DIY Clay Magnets: Easy Pumpkin Fall Craft

Looking for a cute and easy fall craft? These pumpkin clay magnets are the perfect little DIY project for adding a touch of autumn to your refrigerator, espresso machine, magnetic board, craft space, or homeschool space. They’re simple to make, easy to customize, and would also make adorable handmade gifts.

For these clay magnets, I used pumpkin-shaped silicone molds, colorful Sculpey clay, and a few simple embellishments. You can finish them with a sweet raffia bow or use acrylic markers to add your own designs. Here’s how we made them…

What You’ll Need For These DIY Pumpkin Clay Magnets

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*I found my pumpkin-shaped silicone molds at Hobby Lobby, but you can use any small silicone mold with a design you love. (Here is a link to a fall-themed silicone mold that would work.)

How to Make Pumpkin Clay Magnets

1. Choose Your Clay Colors

Start by choosing the colors you want for your pumpkins. We went with traditional fall colors, like orange, yellow, brown, beige, and green, but don’t be afraid to get creative!

Break off enough Sculpey clay to fill each pumpkin-shaped mold.

2. Condition Your Clay

Once you break off some clay to put into your mold, it’s time to condition it or wake it up. You can do this by rolling the clay between your hands and squeezing it to warm it up. (Kids are great at this step.)

You will know it’s ready when the clay is smooth and doesn’t crack or crumble when you try to work with it.

3. Press the Clay Into the Molds

Next, you can begin to press the colored clay firmly into the pumpkin silicone molds, making sure it reaches all the edges and details of the shape, without going over.

Try to keep the back of each pumpkin as flat as possible. This will make it easier to attach the magnet later.

3. Bake the Clay

Once your molds are filled, follow the baking instructions on your specific clay package. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s temperature and baking instructions for the particular clay you’re using.

NOTE: We kept our clay in the silicone mats when we baked it. However, ff you are more skilled with working with oven-baked clay, you could probably remove them from the mold and put them on a pan before baking.

4. Let the Pumpkins Cool

Allow the clay pumpkins to cool completely before removing them from the silicone molds. Once they’re cool, gently pop each pumpkin out.

5. Add the Magnets

Once your pumpkins are completely cool, use your hot glue gun to attach a small magnet onto the back of each one.

This almost goes without saying, but, make sure you allow the glue to dry completely before putting your new clay magnets on the refrigerator.

6. Decorate Your Pumpkins

Now for a little fun. You can customize these DIY clay magnets! Here are a few things you could do to decorate your pumpkins.

Add a raffia bow. For a simple, rustic look, tie a small raffia bow and glue it to the top of the pumpkin. This gives the magnets a charming farmhouse or cottage-style feel that’s perfect for fall. (I did this with a few of mine.)
Add depth and color with acrylic markers. You can also decorate your pumpkins with acrylic markers. You can follow the indented lines, add shading, or add stripes or dots.
Turn your pumpkin magnets into Jack O’ Lanterns. Using your acrylic markers, you and your kids can make little jack o’lantern faces on your pumpkin clay magnets.

Why We Enjoyed Making These DIY Clay Magnets

We like DIY’s that are family-friendly, so the kids can jump in and join at various stages if they so choose. These pumpkin clay magnets were a fun little craft that they did just that. (Handling and shaping the clay was their favorite part.)

Mom rating:

Easy enough for a beginner
Simple to customize
Great for using up small amounts of polymer clay
Perfect for fall decorating
Could make cute handmade gifts
A fun weekend or afternoon DIY project with the kids

Easy Fall DIY With Lots of Versatility

I think this DIY clay magnet craft is great for all skill levels and can be taken in all sorts of creative directions.

We are not polymer clay experts, but it was simple enough for us to do, and still feel like we are proud of the final product. With some more skill and experience, we could combine colors, do some layering, and really up our clay magnet game.

Wrapping it Up

If you’re looking for an easy fall craft, these pumpkin clay magnets are a fun project to try. The silicone molds do most of the shaping for you, and you can make each magnet the color of choice and decorate it however you want

Make a few for your own fridge, or create a whole set to give as a handmade fall gift!

FAQ for DIY Pumpkin Clay Magnets

What kind of clay do you use to make clay magnets?

We used oven-bake (Sculpey) clay for the pumpkin clay magnets. Be sure to follow the baking instructions provided with the specific clay you’re using.

Can I use different shapes for clay magnets?

Absolutely! While pumpkins are perfect for fall, you can use the same technique with almost any small silicone mold. Try leaves, ghosts, snowflakes, hearts, flowers, or other seasonal shapes.

How do you attach a magnet to polymer clay?

After the clay piece has been baked and completely cooled, use hot glue to attach a small craft magnet to the back. Let it fully cure before use.

Can I decorate polymer clay with acrylic markers?

Yes. Once the clay is dry, you can use acrylic markers to add small details and designs to your pumpkins. Let the marker dry completely before handling the finished piece.