Nested Clay Bowls

Handmade Nested Clay Bowls | this heart of mine

I’ve mentioned it before but I love bowls. If I had the space, I would cover a wall in shelves and fill them with bowls. Like a functional wall of art. Of course then I would hire someone to dust it all on a weekly basis because I don’t have time for that. And nested bowls. Bowls inside of bowls, fitting perfectly together. Sigh.

Recently, I had a hankering for a new set of bowls but instead of spending the money, I made a set myself for much less mullah. I like making stuff. But you knew that. Air-dry clay is easy to sculpt, dries to finish and is not too precious that you can’t ball up a fail and start again.

Handmade Nested Clay Bowls | this heart of mine

It’s really easy for children to work with too. While I did these bowls, Bug created two bowls herself. (And sculpting in a 3-D way is great for their brains!) The air-dry trait is as close to instant gratification that art materials can give.

Handmade Nested Clay Bowls | this heart of mine

Supplies:

air-dry clay – basic, porcelain or paper
-damp towel, optional
-color optional

Divide the clay into uneven portions. The number of sections depends on the number of bowls you want.

Handmade Nested Clay Bowls | this heart of mine

One by one, shape each section into a bowl with your fingers.

Handmade Nested Clay Bowls | this heart of mine

A couple tips:

-The shaping should happen between your thumb and your other four fingers. Like crab pinchers. Pinch and shape.

-Think of pinching and squeezing the dough into shape, not stretching. Stretching will create really thin sections and the clay might tear.

-Use a damp towel to smooth out rough edges, fix cracks and clean up the top edge of the bowl.

-If the final product has rough edges, use a very fine sandpaper to smooth.

Handmade Nested Clay Bowls | this heart of mine

Once the clay completely dried, I used watercolor paint to add a bit of color. With the whiteness of the clay, a little bit of color can go a long way.

Now. What shall I put in them?

Handmade Nested Clay Bowls | this heart of mine

More bowls to love:

wooden bowls with gold leaf | flower frog bowls | doodle fish bowls

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About Amy Christie

Amy is a wife, mother of two and a maker. Making is her thing whether it is food, DIYs or photos of her children. Follow Amy on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter, and through her once-a-month newsletter to keep up with the latest from this heart of mine.

11 thoughts on “Nested Clay Bowls

  1. I love how you’re like, “I could use some new bowls. I could make them…” and then you actually DO IT! So fab. They are lovely!

  2. Wow… These are SOO beautiful! I am here searching for another post you did with designmom to ask you How Much Packs of Sculpey you used! But I can’t find the post, & course, I can’t remember the name of title. Anyhow, Thank you soooo very much for sharing for so many years so much of your creative energy. You’re truly gifted.

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