However, not long ago I featured air plants in another post about plants that look good in mid-century homes. These plants range in size from 1/2" in diameter to the fairly rare 10-12" size. While planters and pots from the 1950s and 1960s for the larger plants are relatively easy to find, locating miniature pots and planters from that era can be next to impossible. That's when it helps to have an Etsy account...or to be crafty.
A month or so ago, I discovered a polymer clay that can be fired in the kitchen oven, and I'm hooked. If you drop by my house, I'm more likely to be baking clay than a cake. The kind I've used for my projects so far is Premo! Sculpey®. It is available in an extensive palette of saturated colors, a number of which are perfect for a mid-century home, such as Rhino Gray, Spanish Olive, Blush, Wasabi, Black, Orange, Turquoise, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, as well as several metallic and pearl colors. I chose white for its stark simplicity, which I think always looks good with modern design.
It's easy to work with, it doesn't dry out when stored, and it bakes firm but retains enough flexibility so that it's not fragile. It's also inexpensive and readily available at local hobby stores or online.
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| Premo! Sculpey® sculptclayandtools.com |
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| Color chart bijoux-sucres.com |
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| Metallic colors hancockfabrics.com |
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| Pearl colors amazon.com |
You don't need special tools to work with this clay. A regular kitchen rolling pin, an X-Acto™ knife or improvised cutters work well. I used the metal cap of a Lampe Berger and a much smaller plastic cap from an eyeliner as cutters for a plant hanger project. Many pieces, such as the mini pots, can be shaped by hand without using tools at all. Here are a few of my recent projects.
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| DIY miniature pots for 2" plants |
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| Close-up of my DIY miniature wall pocket |
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| Close-up of my DIY wall hanger |
Oh Dana, you crafty devil these are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI could so do this, mind if I copy? (or use them for inspiration)
Now to check out your other crafty projects.
Copy away, but I warn you...it's easy to get hooked! :)
DeleteSame, I'm loving the miniature pots! ;)
ReplyDeleteI think the little pots are my favorites too.
DeleteWow! These are great Dana! I really love the look of the white clay against the plants. Blogger extraordinaire and crafter! Man, I'm impressed.x
ReplyDeleteI may try some colors, but I'm partial to the white too.
DeleteBrilliant. We used to do Sculpey all the time when my kids were little but haven't used it in a while. Mini mid-mods are fab. Can't wait to try my own.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that there's a lot of Sculpey in my future with the grandsons! :)
DeleteThey look really great, Dana. Nice DIYing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nick!
DeleteThese would be fab in a modern mini setting!
ReplyDeleteAnd so easy to make too!
DeleteNice, now a use for my oven! How about a bird feeder?
ReplyDeleteThere you go...Show us when you're done. :)
DeleteOoOoOhhh wow I had not a clue you made those when I seen your post about air plants. I was admiring those little pots.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it would be a fun project. =D
It's a lot of fun...and after seeing your necklace and finding out how crafty you are, I think you should try it. You could have little pots everywhere! :)
DeleteBravo for these Dana, very creative! What's the next project?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. It's taken me a whole week and six repairmen to get my a/c working, so projects have been the last thing on my mind. Once my house gets really, really cold, maybe my creative juices will start to flow again. They just left an hour and a half ago, and I'm going to have to see icicles before I'm convinced!
DeleteFantastic job on those mini pots! I could go crazy buying up airplants because while they are a bit needy in the sense that they need frequent watering, I cannot seem to kill them. However, I can't seem to keep succulents alive, so this may be my justification for buying more airplants to replace the sickly succulents :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to move my air plants, because I actually have killed two in the last couple of weeks, and I think it's because they are right under the a/c vent.
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