I’ve come to a realization and I have a confession to make – I’m a throw away. A ring litterer that is. Ever since I started wearing stacking rings, they’ve been scattered all over my house.
I thought it would be a good idea to keep some ring dishes around the house and how to make a ring dish easily and cheaply? Clay, of course!
Here’s a short video tutorial to make your own marbled clay ring dishes, or keep scrolling to see the text and picture tutorial:
Deliveries:
– Oven baking clay (white, grey, black and the color of your choice)
*A few ounces of colored clay and the 1.75 pound white clay makes multiple dishes!
–X-Acto knife or plastic clay knife
– small bowl or ramekins (make sure they are oven safe)
– Gold paint and small brush
–Silicone rolling pin or large round glass
-large tin or jar for tracing
– Glaze to seal the shell (optional)
1. Roll each clay color you want to use into a snake (about 5″ long). I usually do two larger rolls of white, a medium roll of gray, a small roll of whatever color I use, and then an extra small roll of black.
You basically want enough clay to roll out a 6 inch circle, but don’t worry about getting the exact amount of one color or another. Even if you use the same recipe every time, each dish will look different.
2. Combine the smaller rolls into one big roll and twist them together.
3. Roll the large twist into a snake (about twice the original length) to combine the colors. Twist the ends in opposite directions every few strokes to give the colors more of a candy cane look.
Once it doubles in length, fold the snake in half and twist the two ends together as shown above. Repeat the process of rolling, folding, twisting and rolling again 2-3 times.
4. Flatten the whole clay into a ball. You want to see most of your colors on the surface of the ball, so pull the ball in half and flatten again if you don’t.
5. Use a silicone rolling pin or glass jar to roll out your marbled ball. I like to use a glass jar so I can see what happens as I roll harder or softer over certain colors.
The colors should blend together and create a marbled pattern when you roll over them. Try rolling different directions, from the edge, from the center, etc. to push the sound from different angles. Roll out to 1/4″ thick.
6. Using a round object about 6 inches wide as a template, use an X-Acto or clay knife to cut out your plate circle.
7. Carefully place your circle in an ovenproof dish or ramekin that is slightly smaller than your circle so it sags slightly in the center giving you a more dish-like shape. Bake the bowl according to the temperature on the clay wrapper (mine was 275F for 15 minutes).
Remove the bowl from the oven and allow the clay to cool before turning the larger bowl upside down and tapping gently until the clay bowl falls out.
8. Once the clay has completely cooled, use a small brush to paint the edge of the bowl and let the paint dry. Seal the mold with a glaze if you like.
The glaze doesn’t make the item food safe or totally waterproof, but it does give you a shiny finish if you’re into it!
Since you’re working with ovenproof clay, the bowl will still be a little flexible when it cools and will feel more like hard rubber than porcelain, but that’s okay!
It should still hold its perfect shape and hold your rings like a champ.
While the color combinations are endless, my favorites were made using white, gray, black, and two vibrant colors that mixed together make a pretty third color.
I would definitely suggest using an oven baking clay like Sculpey that’s already soft to start with. It saves you a lot of time and finger strength.
If you’re not feeling like the DIY type, you can always grab a handmade ring bowl, but these bowls turned out even better than I was hoping for!
And you can see I’ve been able to make a few of these, so I’ll definitely be giving a few away. How cute would one of these be as a gift with a cute ring already inside? xo. laura
PS Click here to see more of our favorite DIY projects with clay!
Marbled clay ring dish
how to use kiln fired clay to make marbled ring dishes
-
3+
oven baked clay
white, black and the color of your choice -
golden liquid gilding paint and brush
Optional -
Glaze to seal the bowl
Optional
-
Roll each clay color you want to use into a snake about 5 inches long. I usually do two larger rolls of white, a medium roll of gray, a small roll of whatever color I use, and then an extra small roll of black.
I don’t have exact clay measurements for you (and most people don’t have scales to weigh exact ounces of clay anyway), so just use the photo as a guide.
You basically want enough clay to roll out a 6 inch circle, but don’t worry about getting the exact amount of one color or another. Even if you use the same recipe every time, each dish will look different.
-
Combine the smaller rolls into one big roll and twist them together.
-
Roll the big twist into a snake about twice the original length to combine the colors. Twist the ends in opposite directions every few strokes to give the colors more of a candy cane look.
Once it doubles in length, fold the snake in half and twist the two ends together as shown above. Repeat the process of rolling, folding, twisting and rolling again 2-3 times.
-
Flatten all the clay into a ball. You want to see most of your colors on the surface of the ball, so pull the ball in half and flatten again if you don’t.
-
Use a rolling pin or glass jar to roll out your marbled ball. I like to use a glass jar so I can see what happens as I roll harder or softer over certain colors.
The colors should blend together and create a marbled pattern when you roll over them. Try rolling different directions, from the edge, from the center, etc. to push the sound from different angles. Roll out to 1/4″ thick.
-
Using a round object about 6 inches wide as a template, use an X-Acto or clay knife to cut out your plate circle.
-
Carefully place your circle in an ovenproof dish or ramekin that is slightly smaller than your circle so it sags slightly in the center and gives you a more dish-like shape. Bake the bowl according to the temperature on the clay wrapper (mine was 275F for 15 minutes).
Remove the bowl from the oven and allow the clay to cool before turning the larger bowl upside down and tapping gently until the clay bowl falls out.
-
Once the clay has completely cooled, use a small brush to paint the rim of the bowl and let the paint dry.
Seal the mold with a glaze if you like. The glaze doesn’t make the item food safe or completely waterproof, but it does give you a shiny finish. This is just an optional step.
PS Check out more cute jewelry and home decor on our wish list and shopping pages!
Credits // Author: Laura Gummerman. Photography: Laura Gummerman and Sarah Rhodes.
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