16 Beautiful DIY Clay Ornament Crafts to Make • Craving Some Creativity

Craft beautiful, meaningful keepsakes with this list of 16 DIY clay ornament projects. Spread festive cheer with these easy techniques, gift-ready ideas, and creative variations for every style.

Collage of DIY clay Christmas ornaments with title overlay.

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If you're ready to make this holiday season extra personal, there's nothing quite like DIY clay ornaments to bring charm, character, and handmade warmth to your décor and gift giving. Whether you're crafting with kids, looking to create a memorable keepsake, or styling a chic tree with a twist, these 16 projects cover ideas suited to beginner crafters and seasoned makers alike - full of texture, color, and personality.

Handmade Ornaments Uses

Add sentimental touches to your Christmas decor and savor the best part of the season- extra family time.

Excellent homemade Christmas gifts. They’re easy to ship and delivered straight from the heart.
Use them as gift tags. They will hold up year and after year and won’t be in landfills.
Homemade bake sale. Attach one to a bag of fresh baked Christmas cookies.
String ornaments from your mantel. Snowflakes, bells, and gingerbread people are fun.
Use them in a holiday centerpiece. The possibilities are truly endless.

So, break out the hot cocoa bar or brew a batch of Christmas punch and spend a family-friendly afternoon crafting to your favorite sounds of the season. This is an ideal activity to include in your Christmas Advent Calendar or Christmas Bucket List.

White clay Christmas tree ornaments hung with red ribbon- one with red paw print and both with black etching commemorating pets.

Clay Paw Print Ornament

Crazy about your furry friends? A Clay Paw Print Ornament is the perfect way to pay homage to the family pet during the holiday season. Follow this simple tutorial by Where the Smiles Have Been to transform ordinary oven-baked clay into a meaningful Christmas memento.

Clay snow-capped Mushroom Christmas tree ornament, features blue cap and white stem with natural looking texture and imperfections.

DIY Woodland Mushroom Ornament

Add some funky flair to your holiday decor with festive DIY Clay Mushroom Ornaments from Inspired by Charm. Learn how to create this precious ornament with everyday craft supplies. It’s the quintessential beginner Christmas craft because the goal is imperfection! Customize your project by shape, size, and color. Mushroom ornaments make great gifts or gift toppers.

White clay angel Christmas tree ornament with sculpted wings and hair and red sculpted clay heart prominent in center.

Easy Clay Angel

Angels are the guardians of hope and wonder, the keepers of magic and dreams. Could there be a more perfect sentiment for the holidays? Churn out a batch of these Clay Angel Ornaments in thirty minutes flat with standard supplies: air dry clay, rolling pin, silicone mat, and a touch of red paint.

Marbled clay coaster style Christmas tree ornaments in red/white and green/white with silver or gold felt hand print cut outs and corresponding ribbon to match.

Sentimental Clay Handprint Ornament

Preserve those sweet little handprints forever as Christmas tree keepsakes with a Clay Handprint Ornament. This updated recipe from The Best Ideas for Kids swaps out salt dough for polymer clay. A wonderful craft for kids, allow your littles to assist with choosing clay colors and twisting it together to create a marbled effect.

Snowflake gingerbread ornament on tree that looks like a cookie surrounded by red and gold ribbon.

Scented Gingerbread Ornaments

Deck your halls with my favorite scent of the season with these rustic no-bake Scented Gingerbread Ornaments. Terracotta clay acts as the perfect base for these tree trimmings. It dries without cracking or curling, looks just like gingerbread, and it’s porous enough to soak in the delicious smell of gingerbread. Gingerbread ornaments are versatile Christmas decorations. These bits of whimsy are darling in wreaths or garland, Christmas kitchen decorations or a tiered tray decoration.

Monogrammed diy polymer clay coasters made out of clay and set on a white background.

How to Marble Clay

How about a dual purpose, family friendly DIY craft that’s ideal for holiday gifting? Marbled Clay Ornaments do it all. Sparkly swirled modeling clay gives the illusion of colorful quartz marble. Although the included tutorial illustrates how to make a set of custom coasters, this versatile project is easy to adapt into Christmas tree ornaments. Simply poke a hole into the top with a straw or a bamboo skewer before it dries and string it up!

White clay cookie cutter style Christmas tree ornaments fashioned to resemble Gingerbread folk hanging from red and green string from a Charlie Brown style tree.

Stamp Cookie Cutter Ornaments

Craving a homemade Christmas? These Stamp Cookie Cutter Ornaments by Inspired by Charm are adorable and easy enough for anyone to create. Follow his no-fail how-to for a fun family craft. The bulk of the supply list is easily shopped in your kitchen- rolling pin, parchment paper, baking sheet, and twine for ribbon.

Polymer Clay Tags

It’s never too early to start Christmas prep. If you haven’t yet mustered up enough yuletide spirit to sift through tubs of ornaments or set up your tree, try your hand at these Polymer Clay Ornaments courtesy of albion gold. These textured trinkets are fun to make together. Kids get a kick out of “carving” their initials in the polymer clay, choosing their favorite craft paint colors, and sprinkling glitter.

Vintage style clay Christmas tree ornaments with texture imprints of antique fabric and word stamps laced with pale blue ribbon.

Heirloom Doily Ornaments

Sweet simplicity goes with any holiday aesthetic. It doesn’t get much simpler then these Rustic Air Dry Clay Ornaments by Making It in the Mountains. Roll out air dry clay and cut with a basic round cookie cutter. Add texture with fabrics- burlap, linen, lace, an heirloom doily- anything you have lying around will suit. Don’t forget to make a straw hole and tie it up with a ribbon.

Mock Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinno with whip, chocolate sprinkles and straw Christmas Tree Ornament clay craft hanging from an otherwise bare tree.

Starbucks Coffee Ornament

If your blood type registers as caffeine, this one’s for you. This Starbucks Coffee Ornament was inspired by albion gould‘s daughters’ affinity for the popular coffee chain. Starting with a sample cup, aka “the pup cup,” she brewed up a keepsake paying homage to their favorite order- the Mocha Frappuccino. The rest of “ingredients” are familiar craft items: air dry clay, twine, card stock, acrylic paint, foam sheet, and the handy, dandy, hot glue gun. Seriously, how darling is this ornament?

Clay textured Christmas tree ornament with fluted edges painted sparkly champagne and tied with gold string.

Baker’s Clay Ornaments

Looking for something more suited to older children? Baker’s Clay Ornaments have us dreaming of a White Christmas. These delicate beauties, also called cornstarch ornaments, are an alternative option to salt dough ornaments. This all-inclusive tutorial from Rainy Day Mum provides a simple 3-ingredient recipe and holiday craft how-to suitable for big kids and kids-at-heart.

White ceramic polymer clay contemporary evergreen sprig Christmas tree ornament with twine price tag.

Evergreen Sprig Ornaments

This contemporary Evergreen Sprig Ornament featured by Made in a Day was inspired by a Hobby Lobby trip. It’s oh so satisfying to have the finished product in hand, knowing you MADE it, at a fraction of the cost! Learn how to work with polymer clay safely & efficiently for a crisp ceramic-like finish. Press a floral evergreen sprig for a rustic touch.

Clay Christmas tree shaped Christmas ornament with wood grain style pattern in natural neutral pattern hung from frosted branch with sparkly green ribbon.

Woodgrain Clay Ornaments

These Woodgrain Ornaments hold a special place in the holiday traditions of the Sparkle Living Blog. They’ve been adorning their Christmas tree with these treasured keepsakes since 2011, so they are durable. They’ve generously included instructions for both salt dough and air dry clay Christmas ornaments. This easy to execute project is ideal for novice crafters.

Clay house shaped minimalist Christmas tree ornaments painted in primary colors with leather cords.

Little Houses of Clay

Add a touch of hygge to your holiday tree with Little House Ornaments. There’s nothing flat about these clay cutouts from Moms and Crafters. Ordinary air dry clay takes on a new life, brimming with personality. These house shaped ornaments are minimalist by design, giving you a full creative license to fill in the blanks. Acrylic paint, glitter, monograms, oh my…. let imaginations run wild! Free PDF included.

Four red, green, and white candy-cane style polymer clay Christmas tree ornaments including: a taffy style ribbon, a lollipop swirl on a stick, a traditional candy cane style, and a marbled disc.

Rolled Clay Candy Ornaments

Remember making Play-do snakes as a kid? Creating Polymer Clay Candy Ornaments feels similar to that. Rolling the clay into slithery lengths, then twisting it together to form braids is a supremely satisfying sensory experience. I don’t care how old you are! This clever tutorial by Creatively Beth yields four yummy candy-cane style ornaments in about an hour. May your holiday be full of candy cane wishes and mistletoe kisses.

Clay word ornaments Christmas craft white air dry clay letter stamped with red & white baker's twine.

Simple Stamped Words

V is for versatile. Projects don’t get much more versatile than Stamped Words Clay. Featured by Homemade Heather as the ultimate kid-friendly Christmas craft: white air dry clay + letter stamps + baker’s twine = Christmas ornament! Genius, right? Substitute polymer clay for the air-dry clay for a sophisticated ceramic-style finish. Purchase custom stamps to create personalized ornaments, gift tags, or wine bottle tags.

FAQs

What is the best clay to make ornaments with?

If you want quick, kid-friendly, and rustic, go with air-dry clay.
If you want durability, precision, and the ability to nicely paint or glaze, choose oven-bake clay.

What kind of paint do you use on clay ornaments?

Acrylic paint is easy to find and comes in a very wide range of colors. For the best coverage, choose a thicker consistency, highly pigmented paint rather than the cheapest available. Paint will often bond better to polymer clay if applied to raw clay and then baked together. Most durable paints are fine, but make sure that your paint can withstand the heat without cracking.

Is air dry clay good for ornaments?

Oven baked clay medium does get cleaner edges and rolls out with a smoother surface than air dry. However, air dry clay is affordable, non-toxic, and durable for making ornaments that last.

How do you preserve clay ornaments?

You can add a coat of clear sealer or paint if desired. Natural clay is porous, so I generally seal with paint. However, sealing isn’t truly required for preserving ornaments. Just make sure they are stored protectively to keep from breaking.

Which project was your favorite of the bunch? Will you be trying any of these techniques this holiday season? Post in the comments below.

Weekend DIY project. A pegboard organizer in the craft room above the desk workspace.

More DIY Christmas Decorating Ideas

PS I love seeing your creations! Be sure to take a photo and tag #cravingcreative on Instagram! You can also stay in touch with me through following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and subscribing to the newsletter!