Hi friends!! Let’s get crafty today and make a ceramic couch! Such a fun, calming, and pretty DIY project that’ll have you in admiration of what your hands can make and what your mind can imagine!
I made the couch using air dry clay (aka – a natural earth clay that dries/cures with air). What I love about it is that it’s also a cute piece of storage! I’m using it to store jewelry, but you can keep hair ties, lip balm, makeup, really anything you want in it! Here’s to adorable crafts that serve a functional purpose!
Alright, let’s get into it…
Materials Used:
- Crayola Air Dry Clay (there are lots of other brands and kinds of air dry clay too)
- Pottery Tools
- Acrylic Paint (any acrylic paint will work!)
- Glossy Mod Podge
YouTube Tutorial
I posted a more in depth tutorial of all this on YouTube, if you would rather follow along with the video, here it is!
Step 1: Assemble the Couch
First thing’s first, we gotta get this couch made. So roll up your sleeves because this part is messy! Dig in to the clay and assemble the couch. You can form it into the shape that I did or you can change it to your liking! The options are endless. If you want it to be a functional storage piece as well, just remember to make the inside of the couch hollow and to make separate clay cushions that you can take on and off. With this specific air dry clay, you can treat it as you would any earth clay, so if it needs to be more wet or needs help with shaping, you can use water while forming it. Once you’re done forming the couch (don’t worry it doesn’t have to be perfect at this stage yet), you can move on to Step 2.
Step 2: Final Trimming of the Couch
Just like with any earth clay, there is a drying period. When it comes to air dry clay, that drying period can be anywhere from 2-7 days depending on the thickness and size of your piece. When your piece is roughly half or 3/4 dry, it’s at a point where it is strong but still wet enough to be shaped. This phase in the lifecycle of your clay piece is called “leather-hard.” So when your piece is leather-hard, you can shape, trim, shave, and design it more to your liking! To do this, you’d want to use a clay trimming tool (they come in pottery tool kits or you can buy separately), like what you can see in the image below. After you’re done trimming, let the piece fully dry and then move onto the next step!
Step 3: Paint Time
Once your piece is fully dry, you can paint it! I’d recommend using acrylic paint, you can get it almost anywhere and it’s always on sale. For this couch I painted two coats of the yellow paint and two coats for all the stripes. For this couch specifically, I had a few different pattern options in mind and I chose the yellow and brown stripes. Ya know, it didn’t turn out exactly as I’d have hoped, but it’s still cute! And what’s great is that if I get sick of this design at some point, I can paint right over it and have a new design on there! Options are endless and just remember that art isn’t about being perfect, it’s about having fun while doing it!
Step 4: Mod Podge to Seal It
Last step is to seal the paint and make the piece shiny. For this step I used Glossy Mod Podge – it did a great job, but I do have a feeling that there are better sealants/glossy coats out there, so I’ll be doing some research and will report back! But either way Mod Podge is always a solid option!
Step 5: Admire What you Just Made!
Once the Mod Podge is on there and dry, the piece is done!! Yes, you did that!! I love how it turned out and I hope you love yours too! It’s just such a fun craft idea and it’s so cool how it’s a functional piece as well that can store small items.
Thank you so much for taking the time to be here, it means the world to me. I hope that this gave you some good air dry clay inspiration for your next pottery project! If you made a ceramic couch, I would LOVE to see it, send me pictures! If you have any questions or comments, leave them down below! For more DIY projects, inspo, and content, check out this page!
