DIY Gold Nesting Bowls

Hey there! So, I have to tell you. I’ve had these nesting bowls sitting on my kitchen counter for a couple weeks now. I finally got around to finishing them up and taking pictures. And you know what? I’ve actually been using them in that time. They are so handy! Throwing little bits and baubles in there throughout the week. I love working with air dry clay. There’s no worry about using the oven and the final projects turn out beautiful. My idea with these was to create a set of nesting bowls and then gold leaf them. I wanted them to have a vintage-y look to them. I found this gold paint in my craft stash and I just decided to use that instead of gold leaf. Soooo let’s get started!

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Materials Needed

Air Dry Clay (I use this brand and love it)
Wax paper
Gold Paint
Set of small and medium rounded bowls or cups to form the bowls. (I used a small glass vase and a stemless wine glass).

This project really takes no time at all. The hardest part is knowing when to stop. My perfectionist nature wanted every.little.crack. smoothed out. But, at some point I had to call it quits. It still turned out good and the gold paint helps hide the cracks.

Tutorial for DIY Gold Nesting Bowls

I learned that putting your air dry clay on wax paper helps it to not stick to the surface. So I sandwiched the clay with wax paper and rolled it out a bit. You can use a jar to roll it out. It also helps to put water or lotion on your hands!
Take your rolled clay and form a loose shaped bowl. Use your lotioned hands to smooth it out and fix any cracks.
You can use your hand to help shape the bowls too.
Take your rounded objects and set the clay on top, gently forming it over the shape.
I want a piece-y look to my edges. So I made little rips at the edges.
You can test your two nesting bowls to ensure that they fit right together. Then just let them air dry for 48 hrs (check your specific clay instructions).

After 48 hours, you are ready to paint! This is totally optional, but my brand of air dry clay dries to a grayish color. I really wanted white. So I spray painted them white. I let it fully dry.