Certain scents have always brought Christmas memories to my mind. Memories have stirred with the scents of cinnamon, clove, peppermint, and more.
Since I love using my essential oils, it only made sense to somehow incorporate them into our Christmas tree by making clay diffuser ornaments.
I had all the supplies I needed on hand, and you may too.
Supplies You'll Need for Clay Diffuser Ornaments
Here's what you'll need… Let's gather supplies.
- Air-Dry Clay
- Cutting board (with parchment paper) or craft mat
- Rolling pin
- Christmas cookie cutters
- Decorative acrylic stamps
- Stamp block/s
- Small cup of water
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Ribbon
Instructions for DIY Clay Diffuser Ornaments
Cover a cutting board with parchment paper to protect the surface of your board, or just use a craft mat, whichever you prefer.
I had originally planned to use white clay, but the only unopened clay I had that wasn't dried out was the Terracotta color. And actually, I ended up liking the Terracotta color even more because when all was said and done, the ornaments reminded me of cinnamon ornaments.
Roll out the clay to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Tip: If it's too thick, the ornaments will be extra heavy on your tree.
Once your clay is rolled out, begin cutting out shapes with the cookie cutters.
Now comes the fun of decorating your ornaments. Attach acrylic stamps to your stamp blocks and leave impressions on each ornament.
I added snowflake borders, snowflake stripes, a berry branch, a kind of snowflake star, and more.
Just have fun with it! The best part about using this type of clay is if you mess up, it's pretty easy to smooth over the design and try again.
Just keep a little water on hand, so you can dip your fingers in it before smoothing out a design.
When you're done decorating, use a pencil to create a hole in the top of your ornament, in order to insert a ribbon for hanging. Then let the ornaments dry for 24-48 hours.
Finish Your Ornaments
Cut a piece of ribbon, about 4-6 inches in length. Poke the ribbon through each ornament hole, using a pencil or other sharp object to help get it through the hole.
Tie the ribbon in a double knot for hanging.
Now you can pick your favorite scents of essential oils, and add a few drops to your ornaments.
My favorites for the Christmas season? Hmmm… I definitely love Cinnamon Bark, Clove, Orange, Christmas Spirit, and Peppermint.
Your house is bound to smell like Christmas when this craft is all finished and hung on the tree.
Can't make them just yet? Pin it for later!
What are your favorite Christmas and holiday scents?
Hi Mel,
I want to do these but I’m concerned about the clay. I read on another post that the scent just makes a sticky mess on the clay because it isn’t an organic material, but rather made of plastic compounds. Can you tell me how these have worked out for you?
The crayola is natural earth clay.
About how many ornaments were you able to make from one container of the Crayola air dry clay?
Angela, oh goodness, it’s been awhile since I made these. But I’d say probably around 2 dozen. Depends on the size of your cookie cutters.
These are beautiful! I am going to be hosting an ornament party and this was just the information I was looking for :)
Thank you, Heather!