Easy DIY Ornaments Inspired by Harry Potter. This craft is so simple anyone can do it, and the ornaments look good enough to gift to others. They make fantastic gifts for Christmas or birthdays, and they would be perfect as a party favor for a Harry Potter themed party.
I’m going to be honest with you about something. I’m not a crafty person. I have great ideas and good intentions but very little artistic ability. My handmade crafts rarely turn out well.
So when I got this idea for making Harry Potter themed ornaments, I did not have high hopes for the end product. Guess what though? They turned out beautifully.
In fact, these handmade ornaments turned out so well that we gifted them last Christmas to practically everyone we knew. Several of each design was proudly displayed on our own Christmas tree as well. I kind of wish we had made them earlier to use as a party favor during our weekend-long Harry Potter Movie Marathon.
Handcrafted Ornaments Inspired by Harry Potter
This clay ornament craft is easy and looks great. They are perfect for any Harry Potter fan. Not to mention, they make fantastic Christmas gifts, birthday presents and party favors.
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Here’s everything you need to know to make them for yourself.
How to Make DIY Harry Potter Ornaments With Air Dry Clay
All you need for this simple Harry Potter craft is clay, cookie cutters, paint and a little patience.
Ornament Craft Materials:
- Air Dry Clay (2.2 pounds of clay made 31 ornaments)
- Owl and Lightning Cookie Cutters (We used this cookie cutter set.)
- Acrylic Paints (white and yellow)
- Permanent Markers (gold, silver, yellow and black)
- Paintbrush
Step-by-Step Directions
Making the ornaments themselves was incredibly easy. It was more time-consuming than anything because there is so much wait time between steps.
You can create these DIY Harry Potter Themed Ornaments in three simple steps. (Didn’t I tell you it was easy???)
STEP ONE: Shape the Ornaments
The first step is to shape the ornaments.
Working with small amounts of clay at a time, roll the clay flat. (I used a rolling pin for this step.) The trick is to roll it out thin enough that it doesn’t take forever to dry but thick enough that you can easily peel it up from the table surface without destroying them. Aim for making the ornaments about ¼-inch thick.
TIP: If the clay becomes too dry to work with, add a little water to it.
Press the cookie cutters into the flattened clay in order to create the desired shapes.
Use a straw or toothpick to create a hole in each ornament. This hole will be used for stringing your completed ornament later.
Peel each shape up and place it somewhere to dry. (Something like a wire cooling rack would work great.)
STEP TWO: Apply the Base Color
Once the ornaments are completely dry (24-48 hours), you can apply a base layer of acrylic paint.
TIP: Do not use water-based paint for this craft.
We painted the owls white and the lightning bolts yellow.
Allow the paint to dry completely before moving on to the next step.
STEP THREE: Add Details
Once the base layer of paint is completely dry, you will add details to the ornament using the permanent markers.
We used silver or gold along the edges of all the ornaments. This gave it a little sparkle and made the ornaments really pop.
TIP: We found that standard permanent markers worked great. For tracing around the edges though, we found these Zebra brush pens worked best.
On the owl-shaped ornaments, we used the black and yellow markers to draw owl faces, little claw feet and feathers. It sounds difficult but it actually was pretty easy. We used the same basic template as we did for the Snowy Owl balloon decorations a couple years ago.
After adding these small details, simply thread a ribbon through the ornaments so it is ready to hang.
Impressive (Magical) Crafts Ready to Gift
That’s it! You’re done! Your new DIY Harry Potter Ornaments are ready to hang on your tree or gift to your friends.
For additional tips on creating ornaments with air-dry clay, check out this Homemade Gifts Made Easy Craft.
What will you do with the ornaments you have created? Will you keep them for yourself, use them as party favors or gift them to friends?
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These look great! Somehow, I’ve never used air-dry clay. I can also relate to the feeling of not being crafty. This project gives me hope! I feel inspired to give ornaments like these a try.
I couldn’t believe how easy these ornaments were to make!