Fimo and clay tips and tutorials
I’m treating myself – I stared at beads this Monday. Polymer clay beads are pretty much my thing – particularly beads with canework – and these are some lovely ones.
1. Polymer Clay Beads, 2. Pink, 3. Enchanted sunset Duo_waxed, 4. Pearl honey comb and a pair of black and white beads
There’s something so satisfying about creating a whole handmade set that feels like it belongs together. After experimenting with my grandmother’s doilies on flat slabs of clay, I wanted to see how they would look when pressed onto a curved form. That’s how this set of three doily pinch bowls was born—each one textured on the outside with lace, glazed in soft tones, and displayed together on a matching pink speckled doily platter.
It’s a beautiful way to combine sentimental textiles with modern pottery design. The finished set makes a charming serving arrangement for nibbles, dips, or trinkets, and it doubles as a decorative centerpiece when not in use.
Cut your clay into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball about the size of a small orange.
Using your thumbs, gently press into the center of each clay ball and pinch outward, rotating as you go, until you form small bowl shapes. Keep the walls fairly even, but don’t worry about perfection—pinch bowls are meant to have a rustic, organic charm.
Drape a crochet doily around the outside of each bowl. Gently press it into the surface with your fingers or a rolling pin. Carefully peel it back to reveal the lace impression. Each bowl will carry the delicate detail of the doily, almost like a frozen textile pattern.
Smooth the rims with a damp sponge, rounding off any sharp edges. Leave the outside textured, but clean up the insides of the bowls so they’re smooth for glazing.
Let the bowls dry slowly until bone dry. Bisque fire them with the platter if you’re making the full set together.
For a cohesive look, glaze the pinch bowls in soft white or cream, allowing the doily texture to stand out. Place them on the matching pink speckled doily platter (created using the earlier technique) for a complete serving set.
These bowls carry a story. The lace impressions remind me of my grandmother’s hand-crocheted doilies, yet the final design feels fresh and modern. Displayed together on the platter, they become more than functional—they’re a handmade heirloom set that blends memory with everyday beauty.
Thanks for featuring my Wonky Beads! I enjoyed all of the beads you featured!!
Please give the artists who made the beads in the above photographs, credit. And include their websites as well. You may want to ask for permission to include other Artists work on your site. Just to be safe. 🙂
Marla James
Hi Marla! I agree with you completely that work should be credited and linked so these all are (and I try to for works I use as much as possible for promotion on this site).
These are all directly linked to precisely where the items may be found on Flickr where they are all in the artists’ own photostreams or sites. The tool that creates these collages doesn’t add a secondary byline for the artists but does link directly to the artists work so if folks click on through they can peruse the Flickr photos and if they look further they can look at the artists linked profiles which, sometimes, do include their off-Flickr sites.
Artists who prefer their work to not be used in this sort of promotion should use Flickr’s tools to remove their images from the use with link (as these are) attribution license terms. If you need an image removed of yours or a colleague does, please let me know which and when and I can help with that.
Thanks for making fabulous beads to show off!