Air Dry Clay DIY Ruffle Bowl

Have you ever used air dry clay before?

If you haven’t?

Maybe this is your sign.

Y’all. Y’all. Y’all. It’s kind of the unsung hero of the craft world. Air dry clay is so easy to use, and you can make almost ANYTHING you can dream up. And the most amazing thing about it? Just like the name says–all you need is air.

Yep.

You just set it out, and the air does all the heavy lifting.

I’ve been using air dry clay for almost a year now and I have learned so much and discovered so many shortcuts and easy tips.

No gatekeeping around here.

I’m sharing it all and showing you how to make this easy project.

Wait until you see what I made with a wreath form, the clay and a little air?

This DIY air dry clay ruffle bowl.

It looks like a piece of art.

I’ve seen bowls like this that were so expensive and you can make a bowl like this in 10 minutes.

It’s the perfect beginner project if you want to start here.

// air dry clay //

Before we start with the step-by-step of the project?

Let’s begin with some air dry clay basics:

1. The air dry clay you use makes SUCH a difference. The way it dries varies from clay to clay, and this is my favorite clay, called DAS.

You can see it here.

2. The clay comes in a sealed package, but after you open it, take what you want and put the rest into a sealed package. If you leave it out, it will meet the air and start to dry. Just for reference, I used 1/4 of the package for each of the bowls.

3. When you are working with the clay, it’s so much easier if you use a mat to prevent the clay from sticking (and getting random pieces of dust or dirt you might have on the original surface).

You can see the mat I use here.

4. Have a bowl of water and a sponge ready so you can smooth out any cracks or gaps or rips in the clay. Make sure not to use too much water or the clay becomes sticky.

I bought this set that has a sponge in it and all the tools you need for air dry clay projects and it’s under $8.

5. If random pieces of clay break off and start to dry, don’t pick them up and add them to a project. They will create white clumps in your piece.

(I learned this the hard way).

6. Make sure you turn the pieces over several times so the piece dries evenly.

7. Let the pieces dry slowly; don’t rush the drying process. Sometimes I put my pieces out in the sun (if it’s not too hot) to help them dry slightly faster.

8. Let your piece dry for about 72 hours before you seal it.

Air Dry Clay DIY Ruffle Bowl

supplies:

air dry clay

craft mat

kit with sponge

wreath form

Gloss Mod Podge

1. Roll out the clay

I use a rolling pin for this.

Make sure the clay is even and that there aren’t any cracks in the clay. Flip the clay over to roll it out on both sides.

You want the clay to have a slight thickness; make sure you don’t roll it out too thin.

2. Trace around wreath form

The wreath form kit I ordered had two sizes of wreath forms. Originally, I was going to use the larger wreath form, but I was worried the bowl would be too big and start to crack, so I used the smaller wreath form. Then? I cut a 2-inch piece out of it and taped it together with duct tape to make it even smaller.

Place the wreath form on the clay and trace around it with a plastic knife to create a clay circle.

3. Smooth out the clay

This is what the clay circle looks like after it’s cut out.

Take the sponge and smooth the edges of the clay with water. You can also use your fingertips to smooth it slightly.

See the lines in the middle of the clay? Use the sponge and water to smooth out the surface.

4. Place the circle on top of the wreath form

Next, take the clay circle and place it on top of the wreath form.

Press the clay circle down into the middle of the wreath form.

Use the sponge and form the bottom of the bowl by pressing the clay into the bottom of the wreath form. You can see the bowl start to take shape.

5. Pull out the edges

Now is the fun part.

This should be FUN. Do NOT stress.

Take the edges of the circle and pull until they form ruffles. It takes a little bit to get the ruffles going.

Here is the start of my ruffles. You just keep pulling (and if you pull too hard, just use the water to fix the wrinkles or rips) and forming the ruffles until you have the exact look that you want.

When you pull the ruffles, sometimes the bottom of the bowl gets lifted, so go over the bottom one more time with your sponge.