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Clay craft: making clay pressings from nature

September 14, 2016 by Catherine 13 Comments

clay craft with natural materials - adding leaves to clay

A couple of weeks ago, we spent a fantastic afternoon exploring nature at our local nature reserve, Skylarks in Nottingham.

Skylarks is part of the Wildlife Trusts, and it’s a great place to take the kids for a good old outdoor romp.  Last year we made journey sticks there, which has become one of our absolute favourite nature crafts.

On this particular visit Skylarks was holding an open day, with lots of hands-on activities, demonstrations and nature crafts.  As you can imagine, we were in our element!  One of the crafts we tried out was clay pressing with natural materials.

The first job was for the kids to find some interesting things to press into the clay; that in itself was a lovely activity.  We were advised to find quite sturdy items that would make a clear impression in the clay.

nature hunt

Next, we rolled out some air-drying clay with a rolling pin.  It’s important not to roll the clay too thin, otherwise it will stick to the table and you risk the leaves going straight through it.  Think thick pastry consistency, and you’ve got it pretty much right.

clay craft with natural materials - rolling out clay

Once we had our flat pancake of clay, we popped it onto a piece of greasproof paper on a board, then arranged our finds on it.

clay craft with natural materials - adding leaves to clay

The next bit definitely needs some adult supervision.  Another piece of greaseproof paper is placed on top of the clay, then another board, and then something very heavy is added to the top to squish everything down.  Now obviously it’s unlikely any of us have these kind of weights lying around at home, but I’m sure you could improvise with a pile of books – or even sit on the whole thing!

clay craft with natural materials - pressing the clay

Once everything has had a good press, you can carefully peel away the natural materials to reveal your clay pressing.

clay craft with natural materials - removing leaves

Here’s the kids finished clay craft pressings.  You can see that some of the flower heads have remained stuck to one of them, but these have all fallen off as the clay has dried.  The kids can’t wait for them to be fully dry, so they can paint them to really bring out the details.  Once they’re done we’ll pop them into box frames and hang them up on the wall to create a little natural art gallery.

clay craft with natural materials

What do you think of our clay craft – will you be having a go at natural clay pressing?

NATURALLY CRAFTY

If you’re looking for craft inspiration, take a look at the ‘Naturally Crafty’ nature craft linky which I co-host for lots of ideas – and do share yours with us too.

naturally crafty

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Filed Under: Craft, Kids Craft, Nature Craft Tagged With: Children, craft, Flowers, Leaves, naturally crafty, Nature, Nature Craft, Outdoors

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Comments

  1. Elizabeth Newcamp says

    September 16, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    These are beautiful. I wonder if I could do something similar at home with some salt dough or other home made clay? I love these nature crafts and can’t wait to dig into a few other ones you’ve done. Thanks so much for sharing. #WhateverTheWeather

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 16, 2016 at 2:10 pm

      I bet it would work with homemade clay, as long as it’s squidgy enough for things to make an impression. Hope you enjoy the other crafts – I co-host a nature craft linky, if you ever have some to share we’d love you to join in!

      Reply
  2. Heather says

    September 16, 2016 at 4:30 pm

    I love that you did the activity outside. It looks like fun!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 16, 2016 at 6:04 pm

      It really was – and so much the better for being done outdoors.

      Reply
  3. RachelSwirl says

    September 16, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    oh what a lovely idea!

    Reply
  4. Lauren (The Helpful Hiker) says

    September 18, 2016 at 9:24 pm

    What an awesome idea, I bet they’ll look amazing once painted. I’m always keen to get ideas for outdoor craft activities so will be saving this one! #whatevertheweather

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 19, 2016 at 6:28 pm

      I think we’ll be doing this one over and over again – I like the idea of trying it out each season.

      Reply
  5. Pitter patter travelers says

    September 20, 2016 at 4:36 am

    What a great idea. Do you know what clay they used? #whatevertheweather

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 20, 2016 at 2:37 pm

      It was standard air drying clay – the brand they had was Das, in a red and white packet.

      Reply
  6. Catherine @ Story Snug says

    September 22, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    This is such a lovely idea 🙂 You could make some great pictures just by pressing acorns.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 22, 2016 at 2:30 pm

      Ooh yes they would work well if you made the clay nice and thick.

      Reply
  7. chocolateandwineandillbefine says

    September 28, 2016 at 10:40 am

    This is gorgeous! I will definitely be trying this! #beinspired

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 29, 2016 at 1:32 pm

      Have fun, we really enjoyed this craft and will definitely be doing it again.

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Catherine. Welcome to Growing Family, a top UK home & garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
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