Air Plant Pineapples!

Purchased Sculpey clay in white from Walmart for $6.00.

This pkg contained 5 sheets of clay. I cut each in half giving me clay to make 10 pineapples.

I then took a section kneading it for a few minutes until it became pliable.

I formed each section into an oval and into a pineapple shaped base making the bottom flat.

Taking a knife, or with a child they could possible use a plastic knife, I cut out the insides leaving only a shell. This makes the baking faster plus these could be used to hold toothpicks or bobby pins, etc. You can leave them solid but the baking time increases quite a bit. It tells you on the back of the box how long to bake depending on thickness. By cutting out the insides of these I was able to make 2 more pineapples using those remnants.

This is what it looks like when it's hollowed out

Push the top together to form a little pot. I purchased a set of 10 air plants from Amazon. I sized up my pot opening so the air plants fit just inside. They vary quite a bit in size.

They are called Tillandsia lonantha Guatemala sold by Hinterland Trading for $15.28

At this point I used a toothpick making x's and dots making it look like pineapple markings. Ready to bake according to pkg directions. These took 20 minutes.

Once cooled, they're ready to paint.

Starting with the inside I painted them with gold metallic paint

Once dry I used a brown satin all over , then quickly removing it. This leaves the detailed markings more visible.

Place an air plant into each opening. All ready to give to friends and family!

At only a little more than $2.00 each, these make adorable gifts that won't break the bank!