DIY Marble Clay Jewelry Bowls

“Wow, they’re beautiful…but what are you going to do with them all?”
A question I am asked more often than I’d like to admit.

My daughter is prime play-dough playing age so I play A LOT with play-dough.  We’ve created everything from cupcakes to Barbie’s swimming pool complete with beach balls.  So to step up our game a little (okay, my game) I bought some clay.  Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but who knew what fun!  Once I made a few little sculptures I got online to see what else people are making with clay and I went back to the craft store and bought the jumbo box!

When I find a new craft or art I can create I tend to go a little overboard with buying materials and making multiples; these little marble clay bowls are no exception.  I love these little bowls!  I’ve been handing them out to friends left, right and center.  I stumbled across these on Pinterest and followed it back to a tutorial by Laura Gummerman on A Beautiful Mess.  So pretty!  Luckily I began making these over the holidays and was able to give a lot away but I can’t stop making more.  My favorite part of this craft is that no two are alike.  I love decorating my home with things that no one else has and working with clay is a great way of doing that.

You don’t need a lot of fancy tools to create these, aside from the clay, I just used items I already had in my kitchen.  I love the look of the rigid rim of these bowls but if you like a cleaner look you can make a cutout using a bowl and knife to cut along with (instructions below).  Forewarning though, it was difficult to clean the clay off of the plastic cutting board and wooden rolling pin, so perhaps don’t use your favorite baking utensils when creating with clay or (depending on how serious you plan to get with your creations) purchase a few utensils from the dollar store specific to clay use.  Happy creating!

 

DIY Marble Clay Jewelry Bowls
Materials:

Assorted colors of oven-bake clay
* One large white block and a 3-4 small color blocks will make several bowls about 5 inches in diameter
Cutting board
Rolling pin
Knife (plastic, putty or butter knife will work fine)
Oven-safe bowl Paint and paintbrush*optional
Clear gloss

I’ll quickly run through the instructions but the photos give better example of what to do.

1.  Roll out “snakes” of each color of clay you are using, making two rolls of white slightly larger than the other colors.
2.  Twist or braid all the rolls together, fold in half and twist again.
3.  Squeeze the clay in your fingers several times until a marble pattern appears
*  If you like a more bold look rather than marble, skip step #3.
4.  Roll out with a rolling pin
5.  Gently position the clay into an oven safe bowl so that it droops down taking shape of the bowl.  If the clay is sitting at the bottom of the bowl, press gently making the clay hug the dish or you risk it bubbling up in areas
6.  Bake according to your clay package instructions (usually 275 degrees for 15 minutes).
7.  Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from dish.  It is easiest if you turn the bowl upside down and gently tap it and the bowl should easily fall out.
8.  Paint the rim your desired color
9.  Seal with a clear gloss and allow to dry.
10.  Fill it with all your pretty things.

 

 

 

 

By Three Happy Folk

Adapted from A Beautiful Mess 

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