How to Make a Homemade Bowl

You can make a bowl from stacked snakes of polymer clay.

Make an attractive decorative ceramic bowl at home without a pottery wheel or kiln by using polymer clay, which is found at craft stores and hardened in a kitchen oven. The finished bowl will be perfect for displaying potpourri in a hallway or holding cotton balls in a bathroom and can be made in a variety of coordinating colors. Children over the age of 8 could make these uncomplicated bowls for a rainy day craft project.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 lb. polymer clay, dark color
• 1/4 lb. polymer clay, medium color
• 1/4 lb. polymer clay, light color
• Rolling pin
• Drinking glass
• Serrated knife
• Cookie sheet

Instructions

1. Roll 1/4 lb. of the dark colored polymer clay to a thickness of 1/4 inch with the rolling pin. Place an upturned drinking glass on the clay and cut out a circle of clay around the glass with the serrated knife.

2. Roll the remaining clay into long snake shapes the thickness of a pencil.

3. Press one dark colored clay snake onto the top edge of the dark colored clay circle. Press a medium colored clay snake onto the top of the first snake. Press a light colored clay snake onto the top of the second snake.

4. Continue adding snakes, alternating colors while creating a bowl shape. Press all stacked snakes between your hands gently to smooth the edges of the bowl.

5. Place the bowl on the cookie sheet. Bake in a 175-degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes. Let the finished bowl cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the cookie sheet.

Tips & Warnings

• Polymer clay bowls are not safe for food.

References

• "Creative Ways with Polymer Clay"; Dotty McMillan; 2002
• "Making Gifts in Polymer Clay"; Stacey Morgan; 2001