Easy To Make Marble Air Dry Clay Candle Holder
I have a confession to make I love playing with clay and dough. When the kids were young that was one of my favourite activities to get the plasticine and play dough out. The other day I spotted some air dry clay in a craft shop and thought it would be fun making something with it.
Even though I was tempted I didn’t go down the monsters and dinosaur route that I did with the kids. But created something a bit more grown-up. I made some lovely marbled air dry clay candle holders.
These candle holders were really simple to make and once the clay had dried instead of painting them I marbled them. My air dry clay candle holders look a bit like sophisticated silver Christmas trees.
Which means they look great as a centerpiece on my dining room table.
I chose silver as I thought that went well with the copper pipe fixings but you can make them in any colour you want as long as you can buy that colour in nail polish. You could even make them in more than one colour.
This DIY clay candle holder would look great with any Scandinavian themed Christmas decorations.
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What you need to make an air dry candle holder
- White air dry clay – One packet was enough to make 3 candle holders
- Scrap cardboard – I just used some Amazon packaging I had lying around
- Copper pipe end feeds 22mm – one for each candlestick.
- Clear nail polish – not quick drying
- Waterproof Mod Podge
- Silver nail polish – not quick drying
- Masking tape
- Rolling pin
How to make an air dry candle holder
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- Firstly with the cardboard packaging and tape make a cone shape the size you would like your candle holder. Mine was about 15cm (6″) tall.
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- Next place a copper pipe end feed on the top of each cardboard cone.
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- Take the air dry clay out of the packaging and using a rolling pin roll it out to about a thickness of 5mm.
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- Carefully lift the clay off the board and wrap it around the cardboard cone. Trim off any excess clay. Leave them until the clay has dried hard. I leave mine for at least 24 hours in a warm dry space.
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- Once dry the clay will need sealing before marbling. To do this, first I covered the copper pipe with masking tape to protect it. I then made a mixture of 50% clear nail polish and 50% waterproof mod podge and brushed it all over the clay candle holder. I then left it to dry.
- Finally the air dry candle holder is ready to marble. I used the same method as I used with my upcycle tins with faux marble. This basically involves splashing nail polish on the surface of warm water and then rolling the clay candle holder over the top.
Now all you need to do is add candles. I’m really pleased with how the air dry candle holder turned out. I think that 3 together look really good and they will definitely be on the centre of my dining table this Christmas.
Mind you, I also think they look really good on the mantle so I might have to make some more. Perhaps with green nail polish this time so they look even more like Christmas trees.
Mo
Hi!
Do you actually light these or just use as decoration – I understand that air dry clay can be flammable?
Claire Armstrong
Yes you are right some air dry clays are flammable. If you are lighting the candles it’s best to use a non flammable clay. Also, you should never leave lit candles unattended anyway.
Florence @ Vintage Southern Picks
Hi Claire,
So you’re saying you just pour a bit of nail polish in the water & roll the cone in it? That sounds easy. Yours turned out so pretty, and I’m sure you could modify this for other uses besides Christmas. Great idea. I always loved Play Doh too, but I think I liked eating it the best…LOL
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, Florence. Yes marbling is that easy, just make sure the water is warm and you don’t use a quick drying nail polish.
Cecilia
Love these, Claire! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you for hosting!
Julie
These are lovely. I made a air dry clay cone last year, much smaller than yours and I use it to keep my rings overnight. It’s turned out to be really useful.
I love this nail varnish marbling technique, it’s so much fun it does make you want to marble all the things doesn’t it!
Claire Armstrong
Thanks Julie. The marbling is a really quick and effective way to decorate, great results for very little effort.
Ivory
On my, you are so creative. I would have never thought of doing something like this. I guess I have absolutely no creativity in me at all. ??
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, Ivory. I’m sure your creative it just takes a bit of practice, the more creative things you do the more ideas you have.