Air Dry Clay Tool I Can’t Work Without | Easy Brush + Pen Holder Tutorial

Let’s make this. It’s the art accessory you never knew you needed! I made a list of the materials I used for this air dry clay project, but you don’t need everything. Here’s the template I’m planning to use for my brush holder.

This is how the brush holder will look. It starts with a simple piece of paper. I want to have a place to keep my pens, pencils, and even my craft knives all in one container, while also being able to lay my brushes flat. My old brush holder wasn’t cutting it. When you dry your brushes standing upright, the water goes into the ferrule and loosens the glue — not good! And how many times have you had a brush roll off the table into your stuff?

This new design for this air dry clay project should help contain everything neatly and keep it out of the way. I have a very small workspace, so that’s important. These are just a few of the materials I’ll be using, and we’ll get started.

I’m using DAS, my favorite air-dry clay from a previous project. Let’s roll it out for our template. I’m using regular popsicle sticks to help me get an even thickness, about a quarter of an inch thick. By rolling the clay between the sticks, I can keep it fairly even. I wish I had longer sticks, but I’ll make do and move them up as I go.

Now, I’ll check how it fits. It fits perfectly. Using an X-Acto knife, I’ll clean up the edges where I didn’t cut all the way through the clay.

In order to know where to fold the clay to make my sides, I fold each side of the template and lightly score the clay. This marks the location to fold up the clay.

I’m adding a tiny bit of water, not too much. Just enough to smooth out the rough edges. I prefer using my fingers for this rather than a tool. I’m folding up the sides now to create the brush rest shape and smoothing it out.

If you have long nails, be careful. I keep making little dents in the clay! Just something to keep in mind. I’ll prop the sides up and let it dry.

It took three full days to dry, but it looks fantastic. There is hardly any cracking, just a few nail marks that need to be sanded out. Overall, it feels really sturdy. I’m using 400-grit sandpaper to lightly smooth everything out. I wore a mask while sanding since it creates a lot of dust.

I’m out of gesso. Normally, gesso is used to prep the surface so that paint adheres better. Since this is just for me, I’m improvising. I have some coarse-texture gel that can be mixed with acrylic paint. It has a sandy finish, which I actually think will look cool for this piece. So I’m applying that all over and letting it dry.

I’m not too worried about the texture being perfect; I want full coverage. I’m using a small brush to apply the texture gel evenly over the top, sides, and scalloped edges. It has a weird sandy feel, but it actually helps cover some of the flaws. I had just enough to cover everything. Once it’s all coated, I’ll let it dry completely before moving on to decoration.

When it was dry, I painted the entire piece with white acrylic over the texture gel. The surface was a little too coarse for my liking, so I sanded it down a bit before applying another layer of acrylic paint.

For decoration, I had planned to use a gold Sharpie, but I couldn’t find it; only silver was available. So, I used a metallic gold ink instead. I applied it with a small sponge to highlight the edges. It looks nice and adds a subtle shine.

Link to the Gold Ink used: Kuretake Painting Ink, for dip Pen, Brush, Liquid, Paste, Artist, Non Toxic Paints, Illustration, Lettering, Drawing, Writing, Made in Japan (Gold(Paste Type)) https://amzn.to/43KZKLT (This link is an affiliate link, which helps support the blog at no additional cost to you. Thank you!) Additional products used are listed below.

Once that dried, I sealed the entire piece with Mod Podge, the dishwasher-safe version. It’s not entirely waterproof, but it’s water-resistant, which is perfect since I’ll be using it around water. I applied it generously, ensuring a thorough coating of the inside, outside, and edges for complete protection.

And that’s a wrap! The DIY air-dry clay brush and pen holder is complete. I’ve tested it out, and it works like a charm. I hope you enjoyed this video and that you’ll give this project a try.

Please share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe if you found this video helpful. I’ll see you soon — bye!