I could honestly dream up polymer clay DIY ideas every week for the rest of my life. I, Teri, love this stuff and can’t get enough of just how versatile it is as a material. Even better is that this tutorial doesn’t involve rolling or moulding, so it literally couldn’t be simpler unless a very kind person did it for you instead (ha!). These DIY mini mountain photo holders are a super cute way to display your own snaps, creations, or the sweet momentos you pick up on your merry way. Not to mention they’re perfect for the upcoming holidays!
Have a few dotted along a shelf or one by your bed to create an interesting way of showing off your paper goods, especially those that aren’t quite big enough for your walls but love regardless…
3 Blocks of polymer clay (like this, this, and this)
Cutting knife
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Cutting mat or board
Metallic gold nail polish
Strong all purpose glue
Preheat you oven to the temperature suggested on the clay packet.
Start by cutting your clay block in half with your knife to make the whole thing thinner. Then cut triangles from this thickness, about an inch tall. These will be your actual holders. Use your knife to cut down the middle from the top of each, just stopping short of the bottom. This will provide the slit for you photos / postcards to sit in.
Then cut the remaining clay in half again so it’s left even thinner than before but not so thin that it becomes really flimsy. Cut out medium and small triangles from this new thickness, to be used along with the larger ones later.
Place all of these on a tray lined with foil or baking paper and oven bake for the length of time suggested on the clay packet.
Once baked, leave to cool so all the shapes have hardened and then paint the tips with the metallic gold nail polish and leave to dry.
Now you can assemble the mountain holders. Squeeze a little all purpose glue on either corner of a large triangle and sit a medium and small triangle against it to create the look of a mini mountain range. Make sure they sit flat against the ground and leave to dry. Repeat with the remaining shapes and voila!
I told you there wasn’t even a hand workout required with this clay project. Who needs to exercise their hands after all?
You can easily experiment with different colors and perhaps even use paint to create patterned mountains too. Why not upscale the project to create a bigger DIY mountain range to hold bigger prints?! Plus, these are perfect for the upcoming holiday cards!
Teri is a designer, illustrator, stylist, crafter. Originally trained in print and surface pattern design, she has since had five years experience designing in-house for a greetings card company, and now creates The Lovely Drawer full-time from her little London flat.
Sarah
09.23.15
These are the cutest! Love the color combo.
Alex (Pink Elephant Blog)
09.23.15
This is the cutest idea ever! Totally doing this for my desk, they look gorgeous!
Alex | PinkElephantBlog
nancy
09.23.15
I love this project..a set of three would be a perfect little Christmas gift…just add your fave photos of the recipient.
Hey Fancy Face
09.23.15
Wow, I love this!! So pretty!!! Thanks for posting :)
Kelly
09.23.15
I love this! I’m trying to revamp my room so I will definitely be trying this out.
Brett
09.23.15
I love these! I am thinking about making them as wedding favors. It seems like it might be a lot of work to make that many, but they are so cute! I wonder how much I’d need for 200…
Liv
09.23.15
These are unbearably cute! *runs to the shop to buy clay* Liv x
Ronja
09.23.15
That`s a sweet idea :) And I love the colors. Would be a great gift too.
https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/SunnyandMellow
Ruthie
09.24.15
So cute! I love these, even my lazy self can probably manage to make a couple, so sweet and so effective. As Nancy said, would make a great photo holder gift.
Kate
09.24.15
So cute!! Are the three links to the polymer clay the exact colors used? Twinkle Twinkle, Gray Granite, and Translucent? The one color looks more peachy-pink. Was there pigment added?
Alana kate said:
Yeah that’s what I’m thinking too- they just don’t look the same :/
Ashley said:
No pigment was added, but Teri is based in the UK and they offer different colors there that are not easily accessible in the U.S. and other countries, so I linked to the closest that was readily available :)
Monique | WritingMonique
09.24.15
These are SO cute! Lovely!
Julie Wylie
09.25.15
Love this DIY! Totally going to use this for my next art market. Will be perfect to display my cards & prints!
Ashley said:
Love that idea!
Kelly
09.27.15
These are so cute!! I love the colours and I love how simple it is to make them.
Jessica
09.27.15
I LOVE these! I’m going to make a couple of them for my husband to put on his desk. Mountains have a special significance to us, so I’m excited for this project. Thanks for sharing.
Ashley
09.29.15
Why oh why did these have to be so darn cute?! <3
Marwa (@Enthralling_g)
10.05.15
Wow!These are so cute.Love the granite one the most
Thanks for sharing the tutorial:)
Susana Silva
10.12.15
Amazing idea!! And super easy!
http://realizatumesmo.blogspot.pt
Rebecca
03.10.16
Must have desk accessory!
Rebecca // http://blog.partypieces.co.uk
Aiza
06.23.16
This is AMAZING! I’m DEFINITELY going to be making this to display my prints :)
Lindsay
08.29.16
Im obsessed!! Do you have a prinTable of the watercolor plant image? Love that, i want it on my mountain :)
Ashley said:
Hi Lindsay! Unfortunately, we don’t have downloads available for those prints. However, we do have a few other printable options on Sugar & Cloth that would work well with the same project! Just search “printable” :)
Curious
11.26.17
Huh? Something is missing from the instructions. So after gluing the small and medium mountains on top of the large mountain, what do you do to make it stand up with a photo inserted?
Lara said:
I was wondering the same thing! Is there a piece that gets attached to the back somehow?
Brittany bly
01.22.18
I love these! I clicked a shared image before realizing this was from Sugar & Cloth! Knowing that they come from the Sugar & Cloth blog made this DIY extra fun to read.
Looking forward to seeing more!
Sugar & Cloth said:
Thanks Brittany! :)