Rings in the bathroom, rings in the kitchen, rings just end up everywhere in my apartment. I wanted to make something cute to put them all in and this unique air-dry clay hand catch-all was what I came up with!
Air-dry clay has quickly become one of my favorite materials to work with, but if you prefer the oven-bake stuff by all means use that. I started with a package of clay, a rolling pin. some clay carving tools, paper towels and water. Start by rolling a lump of clay into a ball then rolling it out with your rolling pin. Trace your hand shape lightly into the clay, and then carefully cut the shape out using a craft knife to get clean edges.
Next use tin foil to create a base for the hand that will help shape it as it dries. You may have to adjust the foil a few times to get the shape right. This is also where you will want to use some water to smooth out the surface areas of the clay before it sets.
Let the clay air-dry for 48 hours, or bake as instructed on the package. I wanted higher contrast with my piece so I decided to paint it black, but if you prefer the natural clay color leave it as is. After the paint completely dried I went in with a gold paint marker creating designs inspired from the art of Mehndi. After that dries you can glaze the piece if you want, or leave it as is.
This DIY was definitely inspired by my instagram feed, and my instagram feed has been filled with a lot of byBadal lately. She has been killing it with really cool East Meets West, Indian inspired designs and you should all definitley check her out.
It is such a cute place to keep my extra rings! I have a feeling it might travel room to room for a little while collecting all of my loose jewelry. If you make your own be sure to tag me on social so that I can see it! >>