Clay Ring Dishes

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I wanted to share these little clay ring dishes, or trinket this week, because I thought with Mother's Day coming up they would cute gift to make for moms and grandmas. And they are simple enough that kids can help. I know when my kids saw that I bought clay they immediately started planning what colors they wanted to use and what they were going to make. 

I think there are a lot of ways you could personalize these little ring dishes, whether you are making them for yourself, your mom, or someone else. I made a few different designs with ours, but really the options are endless. 

You can mix different colors of clay, you can layer the clay to make different designs, or you could leave it plain and add paint after it is finished baking. Plus there are lots of options of clay as well. We used Sculpey clay, in both their Premo and Soufflé varieties. The Premo clay comes in glitter, pearl, metallic, and stone finishes, so they look pretty cool by themselves. 

I made one that I left plain except I added a ring of glittery gold around the edge. The others I added designs on top of the clay I rolled out for the bowl, then pressed them into the clay by rolling of them with the rolling pin. 

You could also use the terrazzo technique where you cut up small pieces and place them allover the circle, then roll to flatten them in. You could mix 2 or 3 colors together for a marbled look. Make stripes, polka dots, a pattern on only half of the circle, an all over pattern, anything you want. 

Then shape them into a dish and bake. When it is all done you have a little dish you can set on your nightstand to hold jewelry, spare change, or any other small items. 

How to Make Clay Ring Dishes

You will need:

• oven bake clay (I used this pack of Sculpey Premo and Soufflé)
• clay tools
• small oven safe bowls
• optional: 3 1/2" circle cookie cutter, or cup, lid, or bowl to cut around

Instructions:

Roll the clay out into a thin circle. One block of the clay I used was just enough to get a 3 1/2" circle.

Cut it into a circle. You can use a cookie cutter if you have one the right size. I used a lid from a Tupperware type container. If you use a lid or cup to cut around then you will just set the circle on the clay and cut around it. If you don't have anything the right size then you can cut a template out of paper to use as your guide.

Decorate the circle however you want. Add an edge by rolling a thin rope and wrapping it around and gently pressing it in onto the circle. Add decorations by cutting and/or rolling small pieces and placing them on the circle. When your design is done gently roll with the rolling pin to flatten. 

Place the circle into the small bowl to form into a dish shape and bake according to the package directions for the clay you are using. The clay I used baked at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. I know some of the other Sculpey clays bake for only 15 minutes so check your package. 

Remove from the bowl when cool.