Toadstool stakes for a plant pot9 cm tall, 25 minutes. A dome cap pressed onto a thick stalk with slip. An adult pushes a skewer up it before it dries.
Miniature tea set on a button tray1 cm each, 40 minutes. Pot, two cups, two saucers. Shape each cup on the rounded end of a paintbrush handle.
Six pawns for a home-made board game2.5 cm tall, 25 minutes. Cone body, ball head, six colours. Press each base on the table so it stands straight.
Bead garland of hand-rolled balls2 cm each, 40 minutes. Roll twenty balls, skewer each through the middle, twist it out. Thread them on twine when dry.
Bedroom door name plaque16 cm, 30 minutes. A 1 cm slab. Stamp the letters or build the name from thin coils. Two holes at the top for ribbon.
Bird's nest with three speckled eggs8 cm, 20 minutes. Push clay through a garlic press for twigs and pile them round a small pinch pot. Add three eggs.
Cactus ring holder in a tiny pot8 cm tall, 25 minutes. A fat sausage with two arms, stood in a thimble-sized pot. Score ribs. Rings hang on the arms.
Coasters pressed with a crochet doily10 cm, 20 minutes. Roll to 6 mm between two rulers so every coaster matches. Flip them twice a day so they dry flat.
Coil pot pencil holder with ridged sides10 cm tall, 40 minutes. Finger-thick coils stacked on a disc base. Smudge the joins inside and leave the outside ridged.
Coil-built bud vase for dried grasses12 cm tall, 50 minutes. Coils on a disc base, smoothed inside and out, narrowed at the neck. For dried stems only.
Desk tray with a groove for one pen18 cm, 30 minutes. A rectangle slab with low pinched walls. Press a pen into the soft base to make its own groove.
Draped bowl formed over an upturned cup12 cm, 30 minutes. Lay a 5 mm slab over a cup wrapped in cling film. Lift it off at leather hard, before it shrinks on.
Earring arch with a row of holes12 cm, 30 minutes. An arch-shaped slab 8 mm thick on a flat foot. Poke paired holes with a cocktail stick while soft.
Fairy door for the skirting board10 cm, 30 minutes. An arched slab. Score plank lines with a ruler, add a ball knob and a slab step. Dry it flat.
Fossil rocks printed with toy dinosaur feet8 cm, 15 minutes. Flatten a ball into a rock. Press a toy's feet or a shell in and lift straight up. Paint when dry.
Fridge magnets cut with biscuit cutters4 cm, 15 minutes. 5 mm slab, cut, smooth the edges with a wet finger. An adult glues a magnet on the back when hard.
Gift tags stamped with one word6 cm, 15 minutes. A 3 mm slab cut to a tag shape, hole made with a straw. Stamp the word. Dry flat and flip often.
Hand-carved stamp for printing the next slab3 cm, 20 minutes. A thick disc with a pinched handle. Carve a star or an initial in reverse. Test it on scrap clay.
Handprint keepsake dish14 cm, 15 minutes. 1 cm slab. Press the hand in evenly, cut a circle round it, scratch the name and year into the back.
Hanging ornaments textured with lace6 cm, 20 minutes. Roll lace into a 5 mm slab, peel it off, cut circles. Poke the ribbon hole with a straw while soft.
Hedgehog with scissor-snipped spines6 cm, 15 minutes. Egg shape with a pinched nose. Snip small V cuts with round-ended scissors and lift each into a spine.
Incense stick holder shaped like a long leaf20 cm, 25 minutes. A long slab with curled-up edges. Poke the hole at a slant with the stick itself while it is soft.
Jewellery tray with a painted gold rim14 cm, 30 minutes. An oval slab with a coil pressed round the edge as a wall. Blend the coil down on the inside only.
Marbled pinch bowl in two colours9 cm, 25 minutes. Knead paint into half the clay, twist the two halves together twice, then pinch the bowl. Stop early.
Memory-match tiles with stamped pairs4 cm each, 40 minutes. Sixteen squares from one slab. Stamp eight pairs with buttons, shells and bolts. Backs stay bare.
Moon phase wall hanging on a twig30 cm long, 45 minutes. Seven discs from crescent to full and back, all cut with one round cutter. Straw hole in each.
Noughts and crosses board with clay pieces12 cm, 35 minutes. A square slab scored into nine with a ruler edge. Five Xs from crossed coils, five Os from rings.
Owl from a flattened ball and a pen cap7 cm, 15 minutes. Fold the top edge down for ears. Press a pen cap in rows for feathers and a bottle top for eye rings.
Pebble photo holder with a slot5 cm, 10 minutes. A smooth, slightly flattened ball. Press a card edge 1 cm deep across the top, then take the card out.
Phone stand bent from one slab10 cm, 30 minutes. A 1 cm slab bent into a lazy L with a lip at the front. Prop it against a box while it dries.
Pinch-pot home for an air plant6 cm, 20 minutes. A wide pinch pot. Air plants need no soil, so the pot stays dry. Lift the plant out to water it.
Pinch-pot monster with a lid for a mouth9 cm, 35 minutes. Two pinch pots, one upside down as the lid. Ball eyes and slab teeth go on with score and slip.
Pinch-pot trinket dish with a wavy rim10 cm, 20 minutes. Ball, thumb in the middle, pinch and turn. Tap the base flat on the table, then wave the rim.
Plant markers stamped with herb names12 cm, 20 minutes. Strips 5 mm thick with one pointed end. Press letter stamps in or write with a skewer. Dry them flat.
Pressed-flower tiles8 cm, 20 minutes. Roll small flowers and stems into a square slab, then pick them out. Wash colour into the dry print.
Rainbow arch desk ornament10 cm, 25 minutes. Four coils bent into nested arches and pressed side by side. Trim the feet level so it stands.
Relief tile of your own front door12 cm, 50 minutes. Build up in layers 3 mm thick: wall, frame, door, then knocker. Each layer joins with score and slip.
Ring cone to stand beside the bed7 cm tall, 10 minutes. Roll a carrot shape, stand it up and press down to flatten the base. Smooth it with a fingertip.
Ring dish printed with a real leaf12 cm, 25 minutes. Roll a 5 mm slab, press a veined leaf in with the rolling pin, cut round it and dry it in a bowl.
Row of little houses for a shelf8 cm tall, 40 minutes. Houses cut from a 1.5 cm slab, thick enough to stand. Press windows in with a square pen cap.
Scaled egg built over a foil core8 cm, 45 minutes. Start at the bottom. Press flattened pea-sized scales on in rows, each row overlapping the last.
Sleepy-face pot with closed eyes9 cm, 40 minutes. A pinch pot. Add a small wedge nose with slip and scratch two curved eyelids. Holds pens or dry stems.
Snail wound from one long coil6 cm, 10 minutes. Roll a 20 cm snake, thicker at one end. Coil from the thin end and lift the thick end up as the head.
Sports day medal on a ribbon7 cm, 15 minutes. A thick disc with a coil rim. Press in a number 1 or a star. Straw hole at the top for the ribbon.
Star-cut lantern for a battery tea light8 cm tall, 35 minutes. Wrap a slab round a tin to make a tube, join the seam with slip, cut stars with a tiny cutter.
Sun face wall plaque15 cm, 45 minutes. A disc with a wedge nose and coil brows joined with slip. Rays are triangles tucked under the rim.
Textured pendant discs on cord3 cm, 15 minutes. Press a button, a shell or a fern into a small disc. Hole at the top. Rub paint into the dents.
Thumbprint bugs: ladybird, bee and beetle3 cm, 15 minutes. Each body is a ball pressed flat with a thumb, plus a smaller ball head. Spots and stripes are paint.
Toadstool stakes for a plant pot9 cm tall, 25 minutes. A dome cap pressed onto a thick stalk with slip. An adult pushes a skewer up it before it dries.
Turtle with a pinch-pot shell8 cm, 25 minutes. An upturned pinch pot on four ball feet. Score hexagons on the shell. Head and tail join with slip.
Wall pocket for dried flowers15 cm, 40 minutes. A flat back with a hanging hole, a curved front. Score both edges and join with slip. Dry stems only.
Wind chime of clay leaves5 cm each, 45 minutes. Nine leaves, a hole in each stem, hung from a hoop at three lengths. Keep it indoors by a window.
Polymer clay 51
Avocado halves, one with a stone2.5 cm, 20 minutes. Blend yellow into green for the flesh, wrap it in a thin dark skin, press a ball dent into one half.
Axolotl with fringed gills3 cm, 25 minutes. Wide flat head, smile line. Three gill stalks on each side, snipped into fringes with nail scissors.
Ball-of-yarn stitch markers for a knitter1.5 cm, 25 minutes. Wind a thin snake round itself into a ball and tuck the end in. Eye pin in before baking.
Bean-shaped frog on a notched lily pad3 cm, 20 minutes. The pad is a green disc with one V cut out. The frog is a wide bean with two eye bumps on top.
Bowl of ramen with a halved egg2.5 cm, 35 minutes. Bowl first. Noodles are thin snakes coiled in. Top with half an egg, green rings and dark seaweed.
Bubble-letter initial keyring4 cm, 15 minutes. Shape the letter from one fat snake. An adult pushes an eye pin in at the top before baking.
Bullseye cane buttons2 cm, 35 minutes. Wrap a log in two contrasting sheets, roll it to 2 cm across, slice 4 mm thick. Two holes per button.
Colour-mixing sample tiles on a ring2 cm each, 30 minutes. Mix every pair of your colours half and half. Bake a square of each and label the backs.
Croissant rolled from a long triangle2 cm, 10 minutes. Roll a long tan triangle up from its wide end and bend it. Brush on brown chalk pastel to toast it.
Cupcake with a swirl of icing2 cm, 15 minutes. Ridge the case with a lolly stick edge. The icing is one tapered snake coiled upward into a peak.
Dinosaur with a row of back plates5 cm, 25 minutes. A teardrop pulled into neck and tail, four stub legs. Plates are flat triangles along the spine.
Doughnut charms with icing and sprinkles2 cm, 20 minutes. A tan ring, a thinner wavy pink disc on top, and sprinkles chopped from hair-thin snakes.
Eight planets strung in order from the Sun2 cm each, 45 minutes. Marble two colours for each. Jupiter largest, Mercury smallest. An adult pierces and bakes.
Eight round beads fading from dark to pale1 cm each, 40 minutes. Mix more white into one colour in eight steps. Roll equal balls. Pierce each from both sides.
Fern-pressed drop earrings3 cm, 25 minutes. Press a real fern tip into a 3 mm sheet, lift it out, cut ovals round the print. Pierce the tops.
Fox-head paperclip bookmark2.5 cm, 20 minutes. An orange triangle face, white cheeks, a black nose dot. Glue it to a large paperclip after baking.
Fried egg charm with a glossy yolk2 cm, 10 minutes. A white blob pressed flat with uneven edges and a yellow half-ball on top. Gloss only the yolk.
Ghost holding a tiny pumpkin2.5 cm, 15 minutes. Drape a white disc over a ball of foil so the hem ripples. Dot eyes. The pumpkin is a scored ball.
Gingerbread person tree decoration5 cm, 20 minutes. Cut from a 4 mm tan sheet. Icing is a white snake rolled as thin as thread. Hole at the top.
Hair clip covered in tiny daisies5 cm, 30 minutes. Five white teardrops round a yellow dot, on a thin strip the size of the clip. Glue on after baking.
Ice-cream cone with a criss-cross wafer3 cm, 15 minutes. Press a ruler edge in a diamond grid on a tan triangle, roll it into a cone, top with a textured ball.
Layer cake slice with piped cream2.5 cm, 25 minutes. Stack three sponge sheets and two of cream, then cut a wedge so the layers show. Roughen with a pin.
Leafy branch brooch6 cm, 30 minutes. A thin brown snake with paired leaves pressed along it. Vein each leaf with a needle. Add a pin back.
Marbled arch-and-circle earrings4 cm, 30 minutes. Twist three colours together, fold, roll flat once. Cut an arch and a circle. Over-twisting makes mud.
Marbled koi with a fan tail3 cm, 20 minutes. Marble orange into white lightly so the patches stay. Teardrop body, pleated fan tail, dot eyes.
Millefiori flower cane sliced into beads1 cm slices, 45 minutes. A yellow log ringed by five petal logs, wrapped in a sheet. Squeeze it longer and slice thin.
Miniature tea set on a button tray1 cm each, 40 minutes. Pot, two cups, two saucers. Shape each cup on the rounded end of a paintbrush handle.
Octopus with curled arms3 cm, 20 minutes. Ball head, eight tapered snakes pressed on underneath. Curl each tip round a cocktail stick.
One-eyed monster pencil toppers3 cm, 15 minutes. Push the pencil end 1 cm in to make the socket, then take the pencil out before the topper is baked.
Orange-slice cane for earrings1.5 cm slices, 50 minutes. Eight orange wedges, each wrapped in thin white, packed in a circle, then wrapped in peel.
Penguin built from three balls3 cm, 15 minutes. Black body, white belly disc pressed flat, orange beak cone. Flippers are two flattened teardrops.
Pet portrait charm from a photo3 cm, 45 minutes. A flat head in the coat's main colour, patches laid on top, then ears. Texture the fur with a needle.
Pizza slice with pepperoni and a cheese pull3 cm, 20 minutes. Tan wedge, red sauce sheet, ragged yellow cheese on top. Pepperoni discs are cut with a straw.
Rainbow charm with cloud feet2.5 cm, 15 minutes. Four thin snakes bent into arches and pressed together. A small white cloud hides each cut end.
Round bee with thread-thin stripes1.5 cm, 10 minutes. Yellow ball, two thin black snakes wrapped round it, two flattened white teardrops for wings.
Six pawns for a home-made board game2.5 cm tall, 25 minutes. Cone body, ball head, six colours. Press each base on the table so it stands straight.
Six-layer burger on a sesame bun2 cm, 25 minutes. Bun, lettuce frill, tomato, cheese square, patty, bun. Texture the patty with a ball of foil.
Sleeping cat loaf3 cm, 10 minutes. A rounded brick, two pinched ears, a tail wrapped along one side. The eyes are two scratched curves.
Spiral cane lollipop charms2 cm, 20 minutes. Lay two coloured sheets together, roll them up like a carpet and slice. Add a stick of white clay.
Stack of pancakes with a pat of butter2 cm, 20 minutes. Five tan discs with darker tops, a yellow cube, and thin brown dribbles down the sides for syrup.
Story cubes with a picture on every face2 cm, 40 minutes. Cut cubes from a thick slab. One tiny picture per face: sun, key, boat, cat, tree, door.
Strawberry with pin-poked seeds1.5 cm, 10 minutes. Red teardrop, green star cap. Poke seeds with a pin held at a slant so each dent is a tiny teardrop.
Sushi set: nigiri, maki and a dot of wasabi1.5 cm each, 30 minutes. Texture white clay with a toothbrush for rice. Maki is a rice log rolled in a thin black sheet.
Terrazzo-look trinket tray10 cm, 40 minutes. Chop coloured scraps into chips, scatter them on a white slab, roll flat. Curl the rim up to bake.
Thin disc beads for a stretch bracelet0.6 cm each, 30 minutes. Roll a 2 mm sheet and punch discs with a straw. Pierce each centre with a needle. Bake flat.
Tiny envelope with a heart seal2 cm, 10 minutes. A thin white rectangle. Score the flap lines with a blade and press a tiny red heart where they meet.
Tiny succulents in a bottle-cap pot3 cm, 30 minutes. Teardrop leaves pressed round a centre in rings, biggest outside. Brown clay crumbs make the soil.
Tiny toast with a bite taken out2 cm, 10 minutes. A tan square with a darker crust wrapped round it. Cut the bite with the end of a straw.
Toadstool pin with a spotted red cap2.5 cm, 15 minutes. Red dome, white stalk, white dots pressed flat into the cap. Glue a pin back on after baking.
Turtle with a cane-slice shell3 cm, 30 minutes. Cover a dome with thin slices from any leftover cane and roll it smooth. Head, legs and tail in green.
Zip pull charms for a school bag2.5 cm, 15 minutes. A star, a bolt or an initial, 5 mm thick so it survives the bag. An adult adds the eye pin.
How it works
Trinket dishes, beads, small sculptures: 100 small makes, 49 for air-dry clay, 56 for polymer and five happy in either. Each gives its size, the minutes of shaping, not drying or baking, and the move that gets it done. Nothing needs a kiln or a wheel.
Read the full guide
Air-dry or polymer: match the group to the packet
Air-dry clay hardens as its water leaves, so it suits makes the size of a hand: dishes, plaques, plant markers. Joins need scoring and a dab of slip, clay thinned with water. Polymer clay art ideas run smaller and brighter. The material is PVC with no clay minerals. It stays soft until baked in a home oven, and colours mix like paint, so mini food and beads sit under that group.
Three moves make most of the list
A pinch pot starts as a ball: thumb into the centre, then pinch and turn. It makes the trinket dish and the turtle's shell. Coils are rolled ropes stacked in rings, as in the pencil holder. Slabs are rolled between two rulers so the thickness stays even. Polymer adds the cane, a log with a picture running through it. Millefiori is Italian for thousand flowers, and every slice shows the same bloom.
In Make with kids, the adult handles the oven, scissors, pins and magnets. Bake polymer clay at the packet's temperature and time, typically near 130 °C, and no hotter: burnt clay gives off fumes that sting eyes and nose.
Polymer clay picks up every speck of dust. Wipe the table, and shape white and yellow before red and black.
Air-dry slabs curl as they dry. Turn coasters, tiles and gift tags twice a day, away from radiators.
Questions and answers
What should I make out of clay first?
The pinch-pot trinket dish with a wavy rim: 10 cm, 20 minutes, no tools. In polymer, try the sleeping cat loaf or the fried egg charm, ten minutes each. For easy sculpture ideas, tap Small sculptures: 25 clay figures and reliefs. Add Make with kids for 17, or Beginner: one move for five.
Can I eat or drink from these makes?
No. Treat every make as decoration. Polymer clay is not recommended for items that hold or serve food or drink, because plasticisers stay in the baked clay. Air-dry clay is neither fired nor glazed, so keep it for rings and keys, and check the label of any sealer.
Which makes suit adults, and which suit children?
Clay art ideas for adults sit under Gifts and home: 53 makes such as the incense stick holder and marbled earrings. Make with kids has 40 built from pressing, rolling and pinching; Cute minis has 40 more, from an axolotl to doughnut charms.