Decorate a Rustic Woodland Frame: Autumn Clay Crafting

STEP 1: Create the tree – Place the frame onto a sheet of black cardstock and trace around with a pencil. Draw a curved tree shape around three sides of the frame as shown then cut out using scissors. Press White Hearty Air Drying Clay onto the card – this can be quite rough as it will mimic the bark – and mark ragged lines into the clay using a clay modeling tool, a sharp pencil or the blunt part of a craft knife or scissors. Allow to dry (ideally overnight), then paint with a wash of dark brown watercolour or acrylic paint.

STEP 2: Make the foxes – Lightly brush the Katy Sue Fox & Cub Silicone Mould with cornflour. Press White Hearty Air Drying Clay into the Fox mould. Flex the mould to release and allow to dry. Repeat with the Cub mould. Once both foxes are completely dry, paint with watercolour or acrylic paints, leaving the snout, chest and part of the tail white to give the fox its natural colouring.

STEP 3: Craft a message – Lightly brush the Katy Sue Twig Alphabet & Cub Silicone Mould with cornflour. Press White Hearty Air Drying Clay into the letter moulds as desired – we chose to spell out 'LOVE YOU' but you can personalise with a different message or a name. Flex the mould to release, allow to dry then paint in a lighter brown or ochre colour.

STEP 4: Add more woodland elements – Use Katy Sue Moulds and Hearty Air drying Clay to create more elements to decorate your frame. We used the Fir Trees Silhouettes Silicone Mould, Maple Leaves Silicone Mould, Flower Pro Nuts & Berries Mould and Flower Pro Pine Cones Mould. Paint in a mix of Autumnal colours.

STEP 5: Assemble onto the frame – Once all your painted pieces are completely dry you can start attaching them to the photo frame. Apply glue to the front of the frame and firmly attach the tree piece. Apply more glue to the back of the foxes and attach onto the base of the tree. Before adding glue to the letters, lay them out onto the top section of the tree so you can be sure of the placement, then carefully glue down each letter. Attach all the other elements around the frame too give the impression of falling leaves.

Your Rustic Fox Frame is now ready to hold a treasured photo – this would make a wonderful gift!