Halloween decorations add a fun, scary energy to the spooky season. Handmaking Halloween crafts using polymer clay gives your season's accessories, ornaments and decorations a flair and personalized touch. Polymer clay is a flexible and malleable medium that's easy to work with for both children and adults, making it a fun family project to usher in the festive season.
1. Halloween Wreath
Wreaths on the door are a welcoming symbol for trick-or-treaters. Typically, Halloween wreaths are made from twisted black branches or twig foliage painted black. Accessorize your wreaths with polymer clay crafts, such as spooky ghosts, dark foliage and pumpkin details.
To make these crafts, cut out the shapes you want from thick paper, then cut a flattened sheet of polymer clay into these shapes. Use the Sculpey Clay Conditioning Machine to flatten the clay and create even sheets to cut out the scary accents. Attach the ornaments to the wreath using a hot glue gun, and remove the glue strings when they dry for a cleaner craft.
Another creative Halloween wreath craft is stringing together polymer clay glass eyes. You can use the Sculpey Tools™ Oven-Safe Molds: Cabochon to mold the perfect iris shape and Sculpey Premo translucent, white Sculpey Premo™ or Liquid Sculpey®.
2. Polymer Clay Pumpkins
Pumpkins are believed to ward off evil spirits that roam during Halloween. You can use small or large polymer clay pumpkin crafts around your home as décor and a symbol of protection. The Scupley Premo™ polymer clay in burnt orange is the best medium for crafting Halloween pumpkins because it's soft and pliable, blends easily, and holds fine details well.
To make Halloween pumpkins, roll your preferred size of polymer clay into an orange ball, then use a toothpick or Sculpey Tools™ Etch 'n Pearl to indent lines on the ball. Using brown polymer clay, roll out a thick log tapered on one end to use as a stem on top of the pumpkin. If you have some green clay, make pumpkin leaves to place around the stem. An alternative to the plain pumpkins is a pumpkin fairy house that you can also use as a candle holder or candy jar.
3. Twig Tree Decorations
The twig tree adds some much-needed spookiness to your home. It's easy and fun to decorate with various ornaments, from witch hats and black bats to colored lights, pumpkins and ghosts. You can make most of these twig tree decorations using polymer clay.
These ornaments are easy to make for beginners and kids using different types of polymer clay, including Sculpey III®, Liquid Sculpey® and Sculpey Premo. Use the Sculpey Polymer Clay Molds: Whimsy to create intricate polymer clay Halloween ideas like figurines, statues and sculptures. A good example of an ornament you can make using the Sculpey molds is the colorful Sugar Skutterfly Cloche that features a skull and a butterfly.
4. Halloween Canes Tricks
Polymer clay canes make unforgettable and harmless Halloween party tricks. Make some cool polymer canes that you place with some candy to trick kids as they pick treats from the candy jar. Creating polymer clay canes involves creating a design that runs through a log or cylinder of cane. When cut into cross-sectional pieces, the clay canes show off an identical pattern or design in numerous candies.
You can also use polymer clay canes to create colorful Halloween ornaments, coasters, pendants or charms. Here's how to make the perfect polymer clay cane featuring Halloween-inspired images like ghosts, pumpkins, gnomes, googly eyes and whimsical hats:
- Make a template or print an image of the creations you want on the face of the cane.
- Prep your clay by rolling thin sheets of differently colored clays to create the image.
- Build the image, piecing together the clay sheets into a strip that matches the design on your template.
- Roll a larger and thicker sheet of plain-colored clay over the image until you have an even rod.
- Place your cane in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up before you start cutting it into candies.
- Use a clay cutter or knife wrapped in a thin layer of cling film to cut the cane into candies.
5. Halloween Garland
Break out the Christmas garlands early and infuse the festive fall mood by including Halloween polymer clay creations on your garlands. Use polymer clay to cut out shapes like spiders, webs, bats and pumpkins, which you thread together to make spooky garlands. Sculpey silicone molds can help you cut out the perfect shapes for your garlands.
Make them even more spooky by coloring your polymer clay garlands using acrylic paints and color tints to infuse festive colors. Unlike paper-cut garlands, polymer clay garlands are versatile. For example, you can wrap the Halloween garland around your twig tree, a table or your mantle.
6. Halloween Party Invite
Are you planning a Halloween party? Impress your guests and encourage them to attend with polymer clay-crafted frames with printed invitation inserts. The best part about polymer clay party invites is that the recipients can reuse them to hold and display their treasured images afterward, leaving a lasting impression.
Save time and energy when making several invites by using simple store-bought wooden frames that you embellish with polymer clay creations. Make polymer clay crafts that align with the theme of your party, then prepare the frame by sanding it roughly with sandpaper. The Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay Adhesive is the best for attaching polymer clay to porous surfaces like wood. After applying it to the wood frame, give it some time to soak into the grain, forming a sticky and tacky surface.
7. Halloween Polymer Clay Earrings
Polymer clay earrings are among the most popular clay crafts for beginners and experienced players. You can create various effects on your earrings, including marbling, mokume-gane and faux terrazzo, stone or sea glass. Halloween-appropriate earring designs include teardrops, skulls, broken hearts, pumpkins, mystical creatures or fall leaves.
You're not limited to the style of earrings you can create with polymer clay, either from studs, dangling and loop earrings to spiral, disk-shaped and hoop earrings. Here are some tried-and-true practices for crafting earrings using polymer clay:
- Use Liquid Sculpey for lightweight and flexible earrings or Souffle for lightweight and suede-like finishes.
- Use polymer clay cutters or jewelry design templates for consistent shapes and sizes.
- Bake in a preheated home oven and use an oven thermometer to ensure perfect temperatures.
- Add holes before using a toothpick or needling tool, then use a hand drill after baking to smoothen them.
- Always insert the eye pins before baking.
- Always open the jump pins from front to back instead of side to side.
8. Halloween Polymer Clay Charms
Halloween polymer clay charms are versatile accessories. You can use them to complete your costumes by adding them to your bracelets or necklaces. You can also incorporate them as décor around the home, such as fridge magnets, key rings or bookmark ends. You can make them in any color and texture, even some that mimic treats and foods to trick kiddos as they dive into your treat bowls.
Sculpey Soufflé and Premo are the best for crafting realistic charms. They're flexible and hold an impressive amount of detail. You can mix the colors to create unique combinations and infuse the festive spirit. Using translucent clay variations gives you more vivid and vibrant color options.
While toothbrushes, needle tools and toothpicks infuse texture for complex designs, clay sculpting tools do a much better job. To ensure your clay charms are usable for longer, seal them using Sculpey’s gloss glaze, which protects their shine.
9. Polymer Clay Halloween figures
Custom polymer clay Halloween figurines capture the spirit of the bygone era. Polymer clay makes it simple to craft enchanting figurines featuring creepy grins and ghostly expressions that capture the magic of the season and add charm to your home. Sculpey Bake Shop is the best option for kids crafting figurines as it's safe, pliable and easy to work with. They can use it to craft figurines to share with their friends.
If you're looking for inspiration on what figurines to craft this Halloween, Liquid Sculpey® Skull and Roses work great as décor inside or outside your house. You'll need an oven-safe silicone mold to craft to recreate the skull and the Sculpey Tools™ Oven-Safe Molds: Flowers to create roses at the top of the head. Some more fun polymer clay figurines you can craft include glow monsters, spooky ghosts, rainbow spiders, bendy spiders and sugar skull bats.
10. Glow In the Dark Gnomes
Glow-in-the-dark gnomes are popular accents that keep the Halloween spirit alive. You can create glowing and vibrant polymer clay crafts to illuminate the inside and outside of your home during the spooky season. Glow-in-the-dark gnomes on your porch will appeal to any trick-or-treaters passing by your house.
The Sculpey Bake Shop® Glow in the Dark Multi-pack 6 PC set is perfect for shaping, building and sculpting crafts that glow in the dark. It includes glow-in-the-dark clay bars in perfect Halloween colors like orange, dark blue, dark green, black and white. It's easy to work with, and you can bake it in a home oven and store it in a cool, dry place to save it for your next crafts without drying out. When fully baked, your polymer clay crafts will glow in the dark.
11. Polymer Clay Halloween-Inspired Hair Accessories
Complete your Halloween outfit with on-theme polymer clay hair accessories. You can make various hair pieces using polymer clay, including pins, clips, barrettes, headbands and hair combs. For example, you can use polymer clay to embellish a plain headband with cat ears, a unicorn horn, devil horns or witch top hat.
You can create any shape and flower for your hair accessories, ensuring you stay on theme for that Halloween party while standing out from the crowd. If your outfit calls for simple hair styling, use polymer clay charms to add some pizazz to your scrunchies or the ends of your braids, buns or ponytails.
12. DIY Clay Hand Dish or Trinket
Make treat-or-treating fun and creative by crafting polymer clay trinkets or hand dishes to place your Halloween treats. These can also be used long after Halloween to hold jewelry, keys, charms and treats. Shape your polymer clay trinket dish in the shape of your favorite bowl and follow these steps:
- Roll a large ball of polymer clay and flatten it slightly at the top to make it easy to flatten the clay ball.
- Place the ball in the Sculpey Clay Machine to help condition the clay and create a flat sheet.
- Place the sheet over your favorite bowl to recreate this shape. It's best to use an oven-safe container.
- Trim off the uneven sides and excess polymer clay edges to give your bowl the perfect shape.
- Bake the clay in the oven according to the manufacturer's instructions while still over the bowl to retain its shape.
- Once it's fully baked and cooled, sand the inside and the edges of the dish to smooth any roughness and remove impurities.
- You can finish by glazing the dish to seal it and ensure it lasts longer.
13. Polymer Clay Halloween Necklaces
A detailed polymer clay necklace can elevate your outfit, ensuring you or your kids take home the best-dressed prize. Use Sculpey Soufflé for making larger, lightweight and comfortable neckpieces or Liquid Sculpey to seal beads, drizzle details on pendants, secure crystals to polymer clay pieces or fill molds.
You can roll, shape and sculpt small polymer clay pieces to use as pendants for everyday necklaces or create spooky beads for your Halloween necklace. You can even attach polymer clay canes and shapes such as bats, ghosts and pumpkins to a cord or chain to complete the necklaces.
There are various ways you can attach beads to a necklace, including poking a small hole through the creation to run the cord or using eye pins or headpins. Have gems and crystals you want to attach to your polymer clay necklaces? You can glue them in place using Liquid Sculpey or Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay Adhesive.
Get High-Quality Clay for Halloween Crafts from Sculpey
Sculpey is the trusted manufacturer of the best quality polymer clay and crafting tools for kids, beginners, experienced clayers and artists. Our premium clay is made from a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) base that makes it soft until you bake. Get more inspiration for your Halloween and other seasonal polymer clay crafts from our website, or explore our wide selection of polymer clays and other products.
