How to Make An Easy DIY Heart Trinket Dish With Clay
DIY Ceramic Heart Trinket Dish: A Simple Handbuilt Pottery Project
Hey friends, welcome back to The Midnight Mustard Seed! If you’ve been interested in learning how to make simple clay into beautiful pottery, then you’ve come to the right place. Today, I’m sharing one of my favorite beginner-friendly projects, perfect for Valentine’s Day: a DIY ceramic heart trinket dish. These sweet little dishes are perfect for holding jewelry, keys, or for just adding a handmade touch to your nightstand. They’re easy to make at home with basic hand-building techniques.
I will be using a stoneware claybody for this batch, but this project can even be done with polymer or air dry clay in a pinch. Stoneware clay is a sturdy clay that fires up beautifully at mid-range temperatures. Air dry clay or polymer will work just fine if you don’t have kiln access. However, trinket dishes will be a little more fragile than if you used your standard pottery clay.
Materials You’ll Need
• Best clay types for this project: A smooth, plastic mid-fire stoneware (cone 5-7), polymer clay or air dry clay.
• Rolling pin
• Canvas or burlap for rolling surface
• Heart-shaped template (cut from cardboard or use a cookie cutter)
• Rib tool or wooden spoon for smoothing
• craft knife
• Plastic wrap (for keeping clay moist)
• Kiln access (or an oven and baking sheet if you’re using polymer clay)
Step-by-Step: How to Make Your Heart Trinket Dish
1. Prep Your Clay
Start with a ball of clay about the size of a softball. Wedge it well to remove air bubbles. On a canvas-covered surface, use your rolling pin to roll the clay out to about ¼-inch thick. Roll evenly in different directions to Check for even thickness for uniformity throughout the slab.
2. Cut the Heart Shape
Trace a heart template or press a heart cutter onto your slab and cut it out with a needle tool. Smooth the edges gently with your finger. Press the base slightly thinner in the center to create a shallow bowl shape. Use your fingers or a rib to smooth the interior and create a rim around the dish.
3. Add Your Sculptural Touch
This is the fun part that gives these dishes their charm! Customize it however you’d like!For my collaboration with Whitney, we have done simple hearts that are painted in her signature, colorful style. You can add any sculptural elements you’d like or carve/stamp a word in your dish to make it look like a conversation heart! Roll a piece of lace in your clay slab to make a vintage looking dish. The options are only limited by your imagination.
4.Refine and Dry
Let your pieces dry slowly under plastic wrap until leather-hard. For more about the stages of pottery clay, read HERE. Once leather-hard, smooth any rough spots with a wet cloth. Skip this step if working with polymer clay. You will go straight to baking in the oven.
5. Bisque Fire
Once fully dry, fire to cone 04 or according to your clay manufacturer’s specifications for bisque. This hardens the pottery clay so it’s ready for glazing. For polymer clay, bake your piece according to the specifications on your polymer clay packaging. Be sure to bake it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
6.Glaze or Paint
Experiment with layers of different glazes, drippy glazes, or unique glazing techniques to create one-of-a-kind pieces. Glazing is where the magic happens. Try matte glaze for a soft, velvety finish. Wax resist can be used to paint patterns on your pieces. Glaze over it to see the relief design! For a drippy look, use very fluxy glazes like Mayco or AMACO fluxes for runny effects. Be sure to choose glaze compatible with your clay body (mid range glaze for mid range clay, etc). Fire for a final time according to the glaze instructions.If you are using air dry clay or polymers clay, you can always paint your piece with acrylics.
These heart trinket dishes are sweet little works of art perfect for decorating your home for Valentine’s Day. They’re relatively quick to make, endlessly customizable, and make the sweetest gifts. Whether you’re new to pottery or just looking for a fun weekend project, give this a try! Happy Valentine’s Day!
