Small Vase
The most impressive-looking result relative to difficulty required. You’ll build a vessel from two pinch pots joined at the rim, then add a neck for stems. It’s designed for dried flowers or pampas grass, not water (air-dry clay should never hold water directly). This is the project that gets photographed and shared. It’s also the most satisfying to make, because watching two bowls become a vase feels like actual magic.
What You'll Need
Air-dry clay 350g (A bit more than 1/3rd of your bag)
Included in kitAcrylic paint set
Included in kitBrush set
Included in kitRolling pin or smooth bottle
For the neck stripStep by Step
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1 Divide your clay
Split your clay into three roughly equal pieces (about 115g each). Two pieces will become the pinch pots that form the body. The third becomes the neck. Set the third piece aside, covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out while you work.
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2 Sculpt Two Pinch Pots
Roll one piece into a smooth ball. Hold it in your palm, press your thumb into the center about 3/4 of the way down, then pinch and rotate to open it into a small bowl. Keep walls 6–8mm thick. The opening should be about 3 inches across. Repeat with the second piece. Try to make both pots roughly the same size and wall thickness.
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3 Score and Slip the Rims
Using a fork, scratch crosshatch lines around the entire rim of both pots. Wet the scratched rims with water. This creates "slip" (clay glue) and is non-negotiable for a strong joint. Skipping this step is the fastest way to have your vase split in half during drying.
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4 Join the Two Pots
Press the two pots together rim-to-rim, forming a hollow sphere. Press firmly and rotate slightly to seat the joint. Then use a blending tool or your thumb to smooth the seam on the outside. Work all the way around. The seam should disappear. If you can still see it, keep blending.
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5 Pierce the Opening
Using a needle tool (or a chopstick), pierce a small hole in the top of the sphere. Slowly widen it by rotating the tool, expanding the opening to about 3/4 inch. This is where stems will go. Go slowly; widening too fast can crack the surrounding clay.
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6 Build the Neck
Take the third piece of clay. Roll it into a short cylinder, then flatten it with the rolling pin into a strip about 2cm wide, 1/4 inch thick, and long enough to wrap around the opening (roughly 3–4 inches). Trim the edges clean with your craft knife.
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7 Attach the Neck
Score and slip one long edge of the strip and the area around the hole on the sphere. Wrap the strip around the opening to form a short collar/neck. Where the strip ends meet, score, slip, and blend that joint too. Then smooth the entire neck into the body so it looks like one continuous form, not a piece stuck on.
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8 Final Shaping
Smooth everything with wet fingers. Adjust the overall shape if needed. Make sure the base sits flat without wobbling. If it rocks, gently press the bottom against your work surface to flatten it. Check that the neck opening is centered and the walls are even.
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9 Dry & Finish
Place on parchment paper and dry for 24–48 hours. Flip carefully after 12 hours. Once fully cured, sand with 150 grit first, then 220 for a smooth finish. Paint and seal, or seal the natural clay.
Tip: This is your most "Instagram-worthy" project. Style it with a single dried stem or two pieces of pampas grass for the best visual.
Tips & Troubleshooting
For dried flowers and pampas grass, the vase works perfectly as-is. For a single fresh stem with water, place a small glass or test tube inside the vase to hold the water. Air-dry clay should never hold water directly.
The neck is optional but it elevates the piece significantly. Without it, you have a round vessel with a hole. With it, you have a vase.
If the seam between the two pots cracks during drying, the score-and-slip wasn’t thorough enough. Use more water and more crosshatching next time.
If the sphere feels lopsided after joining, you can gently reshape it by pressing with both palms. Clay is forgiving when it’s still wet.