How to Make Easy Leaf-Inspired Air Dry Clay Coasters

Are you looking to add a touch of nature to your home decor for the fall season? I’m tackling a brand new DIY project with a new material. Watch as I show you how to make easy leaf-inspired air dry clay coasters.

With fall coming, I was looking for a fun and creative DIY project. A couple of years ago I started seeing projects made with air dry clay. I had not heard of this material. 

After researching on Pinterest, I discovered many easy air dry clay ideas, learned about air dry clay, and suggestions for using this medium.

I narrowed down the variety of projets and shared 10 Best Easy Air Dry Clay Projects. I even bought a package of air dry clay online. I put it in my DIY storage chest and forgot about it.

Until now. It’s Creative Craft Blog Hop time and I decided now was the time to finally learn how to use air dry clay.

Thank you to Donna of Modern on Monticello for serving as our host of the month. Are you are visiting Bluesky at Home from Modern on Monticello? Then welcome. I hope you will enjoy the project that I’m sharing.

This post contains affiliate links to products used in the creation of this project. If you should order any item from this site, I may receive compensation, but you do not pay a penny more. Your purchase is greatly appreciated as it helps support the continued publication of this site.

So What is Air Dry Clay?

If you ever made a bowl or decorative item with clay in elementary school or at camp, you put your creation into a kiln to dry it out. Air dry clay is different.

Air dry clay is a mixture of paper fibers and glue. It dries and hardens when left out in the air so no oven is needed. 

Air dry clay is a wonderful craft material even though when dry it’s not waterproof and does need to be sealed to finish. Why is air dry clay a crafter’s dream material?

• It’s inexpensive and easy to use. 
• Unlike traditional clay, no special machines or tools are needed. It dries without an oven at room temperature.
• It can be painted.
• The possible craft ideas for use are endless.
• Other materials can be added for extra decorative accents.
• It is an easy material for beginners to use.

All those are reasons for air dry clay to be a craft winner in my book.

The biggest “warning” I read is that air dry clay is very sticky. Several crafters advised wearing gloves. I didn’t find the air dry clay to be sticky at all, but I did wear plastic gloves just to keep my hands clean.

Here are some other tips I learned:

• Prepare your workspace. You don’t want to directly work on your table or countertop with the clay because it can be messy. Air dry clay attracts dust, fibers, and even dog hair so the work surface needs to clean. A silicone craft mat was one product recommended to use on top of your workspace. I actually used one of my old Cricut mats upside down. You could even use wax paper or an old plastic cutting board.
• Dampen your hands before starting. Working with the clay is much easier to do when your hands are damp. You don’t need them to be soaking wet, just lightly damp is good. Keep a small bowl with water nearby so you can keep them damp the entire time you are working on the clay. One crafter even suggested putting a little lotion on your hands. I used plastic gloves and didn’t need to keep my hands wet.
• Keep a small spray bottle nearby. You need to spray the air dry clay with a fine mist while you are working with it. Otherwise, it will start drying out and may dry before you are ready for it too. I had a spray bottle handy, but didn’t use it. As soon as I was through with the clay, I sealed the package and put it into a zip lock bag.
• Keep paper towels and plastic wrap nearly. If you need to step away from your project, you can cover it with a barely damp paper towel and plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. See above for what I did to keep the clay soft and moist.
• Use a good quality clay. There are several air dry clay brands on the market and all seemed to be endorsed by air dry clay crafters. 
• Consider getting tools. Clay sculpting tools aren’t required, but like any skill, tools help.  Plus, they’re very inexpensive. I didn’t purchase any extra tools. To “cut” the clay, I used a craft extacto knife and it worked great.

I can now attest that air dry is easy to work with. In fact, I think it is such an easy diy project, I’ll be making more creative projects with it. You can use it to make everything from homemade jewelry to home decor. 

Here are a couple of popular brands that were recommended:

• Das – comes in white, terracotta and a stone effect. I bought the Das in white. Since I bought my air dry clay in 2023, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had dried out. Fortunately, it was perfectly soft and moist. It has the texture of slightly softened butter.
• Crayola Air Dry Clay – dries whiter than the Das clay and also comes in a range of colors. This one can be bought in a large tub if you want to make clay crafts in bulk. 

That’s enough information to get us started.

Vision for this Air Dry Clay Project

As I said, I wanted to use air dry clay for the first time.

Secondly, I wanted to create an item that I could use for fall decor. 

Thirdly, I wanted to create an item that had a practical use. 

Coasters came to mind as an easy beginner-level project. I explored Pinterest again and found several different ways to make coasters.

Leaves are iconic symbols of fall. I recently shared a few previously made and shared leaf projects:

• How to Make Leaf Art on Canvas
• How to Make Decorate Fall Plates
• How to Use DIY Paper Leaves 5 Ways

 I love leaves for fall decor, but I wanted something more unique than the leaf coasters that I was finding.

Going through my DIY supply stash, I discovered these leaf wood cutouts. My leaf-inspired coaster project idea was born.

Supplies for This Leaf Clay Coaster Project

For creating the basic leaf coaster, you will need:

• Air dry clay; I used Das in white
• exacto craft knife
• something to cover your work surface, such as a silicone craft mat or a piece of wax paper taped down.
• an acrylic rolling pin or a glass
• item to cut out your clay coasters; this could be a cookie cutter, a removable tart pan, an piece of cardboard, or a wood cutout. I used two wood leaf cut outs. These wood leaf shapes would be perfect.
• extras: wood skewer to make leaf “stems”, spray bottle of water, plastic gloves, zip lock bag

this Idea.

Steps to Make your Air Dry Coaster

I found two wood leaf shapes . I used each two times for a total of four coasters.

1. Open the package of air dry clay.

2. Remove a piece of air dry clay with the craft knife.

3. Close the package and place inside a zip lock bag.

4. Place clay on work surface and flatten with the palm of your hand.

5. Using the rolling pin or glass, roll the clay flat, from 1/8 to 1/4 thick. It’s like rolling out pie crust.

6. Place the item you are using to cut out the shape of coaster on the clay. Press down a bit.

7. Cut the excess clay from around the cut out shape.

8. Remove excess clay from the cut out. Place the excess clay in a zip lock bag or other airtight container.

9. Cut all excess clay away from leaf cut out.

10. Remove the leaf cut out from the clay. Using a dowel rod of other object, make leaf “stems”, pushing into the clay.

11. Repeat steps with other leaf cut outs. Because the other wood leaf had much simpler lines, the second leaf was much easier and faster.

12. Set the coasters aside to dry completely. Allow 24 – 48 hours for the drying process. This is important. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time for drying. I turned my coasters over after 24 hours to allow the bottom to dry completely.

13. When the leaf coasters are completely dry – 24 – 36 hours – use a piece of fine grit sandpaper to gently sand any rough or sharp surfaces. Wipe away any dust with a paper towel of cloth.

Painting the Air Dry Clay

When the clay coasters are completely dry, now you can embellish them.

You can use any type of acrylic paint on your air dry clay coasters. You can also use paint pens or markers.

I used the metallic acrylic paint that I bought last year for painting Christmas trees.

​Since these were intended for a fall set of coasters, the colors would be fall colors of copper, bronze, espresso (brown), and burgundy.

A sponge brush or small craft brush is all you need.

I painted each coaster a different fall color. You can see in the picture below, one of the stems broke off. I didn’t worry about it.

Be sure to paint the edges of the coaster. The coasters only needed one coat of paint.

The stems and veins naturally appear darker when you paint the coaster which was what I was hoping for.

Allow the paint to dry. I was relieved to discover that this easy clay project was all I wanted it to be.

Seal the coasters with a sealer. I used one coat of Matte Mod Podge.

When the Mod Podge is dry, you are ready to use your fall air dry coasters. I stacked the four leaf coasters.

Sip your favorite beverage while it rests on a DIY-crafted coaster that reflects the vibrant colors and intricate patterns of leaves. 

These coasters not only serve a practical purpose but also bring color and symbols of fall into your living space. Not only do these coasters protect your surfaces from unsightly rings and spills, but they also serve as a conversation starter when guests come over. 

You could also make a hole in the coaster and hang several as a garland. Or place them on a table as an accessory. Hang them from a branch for a fall tree.

Now that I know how easy working with the air dry clay is, I will be making more diy projects using this material.

in fact, here is the cutest pumpkin napkin rings made with air dry clay.

If you want more DIY projects, check out these Pinterest Boards: Air Dry Clay Projects, Fall DIY Projects and DIY Accessories for the Home. I hope that you will PIN this fall leaf coaster project to keep it for your inspiration and to follow along.

Next up on the blog hop is Sara of Birdz of a Feather with another paint project.

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