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DIY Clay Elmer The Elephant

May 21, 2016 by Emma Gadsby 4 Comments

Whilst we were making our DIY Clay Minibeasts I started to wonder if we could use DIY clay to create other animals. Perhaps we could make clay tiles to form a picture of an animal. Elmer the patchwork Elephant immediately sprang to mind. With Elmer Day on 28th May it seemed the perfect excuse to create a DIY Clay Elmer The Elephant.

DIY Clay Elmer The Elephant

(This post contains affiliate links)

Resources needed to make a DIY Clay Elmer The Elephant:

* PVA glue

* Cornflour

* Square lid – I used a Cumin lid

* Sharpie 28 Pack Fine Permanent Markers

* Mod Podge Glue

How to make a DIY Clay Elmer The Elephant:

1. Mix together 1 cup of Cornflour and 1/2 cup of PVA glue. Knead the two ingredients together for some time.

2. Sprinkle cornflour onto a work surface and roll the DIY Clay out flat.

3. Use a  lid to create squares in the DIY Clay. We used a cumin lid as it was square. Place the clay squares onto a baking tray lined with Baking Paper. Unfortunately, we only had tin foil and it took longer than usual for the clay to dry.

4. Create a few clay triangles for Elmer’s ears and trunk. Simply cut a square diagonally in half to form two triangles. You will need a minimum of 12 squares and 4 triangles. I also created a small ball of clay to use as Elmer’s eye.

5. Use scissors to cut away any excess clay from the edge of each square and triangle. Brush away the surplus cornflour dust and leave the clay to dry out overnight.

Making DIY clay tiles

6. Colour in the DIY clay squares and triangles using a variety of different coloured permanent marker pens. Ensure that the edges are coloured in. Acrylic paint could be used instead of permanent marker pens. Add a circle to the small ball of clay to represent Elmer’s eye.

7. Coat the DIY Clay squares and triangles in Mod Podge Glue and allow them to dry.

homemade Clay tiles

Once our coloured DIY clay pieces had dried, we could use them to form our own Elmer the patchwork elephant. I quickly put the squares together to form an elephant and then took a photograph of the finished object. With my ipod to hand Adam copied the picture using the clay squares until he had created his own Elmer. He added a triangle for Elmers ear and the small ball of clay for its eye.

Elmer the patchwork elephant made from clay

Adam then set about creating his own elephant without a picture to assist him. He did remarkably well. The clay squares are great for little fingers to move around. The Mod Podge Glue makes them smooth too and will ensure they last longer.

Elmer puzzle

After creating several elephants Adam decided he wanted to create a giant Elmer. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough clay square tiles to make Elmer taller but we worked together to make him longer.

Extra long Elmer the Elephant

Not only are our DIY Clay tiles great for making an Elmer picture but Adam discovered he could also form capital letters with them.

Letter formation using DIY clay tiles

Our DIY Clay tiles fit perfectly into an Elmer tote bag. This means the Elmer Busy Bag can be taken out about with us on our adventures.

Elmer the Elephant Busy Bag

We have teamed up with our favourite bloggers to share other Elmer The Elephant activities to celebrate Elmer Day.

Elmer Day Crafts

Elmer Collage By Numbers  // LarabeeUK

Elmer The Elephant Paper Plate Craft // Play & Learn Every Day

DIY Clay Elmer The Elephant // Adventures of Adam

Elmer Tissue Paper Painting // 3 Princesses and 1 Dude!  

Pom Pom Elmer The Elephant // Adventures of Adam

Elmer Day Craft // Crafty Kids at Home

You May Also Like:

Window Art Rainbow Fish and Elmer
Elmer The Elephant and The Rainbow Fish Window Art
The Elephant Parade
Sheep Window Art

Filed Under: Creative Activities, Play Activities, Some time required, Supervision needed Tagged With: Animal themed play, Arts and Craft Activities, Book themed play, Busy Bag Play Activities, DIY activities, DIY Clay, Toddler play

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Niki - Play & Learn Every Day says

    May 23, 2016 at 10:14 am

    I love this idea! What a fun way to create Elmer’s patchwork yourself and come up with different patterns, so fun!

    Reply
  2. Nicoa says

    May 24, 2016 at 11:18 am

    What a brilliant idea Emma! We haven’t had a go at making our own clay so we will have to give this a go.

    Reply
  3. Leandra says

    May 25, 2016 at 9:38 am

    This is genius! I love the tote and the busy bag idea 😉 thanks for hosting the bloghop x

    Reply
  4. Tina says

    May 31, 2016 at 2:00 pm

    I love this idea! Such a clever activity for Elmer the Elephant

    Reply

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Emma and Adam

During a difficult pregnancy suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) Emma vowed to make every day an adventure once she had recovered. Adventures of Adam is the outcome of completing a 100 day play challenge with Adam as part of that promise. Emma has a section dedicated to HG friendly play activities so that Mums can still be part of their children’s play whilst they are ill.

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