Who wants to make some easy and fun DIY marbled clay dishes??
I have a thing for small dishes around my house to hold everything from rings, earrings, chap sticks…you name it. It seems that I have one at every turn. I even have some that my husband made in middle school. I figured why not learn to make some of my own with baking clay.
This project is super easy—a perfect one to do with your kiddos.
Watch the TV segment version of the tutorial
Let’s get started by gathering the supplies!
- Colored Clay Sampler
- Extra white clay
- Xacto knife or clay knife
- Rolling pin or large round jar
- Small oven safe bowl
- Gold liquid gilding and paintbrush
- Bowl or jar to cut around
- Glaze sealant (if you prefer a glossy finish)
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 275 degrees.
Start with your white clay. Separate into sections and roll with your hands until about 5-6″ in length. Roll 4-5 separate pieces.
Repeat the same steps with your colored clays. Until you have about 6 to 7 separate rolls per dish. The rolls don’t have to be perfect.
Twist your white and colored clay together until it forms one twisted roll. If you’re making more than one dish repeat the same steps on the other set of colored clay.
I wanted a bit of a less marbled, zebra like print on my first dishes, so I stopped twisting early, but if you prefer a more marbled look just keep twisting until the colored clay and white clay mix together more.
Roll the twists into a ball.
Take your rolling pin or glass jar and roll out the clay until a flat circle patty forms.
You can see how the clay patterns will look at this point.
If you want more marbling at this point simply take the flat patty and start the twisting process over again and repeat this step until you’re happy with the look.
Repeat this step for your other set if applicable.
Take a bowl, can or any round item and cut around it to form a clean circle. Am Xacto knife works best for this step, but I couldn’t find mine, so I went with a plastic knife.
Warning: a plastic knife doesn’t give you a very clean cut. 🙂
Take your clay circles and place into your small over safe bowl, and gently press the patty into the shape of the bowl.
I used the excess clay from both dishes to make another item, and wanted more of a marbled look for this one. I rolled both sets of excess into two pieces.
Then I twisted them together and followed the same steps listed above to roll into one piece.
You can see the marbled look as you roll, which I love.
I decided to make more of a flat piece that could be a small dish or coaster on this one.
Place your clay items into the oven for 15 minutes (or whatever your clay directions recommend).
Remove and let cool down. The dishes are sturdy and hard, but do have a slight rubber feel to them. This is totally normal.
Once cool, pop them out of the dishes and paint the edges gold if you prefer.
NOTE: My gilding was a little dryer and chunkier than expected, so I linked a more liquid one in the supply list above. The liquid version will go on more smoothly.
REMINDER: Using an exact knife would have also given a smoother edge cut. 🙂
If you like a glossier look, you can paint on a quick coat sealant and let it dry for about an hour. Leaving them matte also looks kind of cool.
You’re all finished! Fill your dishes with any object you desire and enjoy the unique handmade pop of color. These make great gifts as well. Vivienne is giving one to her teachers for Valentine’s Day.
Pin for later!
xoxo
Audrey
Please note: These dishes are not food safe.
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So simple!! I’m amazed by these, it’s one of those “how have I never thought of this before” kind of thing, haha. Thanks for tutorial!