Clay Christmas Ornaments DIY {Little Debbie Tree Cake}

Are you looking for a unique Clay Christmas Ornaments DIY? Maybe you’re looking for DIY air dry clay ornament ideas? Maybe you just want to make a DIY Christmas gift for someone special? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

We’re going to show you the entire step by step tutorial for making DIY clay Christmas ornaments that look like those delicious Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes you see at Christmas time! This complete tutorial will show you how to mold an ornament with any kind of natural clay or air dry clay.

If you LOVED those Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes as much as I did growing up…you’re going to love this unique, handmade clay Christmas ornament. Let see how this cute air dry clay Christmas ornament turned out!

How Cute is This EASY, DIY Clay Christmas Ornament!?!?

When I was a kid growing up we really didn’t get much in the way of sweets unless it was the holidays.  It was SUCH a special treat to open up my lunch box and see those Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes in my lunch box every year.

I can still taste those delicious, cream filled cakes today.  The white chocolate coating, yellow cake center, creamy vanilla frosting layer and crunch of those green sugar sprinkles is unmistakable.

Those cute little Christmas tree cakes are getting harder and harder to find in the stores but you can still find them here and there (they do sell them on Amazon now).  I think the nostalgia for them is growing a bit because I saw Little Debbie Christmas Tree Ice Cream Sandwiches in Super Walmart recently!

You can relive your childhood experiences all over again (and every Christmas) with this cheap Christmas ornament DIY.  This is an easy handmade Christmas ornament is perfect to make and sell at craft fairs or give as a DIY gift to your favorite 80’s baby.

I love making homemade Christmas ornaments for DIY gifts like the Grinch DIY Christmas Ornament (with FREE SVG) we tackled recently.  You gotta check that one out after you finish reading our step by step how to tutorial today.

We used basic Crayola Modeling Clay that can be found just about anywhere. This is a non-toxic, safe for kids, natural, easy to mold air dry clay that doesn’t require anything special to cure other than air.  It does shrink and it can crack if rolled too thin.  We will include a way to fix this in our step by step how to tutorial.

You can also purchase air dry foam clay that is specifically made to adhere to foam (it’s brought to us from the costume & theatre world).  If you want a painless experience with almost no potential for cracking we suggest that you purchase this modeling clay instead.

Clay Christmas Ornaments DIY Supplies

Many of the materials for this easy DIY Christmas ornament can easily be sourced from Amazon, Walmart or craft stores (Like Joanns, Hobby Lobby & Michaels) quite easily & inexpensively. This unique Christmas ornament is a fun craft project to take on with kids, teens or adults who remember these cakes first hand!

Materials:

• Round Flat Styrofoam Disk (we used 3/4 inch thick & 5 inch diameter)
• White Crayola Model Magic
• White Red Crayola Model Magic (small amount needed)
• Small Green Glass Beads
• Matte Modge Podge
• Exacto knife
• Foam Brush or Paint Brush
• Sharpie Marker
• 1/8” Red Ribbon
• Mini Screw Eyes
• Scissors
• Rolling Pin
• FREE Printable Christmas Tree Template (download at Bottom of Page)
• Water for Potential Cracks
• Wax Paper or Parchment for Potential Cracks

How to Make a Clay Ornament Step by Step

STEP 1: Trace Christmas Tree Template onto Foam

Gather all of your supplies. Download and print out our FREE printable Christmas tree ornament template PDF (download is at the end of this tutorial).  Cut out the Christmas tree template with scissors leaving the black outline.  Using a Sharpie marker trace the Little Debbie Christmas Tree on to the top of the Round Flat Styrofoam Disk .

STEP 2: Cut Christmas Tree Shape From Styrofoam

Carefully cut out the tree with an Exacto knife.  The styrofoam is thick so it may take a few passes to completely cut the tree from the foam.  Be careful and work slowly!  That Exacto knife is sharp!

STEP 3: Cover the Styrofoam With White Air Dry Clay

Using a rolling pin, roll out the White Crayola Model Magic to a ¼” thickness and no less. Rolling the clay too thin may cause cracks during the drying process. We do have some fixes should this happen to you at the end of this step by step tutorial.

We like White Crayola Model Magic because it’s very pliable (since it’s made for kid hands) and easier to shape than most air dry clays out there (not to mention it’s cheap). 

Next, place the styrofoam Christmas tree cut out onto the modeling clay and wrap the White Crayola Model Magic around the Christmas tree.  Mold a closure at the back with your fingers and smooth with your fingers to hide the seam.  

Check all the corners and make sure the clay is molded around the branches of the tree and adhering to the foam.  Allow the foam to dry completely per the manufacturers directions.  If you do have any cracks…read our pro-tips near the end of this tutorial to fix them.

STEP 4: Pipe Red Icing Stripes

Once the white modeling clay has dried completely and any cracks have been repaired you can begin to create the red icing Christmas tree garland.  

Using your hands roll out some of the White Red Crayola Model Magic to form a thin, spaghetti-like Christmas Tree garland.

Drape the red garland on top of the Christmas Tree and hang over the sides. Lightly press down to adhere the red garland to the Christmas tree cake.  Allow to fully dry per the manufactures instructions.

STEP 5: Add an Eye Hook for Hanging

We need a way to hang our Christmas Tree so we’ll add a simple eye hook to the top.  Carefully screw in a hardware store eye hook to the top of the tree. 

STEP 6: Add the Green Christmas Cake Sugar Sprinkles

Using a foam brush or paint brush…brush on Matte Modge Podge in between the icing stripes.  Be  careful NOT to brush the Matte Modge Podge onto any of the red areas as they will bleed into the white areas. 

Sprinkle the Small Green Glass Beads into the Modge Podge and press down gently to adhere.  You can follow up later (after drying) with a second coat to help ensure the beads stay on the ornament.

Again, do not brush the whole tree cake with Modge Podge as the red stripes will bleed onto

the white!

STEP 7: Attach Red Ribbon & Hang

Thread the red ribbon through the screw eye and tie a knot on the end to create a way to hang the ornament on the Christmas tree. If you end up with any cracks, be sure to check out our crack fixing guide below,

How to Fix Modeling Clay Cracks:

Cracks can happen.  You can fill the cracks using a very small amount of clay and water.  Combine the clay and water to make a clay that is very moist and very pliable…pliable enough to fill a crack.  Using your fingers, simply patch any cracks and use a piece of wax paper or parchment paper to gently smooth over the patch job.  

If you want a pain free, no cracks experience you can use a type of air dry foam clay that is specifically used to mold on foam and won’t crack.  This clay is used in theatre for elaborate costumes. 

Other Ways to Make this DIY Clay Christmas Ornament:

You can skip the styrofoam completely and make a Little Debbie Christmas Tree cake completely out of modeling clay.   If you want to go this route just roll out the modeling clay much thicker.

Use the FREE printable Christmas tree template and the exacto knife to cut out the tree directly from the the clay.  If you go this route you may want to make the tree slightly larger as air dry clay will shrink a little when it dries.

If you are going to skip the styrofoam completely you can also use polymer clay as an alternative for this handmade Christmas ornament. Remember that polymer clay has to be baked in the oven per the manufactures directions. It doesn’t shrink or expand so you can cut the Christmas tree ornament to size.

I hope you enjoyed making our Clay Christmas Ornaments DIY! Our FREE free printable Christmas tree template for this project is located inside of our FREE printables library. Instructions for how to join and get the password to our huge printables library are below. You can find the template download in the holidays section of our library.

If you love Easy Christmas crafts and DIYs as much as we do you might want to check out some of our other tutorials like the Grinch Cricut Ornament +FREE Grinch SVG FREE Printable Chalkboard Christmas Gift Tags, FREE Printable Christmas Monogram Wall Art and Trendy DIY 3D Christmas Cards.

Save This Clay Christmas Ornaments DIY for Later on Pinterest!