bag.

Phase 2 is baking or drying if you are using non-baking clay. Line a pan with parchment paper or foil and bake at 275 F 15 - 20 minutes. If you went for thicker layers of clay (1/2-inch or more then go for 30 minutes). I advise to check every 15 minutes to prevent burning or damaging the clay.

It will go white when done and firm. Overbaking with make it crack from brittleness with a toasty color (that you do not want). Be careful it's hot! Sometimes, a crack here and there is unavoidable; shit happens 😢 I am learning that the longer I let the clay sit out in a bag, the more likely it will develop cracks when baking. It's not the end of the world as they are small.

Let the piece cool entirely before handling without oven mitts. Any addons that fell off from this phase you can secure them back in with superglue. If you have scraps of clay leftover, seal those up in a baggy (with the air pressed out) for another project.

Now onto Phase 3 - Painting colors and gluing on extra bits of texture. Regular acrylic craft paint (no particular brand) works well with this clay. Mix up colors to get different shades or keep it as simple as you want. This is my first-time gluing on other materials outside of the clay and it is coming out great! Fake moss I used a hot glue gun to secure. Sticks and figurines would also be great ideas to glue on. Basically, paint first then glue afterwards on top of the paint. Just as I'm writing this, I got the idea of glitter for a fairy house. Save that for the last phase with mod podge unless you have specific glitter paint that you can brush on.

Edited May 21, 2024 by Andriel_Isilien
typo, grammar fixes, & progress updates