So today, I’m gonna make a ghostie with air dry clay that can be used as a home decoration for your house this Halloween season.

This project takes a completely different approach than my previous ones because it isn’t a tray or dish. It’s a piece of home decor without a base.

Today, I’m trying to make something new in a different shape with air dry clay as an experiment as a beginner, testing my limits after mastering trinket trays and dishes. Let’s see how it goes.

You can follow this guide with me because I’m also a beginner like you and I’m gonna share every step I took, every mistake I made and how I fixed them with easy tips and tricks. So stay with me till the end. 

There are no complex steps here because I’m just like you, someone who hates complex and expensive methods.

Let’s start making! ✨

Why I used air dry clay? 🎨

Air dry clay is considered the best beginner friendly clay type for the following reasons,

• No kiln or baking needed. 🚫🔥
• 2x or 3x cheaper than polymer clay. 💰
• Dries in the air (No oven needed). 💨
• Easy to shape and bend. 🖐️
• Easy to smooth. ✨
• This project is not a miniature one and need a lot of clay. 🧱

For all the pros and cons of air dry clay, read The Pros and Cons of Air Dry Clay: A Complete Beginner’s Guide.

Since it is not expensive, we can have fun with it as much as we want to learn new things, experiment with it and we have enough room to make mistakes and learn from them. If air dry clay is expensive, we always have to worry about our budget and we won’t try new things and we won’t learn along the journey.

Plus, this air dry clay ghost is a little bit big, so you can’t use an expensive clay type like polymer clay. Since the ghost comes in white air dry clay is the best option you should go with.

Yes, air dry clay is prone to crack and warp as it dries. But you can handle, control and avoid them by following simple tips and tricks. Don’t worry, I’ll teach them as well during this article.

If you want to know almost and everything about air dry clay, read Air Dry Clay for Beginners: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide.

Ok! Now you know why air dry clay is suitable for this ghostie. Let’s dig in! ⛏️

Supplies you’ll need 🛠️

• Air dry clay (DAS, Mont Marte, Jovi, or any reputed brand you can find is okay) 
• Acrylic rolling pin 
• PVC mat or silicone mat (or non-stick surface) 🧘
• Small container or glass 🥛
• Aluminum foil or plastic wrap 🧻
• Clay crafting tools 🛠️
• Clay cutting tool (X-acto knife or small knife) 🔪
• Cup of water or spray bottle 💧
• Flower shape cutter or mold 🌸
• Acrylic paints (white and black) 🎨
• Gloss varnish ✨
• Paintbrushes 🖌️
• Paper towels 🧻
• A pair of scissors ✂️
• Scotch tape 🩹
• Optional: Sponge or silicone sculpting tool (or you can use your finger)

If you can’t find any of the above tools or materials, check your kitchen drawers. You’ll find a handful of items that can be used instead of the clay tools that I mentioned above. Toothpicks, small knives, and cutting boards all are great alternatives. So use them wisely. Air dry clay needs to be budget friendly.

Air dry clay ghost tutorial video 

I have recorded everything from start to finish while making this air dry clay ghost so you can watch it and get a good idea about the flow and if you missed anything during the video, you can read them on this written tutorial as well.

Feel free to watch and make a fine Halloween ghost! 📺

Finished watching the video? Let’s have a look at the detailed written step-by-step guide.

Step by step tutorial for your air dry clay ghost 

Before you start making it, make sure to open all the windows in your room for good air circulation or shift to a well ventilated area. Air dry clay contains fine dust particles that can make you cough. I don’t want to see my people coughing during the process. Hehe.

Step 1: Conditioning and kneading the clay 

First of all take a fresh piece of clay from the package and condition it by tapping drops of water on to the clay surface.

Next knead the clay so well using pull, push and press techniques like a pizza dough.

Kneading is a must before you start anything with air dry clay because it helps to spread the moisture evenly across all the layers of the clay and releases the trapped air inside. 

Skipping the kneading step causes uneven evaporation of water and form micro cracks due to the uneven shrinkage and air pockets inside.

Knead the clay well for about 2-3 minutes until become soft enough for shaping.

Due to the warmth of our hands, the moisture we apply and the pressure we put in, the clay will become soft and comfy, which is great for making shapes and for bending.

Step 2: Rolling the clay 

Place the kneaded clay piece on your mat and start rolling to an even thickness of about ¼ inch.

Use a non stick and non porous rolling pin and mat for rolling, because when you’re rolling, the moisture inside the clay comes out and creates a vacuum like seal between the clay and the mat.

The clay sticks so well to the mat because of this seal that when you try to lift the clay up after rolling, it’ll get stuck and mostly tear apart with cracks and splits.

Therefore, when you’re choosing a mat, go for a silicone or PVC mat, which are non stick and easy to clean up.

For the rolling pin, go for an acrylic one because clay does not stick to it while you’re rolling.

If you don’t have those mats or rolling pins and are about to use wooden ones, make sure to place parchment paper between the clay and the wooden surface, and another sheet of parchment paper between the clay and the rolling pin. Basically, you have to place the clay like a sandwich while rolling to avoid it from sticking.

Avoid rolling your clay slab thinner than ¼ inch or thicker than ½ inch. Keeping the thickness strictly within this range guarantees the best results.

Why you should not roll too thin (< ¼ inch)

Rolling the clay too thin loses its structural stability. The edges of the clay slab tend to curl upward like a potato chip as the clay dries. This scenario is known as the warping of air dry clay. Here’s how to fix that!

Why you should not roll too thick (> ½ inch)

If the slab is too thick, it may take several days or even weeks to dry out fully. The outer layer dries significantly faster than the inner layers, which can cause uneven shrinkage and often leads to surface cracks.

After rolling the clay slab, smooth it out by dipping your index finger in a cup of water and gliding gently on the surface repeatedly until tiny bumps, micro cracks and tiny imperfections vanish.

Don’t forget to follow this smoothing procedure after each step from now onwards.

Step 3: Cut the shape 

I cut the shape so randomly using my X-acto knife so the edges of the ghost will be sharp. It’s not hard. You just have to cut the shape like a circle. No need to be a perfect circle.

When you’re cutting, make sure not to drag the knife horizontally across the surface because that can form torn up and split edges with cracks.

Lift the knife frequently as you cut and clean the attached small clay pieces and then start cutting again following the up and down motion.

Once you cut the shape completely, remove the excess carefully and smooth out the clay slab. 

Step 4: Detail the clay slab 

I have a flower shape mold/cutter I bought recently, so I used it to decorate the clay slab I cut with flowers.

If you don’t have a mold or cutter, try to cut those shapes manually using the X-acto knife.

Make sure to space these flower cutouts randomly across the clay slab so the light will shine through later if you use a tealight or candle.

Step 5: Drape and shape the ghost 

Next, take the small plastic container or glass and turn it upside down. Then roll the plastic wrap or aluminum foil into a ball, place it over the top, and secure it well to the container or glass using duct tape or scotch tape.

Consider this as the temporary body of our ghost. We will remove it once the clay has fully dried.

After setting that up, drape the clay slab gently over the glass and plastic form.

Next, adjust the folds at the bottom so it looks like a floating sheet.

Step 6: Detail the ghost 

Take a needle, a toothpick or a clay sculpting tool and carve out the clay from your ghost structure to make the eyes and mouth. 

Do this carefully without damaging the clay. You can soften the jagged edges using a paintbrush after dipping it in water.

Awesome friends! We have successfully crafted the air dry clay ghost. Now let it dry fully before painting.

Step 7: Allow the clay to dry 

Now let the air dry clay ghost you made dry fully for 48-72 hours in a well ventilated area.

Drying time of air dry clay depends on the thickness of your clay slab and the humidity in your area. When the humidity is high, it will take more days to dry fully because the water evaporation speed is too slow.

Never ever rush the drying process by placing it under direct sunlight, outside, or blowing out your hairdryer because that can trigger uneven shrinkage, which can result in surface cracks. Let it dry slowly.

Once the outer layer of air dry clay feels completely dry after 24 hours, you can remove the glass form to let the inner side dry properly. 

Actually, I forgot to take mine off while it was drying, but thankfully the inside still dried out fully. Lucky me! 

I think leaving the piece to dry for the complete three days likely made all the difference.

You can notice whether the clay dried fully by the color change. Wet air dry clay has a grey, off-white color, while bone dry air dry clay has a bright, pure white color.

Now it’s time to start painting our ghost.

Step 8: Paint the air dry clay ghost 

I used acrylic paint for this project because acrylics are considered the best paint for air dry clay.

Acrylic paint dries quickly within 2 hours, no need for water for mixing and preparation and makes a water resistant coating over your air dry clay project.

Apply 1-2 thin and even coats of acrylic over your air dry clay ghost in one direction and let each coat of acrylic dry for 2 hours before applying another.

I painted the whole ghost body with white and detailed the eyes and mouth with black.

After the final coat, let it dry fully for 2 hours before sealing.

Step 9: Seal the clay 

You can use Mod Podge, gloss varnish, UV resin, polyurethane varnish or epoxy resin for sealing this project. All offer water resistant or waterproofing coatings that protect your air dry clay ghost from harsh weather conditions and splashes.

Moisture weakens the clay and causes surface cracks. Therefore, sealing is essential before you keep it as home decor during this Halloween season.

I used gloss varnish for my project and it came out so good. Apply 2-3 thin and even coats and let each coat dry for 24 hours before applying another.

Gloss varnish offers a glossy ceramic look with a water resistant coating. But I made sure not to place my air dry clay ghost outside because air dry clay is not built for harsh weather elements outside even after sealing it with a top quality sealer.

Congratulations, my crafters! We have successfully made our Halloween ghost with air dry clay. Now it’s time for you to make one even better. 🎉

Final thoughts

I have described every step, tip and trick I used to achieve this spooky clay ghost in detail. You can place it on your Halloween table or gift it to someone special. 

Unique crafts like this are rare because many try to gift things that are purchased online. This is handmade with love.

If you encounter any issues while making this air dry clay ghost, don’t hesitate to mention them in the comment section or contact me through contact@clayandme.com. I’ll answer them all.

Also, if you’ve found better ways to do the above steps, please mention them as well in the comments section for the support of our clay community.

Be sure to tag @clayandmestudios in your air dry clay ghost project. I sure love to see them when you do. I’ll see you next time with another awesome project! Cheers! 🤟🏾

DIY Air Dry Clay Halloween Ghost Guide

Warsha

Looking for a quick, beginner-friendly summary of this project? Here is a fast breakdown of the materials, key steps, and essential details to craft your spooktacular ghostie! 👻✨

Print Instructions Pin Instructions

Supplies Needed

  

Air dry clay (DAS, Mont Marte, Jovi, or any reputed brand you can find is okay)

Acrylic rolling pin

PVC mat or silicone mat (or non-stick surface) 🧘

Small container or glass 🥛

Aluminum foil or plastic wrap 🧻

Clay crafting tools 🛠️

Clay cutting tool (X-acto knife or small knife) 🔪

Cup of water or spray bottle 💧

Flower shape cutter or mold 🌸

Acrylic paints (white and black) 🎨

Gloss varnish ✨

Paintbrushes 🖌️

Paper towels 🧻

A pair of scissors ✂️

Scotch tape 🩹

Optional: Sponge or silicone sculpting tool (or you can use your finger)

Instructions

 

1. Condition & Knead

• Tap a few drops of water on fresh clay and knead thoroughly for 2–3 minutes to release air bubbles and prevent cracking. 🖐️

2. Roll it Out

• Roll the clay on a non-stick mat to ¼-inch thickness. Rotate and flip frequently so it doesn’t stick! 🥐

3. Cut the Circle

• Use an X-acto knife in an up-and-down motion to cut out a rough circle slab. Lift the blade to clean attached clay pieces as you cut. 🔪

4. Detail the Slab

• Press flower cutouts or patterns into the clay slab with a mold or cutter so light can shine through later. 🌸

5. Drape & Shape

• Tape a foil or plastic wrap dome to an upside-down glass. Gently drape the clay slab over it and adjust bottom folds to create floating sheet ruffles. 🥛

6. Carve Face Details

• Carve out eyes and a mouth using a needle tool or toothpick. Smooth rough edges with a wet paintbrush. 👁️

7. Slow Dry

• Let dry naturally in a well-ventilated area for 48–72 hours until bright white. Remove the inner glass form after 24 hours to help the inside dry. 💨

8. Paint & Seal

• Apply 1–2 coats of white acrylic paint on the body and black for the eyes and mouth. Once dry, seal with 2–3 coats of gloss varnish to protect against moisture! ✨🎨

In this article, you’ll learn why keeping a good thickness is important when making anything with air dry clay.

I misplanned the thickness of my Halloween bat decor tray and it was cracked so badly as the clay dried. But luckily I was able to make some adjustments and change that into a Halloween cat decor tray.

So, I’m gonna deeply explain what went wrong and why you should not be like me when it comes to planning the thickness of your clay craft, especially when you plan to hollow out the clay.

You won’t find this type of article from experts, because they rarely make mistakes, and even if they do, they won’t publish them on the internet. Since I’m a beginner, this is also a part of my journey to become a good clay artist. So, here I am for a confession.

Let’s dig in!

What went wrong in this project ❌

As I told you earlier, I misplanned the thickness of this project when rolling the clay slab. Generally, a ¼-inch thickness is ideal for an air dry clay project to prevent the clay from warping and cracking as it dries.

But in this project, even though I rolled the clay slab to a ¼-inch thickness, I hollowed the clay out to give it a tray shape by making the tray base and the tray rim.

That’s exactly where I made the mistake. If you plan to hollow or carve out the clay during the process, make the clay slab at least ½-inch thick, not ¼-inch. When you’re hollowing out the clay, the thickness reduces and the final thickness will be ⅛-inch, which is too thin and can cause cracks as the clay dries due to shrinkage.

This is a highly important factor, especially when you’re making a tray as I did, because you can either attach the tray rim separately to the ¼-inch thick tray base, or you should make the tray base ½-inch thick and carve out the tray base until it reaches a ¼-inch thickness to make the tray rim.

Keep that in mind to prevent your clay tray from cracking like mine. If I had rolled the tray base ½-inch thick instead of ¼-inch, my tray wouldn’t have cracked and been ruined as the clay dried. Or I should have attached the tray rim separately to the ¼-inch thick tray base. Simple as that!

Everything else went smoothly with no mistakes.

Now let me show you the complete process of how I made the Halloween bat tray and how I turned it into a Halloween cat tray. 🦇🐱

Supplies you’ll need 🛠️

• Air dry clay (DAS, Mont Marte, Jovi, or any reputed brand you can find is okay)
• Acrylic rolling pin
• PVC mat or silicone mat (or non-stick surface)
• Clay crafting tools
• Clay cutting tool (X-acto knife or small knife)
• Cup of water or spray bottle
• Acrylic paints
• Gloss varnish
• Paintbrushes
• Paper towels
• A pair of scissors
• Optional: Sponge or silicone sculpting tool (or you can use your finger)

If you couldn’t find any of the above items, please check your kitchen drawers. There are many tools that can be used as clay sculpting tools instead of purchasing clay sculpting tool sets when you’re starting out.

An air dry clay crafting hobby needs to be budget-friendly and should not drain your wallet. 💡

Turn a broken air dry clay bat tray into cute Halloween cat decor tutorial video

I have recorded everything starting from fresh clay, sculpting the Halloween bat tray, how it cracked as the clay dried, and how I wisely turned that into Halloween cat decor.

Feel free to watch, avoid the mistake I made, and make a fine Halloween bat tray! 📺

Finished watching the video? Let’s have a look at the detailed written step-by-step guide. 📝

Sculpting the Halloween bat tray (The original plan) 🎨

Before starting the project, make sure to go to a well-ventilated area or open all the windows in your workspace because air dry clay contains fine dust that can cause breathing issues. Or wear a mask while working with the clay.

Step 1: Conditioning and kneading the clay

1. Unbox the package and cut a big chunk of a fresh piece of clay.
2. Tap the clay surface with a little bit of water for conditioning the clay.
3. Knead the clay well by pushing, pulling and pressing the clay like you’re making a pizza dough.
4. Knead for 3-5 minutes with a little bit of water until the clay becomes soft enough for shaping.

Air-dry clay already consists of a lot of moisture and air bubbles inside. But they have spread randomly, and as the clay dries, the water starts to evaporate unevenly.

Air-dry clay shrinks as it dries and it is uncontrollable. But we can control whether it shrinks evenly or unevenly because uneven shrinkage causes surface cracks.

When you knead the clay well, moisture spreads evenly across all the layers of the air dry clay, which avoids uneven shrinkage as the clay dries. This helps the clay not to crack as it dries.

So, kneading is a must before you start making any project with air dry clay.

When you keep kneading, your palms will feel it getting softer and softer. When it reaches a certain level of softness, you can move on to the rolling step.

Step 2: Rolling the clay

This is where I misplanned. I didn’t think I needed to hollow out the clay in a later step and plan the thickness of the clay slab accordingly.

I rolled my clay slab to a ¼-inch thickness, which was not enough because I was about to hollow out the clay to make the tray rim in a later step.

So, if you plan to make the tray rim by hollowing or carving the clay out from the rolled clay slab, make sure to roll the clay slab to at least a ½-inch thickness. Then you can carve ¼-inch from it and the remaining ¼-inch tray base is enough to remain stable against warping and the shrinkage of the clay with no cracks.

But if you’re willing to attach the tray rim as an attachment to the tray base by making it separately, roll the clay slab to an even ¼ inch thickness as I did.

Don’t be like me friends. Plan ahead to avoid your piece from getting ruined.

So, if you plan to hollow out the clay as I gonna do here, follow below steps when rolling,

1. Roll the clay to an even thickness of ½ inch.
2. Roll the whole clay slab evenly.
3. Smooth out the clay slab.

Use a non-stick rolling pin and a non-stick mat for rolling your clay slab.

I recommend an acrylic rolling pin and a silicone or PVC mat to prevent your clay from sticking as you roll.

Also, make sure to turn, flip, and rotate the clay slab while you’re rolling to prevent it from sticking, even if you use non-stick materials, because as we roll, the moisture inside the clay is released and forms a high amount of a tiny vacuum-like seal between the clay slab and your mat. When you try to lift the clay slab, it may tear apart due to the grip between the mat and the clay.

When you continually change the clay position while rolling, it gets no chance to create a vacuum-like seal with the surface, and you’ll get a nice and smooth surface with no tears.

Here’s how you should smooth out the clay slab,

1. Dip your index finger in a cup of water.
2. Gently glide your wet index finger over the clay slab repeatedly.
3. Repeat the gliding until small bumps, micro-cracks, and tiny imperfections vanish.

Follow this smoothing procedure after each step to result in a nice and clean surface.

Step 3: Making the paper template

I used the paper template method to get the exact shape of a bat because freehand cutting can result in many errors.

1. First, Google “Halloween bat 2D outline shape”.
2. Select an image.
3. Take a black-and-white printout of it on an A4 paper.
4. Cut along the outlines carefully, and your paper template is done.

If you already have a bat-shaped mold or cutter, use that instead of this paper template method.

Step 4: Tracing and cutting the bat shape on the clay slab

1. Place the bat paper template on your rolled clay slab.
2. Trace along the outline carefully with a clay tracing tool or toothpick.
3. Remove the paper template.
4. Cut along the traced lines using the X-acto knife to get the bat tray base as the result.
5. Smooth out the bat-shaped clay slab following the procedure I taught earlier.

If you don’t have an X-Acto knife, use a pocket knife.

Lift the knife while you cut and clean the attached clay particles regularly to get nice, smooth, and sharp edges.

Awesome, friend! You have successfully made the tray base. 🎉

Step 5: Hollowing out the clay slab to make the tray rim

1. Mark and map the areas you need to carve in the bat wings using a toothpick or clay tracing tool.
2. Carve and hollow out the clay evenly everywhere using the clay carving tool to about ¼-inch deep.
3. Smooth out the hollowed out spaces.

Make sure not to scoop too deep, because you might accidentally hit the bottom and damage the tray. Plus, if the bottom is too thin, it might crack and tear when you try to lift the tray up or when drying due to shrinkage.

Finally, smooth the inside of the carved wells using your fingers to give them a more polished look with no damp air dry clay particles inside.

Now we have successfully sculpted the tray base and the tray rim of the bat tray.

Identifying the fail 🧐

Step 6: Letting it dry

Now let the bat tray dry for 48–72 hours in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area.

Let the project dry slowly to avoid rapid water evaporation and uneven shrinkage of the clay, which can cause surface cracking.

As I mentioned earlier, this was the step where I identified my failure. Since I didn’t make the tray base ½-inch thick, it lost its stability as I was hollowing out the clay to make the tray rim.

As a result of that, the clay started to crack as it dried due to shrinkage.

I should not have gone with the ¼-inch thickness for the tray base.

Since you planned for a ½-inch thick base, you have nothing to worry about even when the clay dries after you hollow out the clay to make the tray rim.

After letting your project dry completely, check for any grey patches. Grey patches mean the air dry clay is still wet, and you need to let it dry more until it becomes pure white, which is the significant color of a fully dried air dry clay project.

My hours of work were ruined because I didn’t get the thickness right. I was thinking for a few minutes and came up with an idea.

Turning a broken Halloween bat into a Halloween cat 🐈‍⬛

Step 7: Spotting the cat silhouette

I had an “aha!” moment looking at the cracked bat shape. The body of the bat was not damaged or cracked. 💡

Have you ever noticed that the body of a bat is similar to a cat? I have noticed that. The shape was almost the same.

So basically, bats are like cats with wings, lol. 🦇🐱

Bat’s ears perfectly mimic cat ears, and the round body serves as a great base for a sitting cat.

I didn’t think twice, started to treat it as a cat and worked on it.

“Every cloud has a silver lining”

Step 8: Sanding for a smooth edge

I didn’t have sandpaper, so I used a clay tool and sanded the cracked edge of the bat body to make it sharp and smooth.

I sanded the jagged, broken edges where the wings used to be well to make the shape look more like a cat’s body.

If you’ve got sandpaper (if you, too, faced a sad situation like me), use a fine-grit one to avoid damaging the piece.

Sand along one direction and clean the surface after you’re done to get rid of fine air dry clay dust.

Step 9: Painting the Halloween cat 🖌️

I used acrylic paint because it is one of the best paints for air dry clay projects.

Acrylics come in vivid colors, dry quickly, require no water for mixing, provide a glossy finish, and create a water-resistant coating over air dry clay, which helps to protect your clay projects from outside moisture.

Apply 2–3 even coats in one direction and let each coat dry for 2 hours before applying another.

First, I painted the whole cat body with a black color because it is a Halloween craft. 🖤

Next, I detailed the eyes, ears, mouth, and legs with a white color.

Finally, let the project dry for 2 hours before sealing.

Step 10: Sealing the cat

I used gloss varnish for sealing because it offers a glossy, ceramic-like finish and, most importantly, makes a water-resistant coating that protects air dry clay projects from moisture and weather elements.

Or you can use polyurethane varnish, UV resin, or epoxy resin for a glass-like finish.

Apply 2–3 thin and even coats in one direction to avoid forming tacky spots and a mushy core.

After the final coat, let the sealer dry for 24 hours to dry and cure. ⏳

Congratulations, crafters! We have successfully completed the Halloween bat—sorry, Halloween cat decor. 👏

Final thoughts 💭

Even though I had to be satisfied with the Halloween clay cat, I desperately need you to succeed in making the Halloween bat with the procedure given, right?

Make sure to plan the project ahead and get the ideal thickness as I said.

In this Halloween season, you can display it in your home as decor and gift it to someone to make them happy. 🎁

If you find out any further tips, tricks, and mistakes you made and learned how to fix, make sure to comment them down below, because as a community, sharing is caring.

Now it’s time to start making yours!

Be sure to tag @clayandmestudios in your Halloween bat or cat. I’d love to see your Halloween project. I’ll see ya with another awesome project. Cheers! 🤟🏾

DIY Halloween Black Cat Craft with Air Dry Clay 🐾

Warsha

If you're in a rush or just want a quick refresher without re-reading the whole story, don't worry! I've put together a handy summary card below with all the key steps and supplies you need to bring your spooky little cat craft to life. 🐱✨

Print Instructions Pin Instructions

Supplies Needed

  

Air dry clay (DAS, Mont Marte, Jovi, or any reputed brand you can find is okay)

Acrylic rolling pin

PVC mat or silicone mat (or non-stick surface)

Clay crafting tools

Clay cutting tool (X-acto knife or small knife)

Cup of water or spray bottle

Acrylic paints

Gloss varnish

Paintbrushes

Paper towels

A pair of scissors

Optional: Sponge or silicone sculpting tool (or you can use your finger)

Instructions

 

1. Knead & Roll 🍕

• Condition your air dry clay with a little water and roll it out evenly.

2. Trace & Cut ✂️

• Place your bat paper template on the slab, trace the outlines, and cut out the shape.

3. Spot the Cat 🐈‍⬛

• If the tray wings crack or break while drying, smooth or sand down the broken edges of the central body—the bat body and ears double perfectly as a sitting cat silhouette!

4. Paint 🖌️

• Apply 2–3 coats of black acrylic paint as the base. Add cute eyes, ears, nose, and leg details using white paint.

5. Seal & Protect 🦭

• Finish with 2–3 thin coats of gloss varnish for a sleek, ceramic-like finish. Let dry for 24 hours to cure! ✨

Video

You can use this trinket tray to place candy (sweets and lollies) you collect during this festive season. Actually, I made it quite bigger than my previous trinket trays to use it for more occasions to hold more items. 🍬

You can gift this to your loved ones, which is such a unique gift, and most importantly, it was not purchased from a store. You’re gonna handmade it with love. 🎁

In this tutorial, I’m gonna tell you each and every step I followed to make this spooky tray. Don’t worry, I don’t provide expert and complex tips which are hard for beginners. As a beginner myself, I’d love to follow a guide with simple steps because they are easy to follow. So, you’re at the right place. 👍

Ok, enough talking! Let’s start making! ✨

Supplies you’ll need

• Air dry clay (DAS, Mont Marte, Jovi, or any reputed brand you can find is okay)
• Acrylic rolling pin
• PVC mat or silicone mat (or non-stick surface)
• Clay crafting tools
• Clay cutting tool (X-acto knife or small knife)
• Cup of water or spray bottle
• Acrylic paints
• Gloss varnish
• Paintbrushes
• Paper towels
• Optional: Sponge or silicone sculpting tool (or you can use your finger)

If you couldn’t find any of the above tools, simply check your kitchen drawers. You’ll find a handful of items that can be used as clay crafting tools. Toothpicks, a small knife, and wooden cutting boards are such. 🍴

Read: The Pros and Cons of Air Dry Clay: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Easy DIY Halloween pumpkin tray tutorial video 🎥

To make it easier for you, I made a video tutorial as well and embedded it here. You can use it too with this written tutorial to never miss anything and achieve a better result than mine, adding your creativity as well. 🎬

Feel free to watch and try it out! 📺

Finished watching the video? Let’s have a look at the detailed written step by step guide.

Step by step guide to making your air dry clay pumpkin

Before you start making, I highly advise you to go to a well ventilated area or open all the windows in your working area. Tiny air dry clay particles can make you cough during the process, and good air circulation stops them from going into your nose. 🪟

Step 1: Conditioning and kneading the clay

Even though this step seems small, trust me it is one of the most important, because if you skip this, your hours of work will be gone due to cracks. ⚠️

First of all, take a fresh piece of clay from the package. If you want to make the tray look bigger, you’ll probably have to take around 1.1 lbs (500g) of air dry clay, which is quite a big chunk of a piece. 🧱

Then tap the clay surfaces with a little bit of water to condition the clay.

Conditioning before kneading is a must to remove the stiffness and make the clay flexible enough for kneading. 💧

Next, start kneading the clay with force using the pull and push technique just like when you’re making a pizza dough. Add a little bit of water while you’re kneading to make it easier, and keep kneading until the clay becomes soft enough for shaping. 🍕

You’ll feel when to stop kneading the clay and move into the next step.

Let me tell you the importance of kneading air dry clay before you start any project with it: 📌

• Makes the clay soft enough for shaping.
• Stops clay from cracking as it dries.
• Spreads the moisture evenly.
• Avoids uneven shrinkage as the clay dries.
• Releases the trapped air bubbles.

Air dry clay is a highly porous material with lots of moisture and air bubbles inside. They are spread randomly across different layers of air dry clay. When you’re kneading, the moisture inside will spread evenly across all the layers, and trapped air bubbles will release.

This is a good thing because air dry clay shrinks as it dries, and having unorganized moisture amounts leads to uneven shrinkage, which can cause surface cracking. ⚡

Due to the uneven shrinkage, the tension buildup between the inner and outer layers of air dry clay becomes higher, forming microcracks on the surface. These cracks will become bigger and wider as the clay dries.

Basically, it means that if you skip kneading the clay before shaping your project, there is a high chance of surface cracks occurring as it dries. So, kneading is a must.

Step 2: Rolling the clay

Now roll your kneaded air dry clay piece to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch. 🪵

Make sure to use a non stick rolling pin and mat for rolling your air dry clay.

I use an acrylic rolling pin, and my mat is made of PVC, which makes both non stick. Or you can use a silicone mat as well.

If you’re planning to use a wooden cutting board as your rolling surface, make sure to place parchment paper above it before placing the clay to avoid it from sticking to the surface. Because wood absorbs the moisture of the clay quickly and makes a vacuum like seal, which makes it harder to roll and lift the clay up after rolling. 📜

Same if you’re using a wooden rolling pin. Place parchment paper between the rolling pin and your clay while rolling to avoid the mess.

Even though you use non stick materials for the rolling surface and pin, you should not keep the clay piece in the same position while rolling, which can create adhesion between the surface and the clay.

Don’t roll your clay piece too thin because thin pieces have a high tendency to warp as the clay dries due to the shrinkage. The weight of the clay needs to be high enough so it can bear the tension that forces towards the middle as the clay dries, because outer areas of the tray dry and shrink quicker than the clay inside due to the higher air circulation.

Also, make sure not to make the clay piece too thick because it may take weeks to dry fully. 1/4 inch thickness is ideal as the tray base, or you can make it 1/2 inch if you plan to hollow out the clay just like I did while making the orange trinket tray. 🍊

After rolling the clay slab, smooth it out by dipping your index finger in the cup of water and gliding across the clay slab to remove tiny bumps, cracks, and imperfections. Smoothing after each step is a must to get a nice and clean look, but only with a little amount of water. 💧

Step 3: Making the paper template

As you know, usually I do freehand tracing before cutting, and I admire it because freehand drawing without using cookie cutters, molds, or templates improves your drawing ability and makes your piece unique. 🎨

Honestly, I’m so bad at drawing, and I make at least 5-6 errors while tracing the clay slab because my right hand doesn’t behave as my brain wants. 😂 But still, I do freehand tracing because I want to get improved.

Except for this project.

In this project I planned to use the paper template method because the tray is big and I need to get the exact jack-o’-lantern face with no mistakes.

1. Here are the steps I followed to make the paper template as easily as possible: 📝
2. Googled “halloween pumpkin 2d online” images. 🔍
3. Selected the one I liked the most with a jack-o’-lantern face. 🎃
4. Took a black and white printout of it on an A4 size paper. 🖨️
5. Cut around the outline to get my paper template. ✂️

If you already have a jack-o’-lantern face pumpkin mold, I highly recommend you use that because it is much easier and you don’t need to carve it, which I do in later sections to emphasize the details of the face.

Step 4: Tracing and cutting the pumpkin shape

Now place the paper template you made in the middle of your rolled air dry clay slab and trace around it using your clay tracing tool or toothpick. ✏️

Do this patiently because we don’t want to mess up the face. After tracing the outline of the pumpkin, map the eyes, nose, and mouth with the same tool by placing nearby dotted lines. This will help you get the exact shape of the face while cutting.

Next, cut along your traced lines patiently using the X-acto knife or a small knife. 🔪

Lift the blade while you’re cutting the outline constantly, clean the stuck tiny clay pieces, and start cutting again. This up and down cutting motion will help you get sharp, nice, and smooth edges with no cracks.

Be careful when cutting the bottom of the pumpkin shape because there is a wiggly area which can easily go wrong.

After cutting the jack-o’-lantern face pumpkin, remove the paper template and remove the excess clay.

Finally, smooth out the edges and top of the clay slab with a little bit of water.

Step 5: Making and attaching the tray rim

Since the tray is big, I’m not going to attach the tray rim outside as a separate section around the base. Instead, I’m going to place it over the base around the edge. This way I can guarantee it won’t separate as the clay dries due to shrinkage, because I have the advantage of gravitational force as well. Don’t worry, you’ll eventually understand what I meant. Keep reading…

First of all, I took a fresh piece of clay and kneaded it well to make it soft. Then I rolled it to an even thickness like a snake. 🐍

Trust me, it was so long and rolling kept getting challenging because you’ll have to keep the same thickness (same diameter) everywhere to get the perfect rim shape.

After rolling the clay you need to follow the score and slip method to attach it to the tray base.

Let me tell you what this score and slip method is in brief. 💡

You cannot attach two air dry clay pieces together just by pressing them because they separate as the clay dries due to the shrinkage.

So you need to score the surfaces you’re willing to attach first using the scoring tool or a toothpick. Next, apply a paste called “slip” over the scored area, which works as an adhesive glue for air dry clay. 🧪

If you don’t have the slip, I suggest you make one, or you have another option which is “water”. 💧

Let me tell you how,

First, I scored around the edges of the tray base and then scored along the tray rim I made. Then I tapped the scored areas with a little bit of water using my fingertips. Trust me, water works just as good as the slip I talked about earlier. Slip is the professional method while water is the shortcut. But still, I recommend you make the slip for this one or for your future projects because it is the industry standard.

Water also works as adhesive glue because it mixes with the scored tiny clay pieces and helps to attach two air dry clay pieces well, which won’t separate as the clay dries.

Next I carefully placed and attached the tray rim around the pumpkin tray base.

Cut the edges of the tray rim at an angle and attach carefully using a little bit of water without making a bump where two ends meet.

Now smooth out along the tray rim and the tray base middle to make the combo look nice, clean, and smooth.

Step 6: Carve the eyes, nose and mouth a little

To make the jack-o’-lantern face more realistic, I carved the eyes, nose, and mouth areas of the pumpkin a little with my carving tools. This is an optional step. It was a little experiment of mine. 🛠️

Make sure not to damage the tray base or hit the bottom while you’re hollowing out the clay. That’s why I told you to carve only a little. We are trying here to make it look beautiful only, and there is no use in carving deeper. Remember that!

After carving is done, smooth out the hollowed areas with a little bit of water to make the spaces nice and clean.

I have stamped “HAPPY HALLOWEEN” on the tray base.

Awesome friend! You have made the Halloween pumpkin tray. But it is still, you know, now it’s time to let it dry and start the finishing part. Oh!!! WAIT WAIT!!! I ALMOST FORGOT! We need to add the stem before letting it dry. I’m sorry. 😅

Step 7: Adding the pumpkin stem

First knead a fresh, small piece of air dry clay and bend it to make the pumpkin stem shape.

Then shape the stem body and shape the bottom with a wider and flat design, which helps to make a better grip with the tray.

Next score the bottom of the stem and the top small area of the tray rim. Apply the slip or tap the scored areas with a little bit of water and attach the stem to the tray rim.

Smooth out the joint to vanish the seam, and detail the texture of the stem using a toothpick or clay scoring tool to give a realistic look.

That’s it. Now it’s time to let the project dry.

Step 8: Letting it dry

Let the Halloween pumpkin clay tray dry for 72 hours (3 days) in a cool, well ventilated area. Usually, I let my projects dry for 24-48 hours, but not this one because it is too big and it needs more drying time due to the high clay amount. ⏳

Slow drying is a must to avoid clay from cracking.

Drying time can change due to the thickness of your air dry clay and the humidity in your area. High humidity means a slow water evaporation speed and the drying time will be longer. 🌧️

High air circulation dries the outer area of the tray faster than the tray base middle, building up tension between the layers. As the tension exceeds over a certain limit, the clay will start to crack and there is no going back from there. 🛑

Your hours of work will be completely gone because cracks loosen up the clay and ruin your work. This is why I keep telling you to let your project dry slow. Slow drying won’t trigger uneven shrinkage and no surface cracks.

Air dry clay has a grey color when it is wet. So after drying for 3 days, check if there are any grey patches on the surface and the bottom. If there are some, you need to let it dry for another 24 hours. 🕵️‍♂️

Once the project is fully dried, it will display in pure white form and that’s when you’re good to move into the painting and finishing step. ⚪

Read: Can You Paint Air Dry Clay Before It Dries? (And What Happens If You Do)

Step 9: Painting the pumpkin tray

I used acrylic paints for my air dry clay projects because they come in vivid colors, need no water for mixing or dissolving, dry quickly within 2 hours, make a water resistant coating over the clay, and provide a glossy and shiny finish. 🎨

If you use any other kind of paint, make sure not to use too much water for mixing or dissolving, because water weakens the clay inside, loosens joints, and causes cracks to occur. ⚠️

I mixed orange with white acrylic to make the color I wanted for the tray base. I started painting from the tray base because then I can spin and rotate the piece as I want while painting without worrying about touching the paint. 🖌️

Then I painted the clay-carved eyes, nose, and mouth of the pumpkin with black color. 🖤

After painting the tray base I painted the rim with a dark orange color to emphasize it even more.

Finally, I painted the stem area with green color acrylic. 💚

For the detailing part I used white and dark red acrylics. Do as you like to get the finish you want.

Make sure to apply thin and even coats of paint in one direction for a nice finish. Apply 2-3 coats of acrylic and let each coat dry for 2 hours before applying another.

After the final coat let it dry for 2 hours before you start the sealing.

Step 10: Sealing the tray

You can use gloss varnish, polyurethane varnish, UV resin, or epoxy resin for sealing your air dry clay projects. 🛡️

I used gloss varnish because it makes a water resistant coating over air dry clay, offers long term protection, and most importantly provides a ceramic, glossy like finish. ✨

If you want a water like, more glass like finish, go with epoxy resin, but avoid forming bubbles as you finish.

Apply a thin and even coat of gloss varnish along one direction to avoid forming tacky spots and a mushy core.

Apply 2-3 coats and let each coat dry for 24 hours. 🕒

Sealing air dry clay is a must before using it or placing it as home decor, because outside moisture weakens the clay and causes surface cracks. 🏠

I highly recommend you not to place your air dry clay projects outside, even after sealing them with the best sealer in the world, because harsh weather conditions eventually damage the sealer coating, find a way to get inside of the clay, and damage it. So, always place your air dry clay projects inside. Remember that!

After sealing the pumpkin tray completely, let it dry and cure for 24 hours. That’s it!

Congratulations my friends! We did it! We made a unique handmade spooky pumpkin air dry clay tray for this Halloween season and the process is worth remembering. 🎃🥳

Final thoughts

I tried my best to provide you all the things I did to achieve this beautiful piece as simple as possible. Once you have read the entire tutorial, please mention any additional questions in the comments section.

I’ll answer all of them asap. 💬

Also, if you found better ways of doing things than I did, please mention them too in the comments section. We need to share the things we know with the community, which is wonderful. 🤝

Now it’s time for you to start your own spooky pumpkin tray with air dry clay. Use it to place the chocolates such as Snickers, Twix, Kit Kat, Milky Way, M&M’s and Gummy Bears during this festive season. Or you can gift it to someone you love to refresh your bond with them.

Be sure to tag @clayandmestudios in your pumpkin clay tray project. I sure love to see them when you do. I’ll see you next time with another cool project! Cheers! 🤟🏾

Halloween Pumpkin Tray with Air Dry Clay

Warsha

Ready to bring your spooky Halloween creation to life? Here is a quick summary guide of the full step-by-step process so you can follow along easily while crafting your adorable air dry clay pumpkin tray! 🎃✨

Print Instructions Pin Instructions

Supplies Needed

  

Air dry clay (DAS, Mont Marte, Jovi, or any reputed brand you can find is okay)

Acrylic rolling pin

PVC mat or silicone mat (or non-stick surface)

Clay crafting tools

Clay cutting tool (X-acto knife or small knife)

Cup of water or spray bottle

Acrylic paints

Gloss varnish

Paintbrushes

Paper towels

Optional: Sponge or silicone sculpting tool (or you can use your finger)

Instructions

 

Step 1: Knead and condition the clay 💧

• Take about 1.1 lbs (500g) of air dry clay, sprinkle with a little water, and knead well using a pull-and-push technique until soft to prevent future cracking.

Step 2: Roll out the slab 🪵

• Roll the clay to an even 1/4-inch thickness on a non-stick mat, turning it frequently to avoid sticking, then smooth out bumps with a wet finger.

Step 3: Prepare your template ✂️

• Print a 2D jack-o’-lantern design on A4 paper and cut out the outline to create a paper stencil.

Step 4: Trace and cut the pumpkin shape 🔪

• Place the stencil on the clay, trace around it with a toothpick, map out facial features, and carefully cut the outline using an up-and-down motion with a craft knife.

Step 5: Carve facial features 🛠️

• Gently carve shallow indentations for the eyes, nose, and mouth to add texture, taking care not to cut through the base, then smooth with a little water.

Step 6: Attach the tray rim 🐍

• Roll a long coil of clay with uniform thickness. Score the base edges and coil, apply clay slip or water, and attach the coil on top along the perimeter.

Step 7: Add the stem 🪵

• Shape a small clay piece into a curved stem with a flat base. Score, moisten, and press it onto the top rim, then smooth the joint and carve texture lines.

Step 8: Dry slowly ⏳

• Leave the tray to dry in a cool, well-ventilated area for 72 hours away from direct heat or sunlight until all grey patches turn completely white.

Step 9: Paint the tray 🎨

• Apply 2–3 thin coats of acrylic paint (orange for base, dark orange for rim, black for face details, green for stem), letting each coat dry for 2 hours.

Step 10: Seal and cure 🛡️

• Apply 2–3 coats of gloss varnish, drying 24 hours between coats, to protect the tray with a water-resistant glossy finish.

Video