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Crafting, decor, gift ideas, home, how to, interiors, Tutorials

DIY: Torn Clay Bowls

19th March 2015

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

Staying with air dry clay for now, these bowls were actually the first thing I made, and the clay and copper magnets the last. While I smoothed and sanded the fridge magnets, there was also something that appealed to me about the texture of this clay in it’s unrefined state. I had planned on making simple circular bowls cut out with a knife, but I liked the uncut edge so much I thought I’d make it a feature….

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

I think it gives them a lovely delicate organic feel!

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

To make, you’ll need air dry clay, bowls (to use as molds) rolling pin, and a palette knife…

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

Knead the clay until soft and pliable then roll out flat. The edges will take on that “torn” appearance naturally as it’s rolled. About 3-5mm in thickness depending on how delicate you want it. The thinner it is the more fragile it will be. The edges of my bowls are pretty thin because I’ve never been great at rolling with an even pressure. So my bowls are pretty delicate around the edges and thicker around the base. But hey, I’m embracing the uneveness!

 

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

Drape over a bowl and gently coax into shape…you can see there are some faint cracks around the base….

 

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

I recalled from pottery at school (don’t ask me how because that was some time ago!) using tepid water to smooth the surface of the clay. Just a little on your hands and smoothed gently over the surface of the clay in a circular motion will smooth out any unwanted cracks, lumps and bumps…then leave to dry for a couple of hours on the bowl but not for the full drying time as the clay will gradually tighten on the bowl as it dries and shrinks and is liable to get stuck!

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

After a couple of hours veeeeery gently use a palette knife, slipped between the clay and the bowl,  and gently work around the circumference until it pops off. Place on a rack on a sunny ledge and leave to fully cure for a couple of days…

DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk DIY Torn clay bowls from air dry clay at www.makery.co.uk

This stuff dries a beautiful natural white. You could choose to decorate or leave it au natural like I did. When dried it has a very lightweight almost unglazed porcelain feel to it.

Gorgeous!

I have another project to share with you shortly. But considering how much I’m crushing on this material at the moment there may well be more!

Related

17 Comments

  1. Ange says

    20th March 2015 at 6:14 pm

    My goodness these are absolutely stunning. Totally in love with them. Going to order clay to make my own. Thanks for the inspiration & for sharing.

    Reply
    • portia says

      20th March 2015 at 6:27 pm

      Thanks so much Ange and you’re welcome:) I love it when something that is so easy to make can look so effective:)

      Reply
  2. Cynthia says

    20th March 2015 at 11:47 pm

    Gorgeous! Thanks for the inspiration. I’m going to try this myself this spring. Hope mine turn out as beautifully as yours did.

    Reply
    • portia says

      21st March 2015 at 4:38 am

      Hi Cynthia 🙂 you’re welcome! Would love to see how they work out! Px

      Reply
  3. Beth - Sew DIY says

    21st March 2015 at 7:40 pm

    These are really beautiful! I used air dry clay to make some jewelry dishes once and it was really fun.

    Reply
    • portia says

      21st March 2015 at 10:43 pm

      Thanks Beth! It’s SO much fun and pretty addictive; isn’t it? !

      Reply
  4. Dee says

    22nd March 2015 at 2:13 am

    These are so very beautiful and look like you’re a pottery-pro! I’ve played with air dry clay a bit, with varied success. One question – when you roll it out, are you rolling on the coutertop or on a different surface (parchment paper or…?)? I look forward to making these… lovely!

    Reply
    • portia says

      22nd March 2015 at 11:28 am

      Thank you so much! I did try rolling on parchment paper Dee but it kept creasing up and leaving marks in the clay. So I ended up rolling out on a piece of melamine board. I didn’t have a problem with it sticking or anything. Px

      Reply
  5. Toria says

    22nd March 2015 at 6:39 pm

    Love these – so simple but effective! Where did you buy your clay from? I can feel some crafting with my daughters coming on over Easter!

    Reply
    • portia says

      23rd March 2015 at 7:00 am

      Easy peasy Toria 🙂 your daughters will love it! I bought my clay via Amazon. Link is in the post 🙂

      Reply
  6. Borei Designs says

    26th March 2015 at 10:35 pm

    LOVE it!!! I’m so going to try this one!

    Reply
    • portia says

      27th March 2015 at 10:57 am

      Yay!

      Reply
  7. Mona Golden Baxtrom says

    15th April 2015 at 2:37 am

    love both the bowls and the wrapped pots – inspiring … could they be done with oven-bake clay, too? i’m new to clay crafts. thank you for your posts !!

    Reply
    • portia says

      15th April 2015 at 4:53 pm

      I guess they could Mona, as long as the molds were ovenproof??? But I don’t know enough about oven baked clay to say for sure so don’t quote me on that! Px

      Reply
  8. Rania says

    1st May 2015 at 3:03 am

    I would love to make this for my new home. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  9. Trudy says

    26th August 2018 at 9:08 pm

    Beautiful!
    Tip to get your clay an even thickness: Place two wooden skewers on either side of your clay, and roll until your clay is the thickness of the skewers. You can use any items of similar thickness as rolling guides.

    Reply

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