This DIY is perfect to give your home a little autumn vibe but it works also great as a personal, handmade gift for your loved ones! You can also easily personalize it with your favorite colors and imprints. The materials you need for the DIY Clay Dish are:
- Air Dry Clay
- Leaves – e.g. from a hydrangea plant
- Acrylic paint and brushes
- Sealer
- Knife
- Rolling pin
Materials used for the DIY Leaf Dish
The first step is to gather your leaves for your clay dish. We used leaves from a hydrangea plant as they have a wonderful oval shape, but you can also try other kinds of leaves and give them a try! In case you’re not happy with the shape or look, you can easily roll over the clay again to start over.
Cut out a piece of your air clay (it should be a bit bigger than your leave) and roll it out using a rolling pin. Place your leaf on top of your clay and use the rolling pin to make an imprint of it on the clay. Take off the leaf and see if you’re happy with the result. If not, you can redo the first step. Once you’re happy with the imprint, take a knife and cut around the outline of the leaf.
Step-by-Step to the Leaf Dish
Remove the excess clay and you should have a leaf made out of clay in front of you! Now you can get ready to shape it a bit more to make sure it holds your little treasures securely. Use your fingertips to gently roll up the edge of the clay. Tip: If the clay starts to dry, use some water to help shape it and smoothen the edges. You can make the ripples as big or small as you like. In the end, it should resemble a crisply leaf!
Shape the leaf as you like!
When you’re happy with the result, give the clay some time to harden. It is best to put it on a cooking rack, so the clay is exposed to air from all sides. If you don’t have a cooking rack at hand, just flip the dish after 24 hours. After 48 hours the clay should be dry and hardened and you can get ready to paint!
Give the clay time to dry
Time to get your paint brushes and acrylic paints! Make sure to cover your table with newspaper or something similar if you don’t want your desk to get dirty. Choose your favourite acrylic paint and start painting your leaves from all sides and angles. Depending on the color you choose, you might need two or three coats of color so that you won’t be able to see the white of the clay anymore. Finally, seal your dish with gloss varnish.
Paint your Leaf Dishes!
Let the color dry and your DIY leaf dish is finished! Now it’s ready to hold your jewelry, office supplies or other little treasures that fly around your desk. Of course, the clay dish is also a wonderful handmade gift to your friends or family! Autumn vibes here we come!
Your DIY Leaf Dishes are done!
