DIY Marbled Clay Dish

Marybeth Santos
by Marybeth Santos
30 Minutes
Easy
I have been obsessed with these little hand made clay dishes that I saw on A Beautiful Mess a few months ago. They are super quick and easy and they can make an artist out of anyone! They are also very handy for trinkets and those odd miscellaneous items that collect on the bathroom vanity.
To make these you will need some sculpey clay (black, white and gray and one or two more colors of your choice), a bowl (I used a cereal bowl), gold paint or glitter (go with the paint!), a circle shape to use as a template for making the shape of your bowl (I used the cover to a canister of Swiss Miss), a rolling pin and something sharp-ish to cut your clay (you could totally use a butter knife, but I happened to use a sharp little blade tool).
These are the colors I chose. You start by rolling out each color into a snake, I used more white than the blue and green and just one strand of black and one skinny strand of gray. You don't need a lot of clay for this. Each strand is about a nickel sized ball of clay before you roll out to about a 6-8 inch snake.
After they are all rolled out, you are going to twist the colors together. (See below). You will actually do this step two to three times. Twist the colors together, then roll them together on a hard surface with your palms. Then fold that strand in half, twist it together and roll it again into a strand. If you are happy with the mix of colors at this point, you can stop. If you'd like the colors mixed more, twist it together again and roll it out again. A word of caution! Don't over roll your clay, the colors will eventually get muddled.
When you are happy with how well blended your colors are, you will roll it into a little ball.
Now you're going to roll out your bowl and then cut it into a circle.
Once you have rolled out your circle, you're going to gently place it inside of a bowl. (Do not smoosh it into the bowl! You will have a very hard time getting it out of the bowl unbroken). Here I used a cereal bowl, but I've also used smaller measuring bowls for this. You just want to be sure that you are using something that is safe for the oven! Bake your dish as directed by the instructions that came with your clay. Allow it to cool for a bit and then you can take it out of the bowl and paint the edges.
Be advised! These are a bit addictive. I have them all over my house now, I've made them with my Girl Scout troop, I've given them as gifts and I've used the same marbling method to make earrings. Check out the blog for more marbled clay madness!
Marybeth Santos
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Rekha shah Rekha shah on Nov 06, 2016
    How did you make earrings
  • Nicole Nicole on Jan 29, 2018

    Could you drape it over a bowl instead of putting inside?

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2 of 57 comments
  • Megan Megan on Jul 28, 2015
    You'll still have the clay on your hands when you handle the bowl. We were taught in all of our polymer clay classes that anything that touches polymer clay needs to become dedicated to clay, and never used for food again! you can google it, there are varied opinions on the matter, that's just what we were taught.
  • Pat Pat on Aug 02, 2015
    I did this & think it's a great gift
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