Are you looking for the perfect craft to do for gift giving this holiday season? Look no further, this air-dry clay tutorial will teach you step by step how to make the cutest little gift that keeps on giving all year round. Who doesn’t love Pop-Tarts? Here are all the steps:
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What you’ll need
- Air-dry clay (You can also use polymer clay, but you have to bake that.)
- Acrylic paint
- Paint brushes
- Sand paper
- Rolling pin (optional- I used a random cup I found)
- Sealing gloss
- Photos of your favorite Pop-Tart flavor
- Spooly
- Q-tips
- Some sort of sponge
- Score tool (I used a paperclip)
- Water
For this project I am focusing on the following flavors:
- Blueberry
- Cherry
- Wild Berry
- Brown Sugar
Step 1: Prepare the Pastry
Here is where you will create the “crust” part of the pop-Tart. You need to pay special attention to the small details on the real Pop-tart and try your best to recreate with the clay. I just eyeballed a size I liked making sure it was more of a rectangle than a square since that matches a real pop-tart measurement. You can make this a big or as small as you want.
After I formed the shape I wanted I went it and added detail with the Q-tips and spooly. I basically poked around it with the Q-tip and then after that went over it with the spooly adding the texture. You can go as far as you want in this step- don’t overthink it!
Step 2: Figure out the Frosting
Here is where you need to look at the real pop-tart to ensure you are keeping it as realistic as possible. I personally purchased these pop-tarts to see them in real time (I love pop-tarts and knew I would either eat them or give them away) but you can also Google pictures. The more specific you get with the name of the flavor the more likely you will get a good close up picture of what you need to see.
Pro Tip: Be sure you remember to score your clay. This basically means to scratch both sides of the “frosting” and add a little water to get them to stay together. You might think this part doesn’t matter, but I promise its common practice when it comes to any kind of ceramic work and a good rule to follow.
Step 3: The Devil is in the Details
For some of these it will be as simple as putting a big chunk of the frosting down and then adding “sprinkles” but for certain flavors you will need to add a squiggles and other specific details to have the entire image come together.
Sprinkles: I kept a small piece of clay out to dry out a bit and then rubbed it between my fingers so that it turned into tiny little crumbs. From there I made sure to wet the top of the “frosting” piece of clay and sprinkled the tiny crumbs of clay on top of the wet clay.
Squiggles: This was exactly what it looks like. I got small pieces of clay and rolled it until it was thin long. From there I used a googled picture of the “Wild Berry” flavor and copied a pattern I liked. The first time I laid down the pieces I didn’t end up liking it so I removed them and started over. Don’t be afraid to start over!
I also ended up just painting squiggles on there for a less 3D effect. Both ended up cute so it’s up to your preference.
Step 4: Smooth with Sandpaper
You will want to follow this step after your clay pop-tart has dried all the way. The drying process should only take 24-72 hours to dry completely. This part might be unnecessary depending on the quality of your clay and your desired end product. For some of the flavors you are going to want a smooth finish on the frosting but for the most part the crust might be the only thing that needs some polishing.
For some pop-tarts, only the sides and edges will be sanded to smooth it down.
Step 5: Paint your Pop-Tarts
This is where your paint will come into play. You want to choose or mix colors that fit the exact shade you are going for. For the most part this should be simple. Some details will be very small so do your best to paint in the places you need to so you can keep your vision of the final product alive. I use acrylic paints. Make sure you have tiny brushes to paint those small little sprinkles.
For the crust I mixed together beige (white, brown, and yellow) and then from there added a bit of orange and kept mixing and adding those colors until I like it.
Step 6: Seal your Creation
This is my favorite part because it’s so satisfying to paint a clear coat of whatever sealing agent you choose over the entire pop-tart. I used a shiny one but matte would also work- it just depends on the look you are going for!
I used Mod Podge witch started off kinda opaque and scary but dries completely clear.
Step 7: Add your Magnet
I bought these from amazon- you want to make sure they are strong because the pop-tarts weigh more than you would think.
I used e360 glue to make sure it stayed- this is a very strong glue.
Final Result!
Are they perfect? Far from it. Will they make people smile? I sure hope so. These were a labor of love.
All in all, these are a fun craft perfect for all ages that are fun to gift the people you love or to have on your own fridge! Be sure to leave a comment to let me know if you’ve tried making these and what worked for you!
Until then, happy crafting!
[…] Want more fake food crafts? Check out my post on DIY Air Dry Clay Magnets! […]