Learn how to make a polymer clay ring dish with these easy handprint craft instructions, complete with a video tutorial. (First published on November 2, 2016; this clay craft tutorial is updated and republished regularly to improve the content.)
A handprint art ring dish or jewelry bowl made with marbled polymer clay is a unique clay craft project and homemade gift idea that kids can make for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, a birthday, or just for fun any time of year. Use the DIY marbled clay ring dish step-by-step tutorial below to make a handprint jewelry bowl with your children for someone you love. Or make a personalized ring dish for yourself with the DIY clay craft instructions below. You might also enjoy making a Four Season Handprint and Fingerprint Tree.
Marbled Clay Ring Dish and Jewelry Bowl DIY
The clay bowl ring dishes by “A Beautiful Mess” inspired our handprint jewelry dish and ring bowl with one crucial difference. Instead of using this clay idea to make round clay ring bowls, we made our clay jewelry dishes in the shape of my daughter’s handprint to give away as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts. Her grandparents loved them! You might also enjoy this list of homemade gifts kids can make.
Although many copycats have replicated their gorgeous ring bowls over the years, they were the first to share how to marble clay and turn it into a ring dish on the world wide web. So, we started using the marbled clay project directions they provided and continued to play and experiment with mixing different types of polymer clay in several ways to get other beautiful effects.
After making several marbled polymer clay ring dishes, as shown in the photographs, we have discovered a few additional tips about how best to make a clay ring dish or jewelry bowl. So scroll down to learn more about this fun polymer clay craft project for kids and adults.
The necklace in the handprint jewelry bowl in the photograph above is a drawing of my daughter’s made into a necklace. Another fun idea is to have your child make a beaded “mom or mum” necklace or a thumbprint heart necklace to complete the gift.
Handprint Ring Dish Craft Supplies
Gather the craft supplies below to make homemade trinket dishes for rings, jewelry, and other charms in the shape of a handprint.
- Colored polyform clay
& white polyform clay - Rolling pin or polyform Sculpey acrylic clay roller
- Precision glass cutting mat
- X-Acto Knife or clay tools
- Cardstock
- Pencil
- Bake safe bowl
- Metallic acrylic paint or silver and gold paint pens
- Paintbrushes
- Oven bake clay bond and glaze pack (optional)
& 
Polymer Clay Handprint DIY Ring Holder Dish Video Tutorial
Watch the DIY ring dish tutorial below to learn how to make clay ring bowls in the shape of a handprint. Then scroll down to see the step-by-step instructions. Or try making Fingerprint Art Magnets for another fun keepsake gift idea.
Related: Thumbprint Heart Glass Magnets
Marbled Clay Ring Dish Step-By-Step Instructions: How to Make a Clay Handprint Jewelry Dish
Read the instructions below to know the steps involved and what to expect before starting this clay craft project.
1. Make a handprint art template.
- Trace your child’s hand to make a template to make it easy to make clay handprint bowls.
- It is easier (and much safer) to trace a handprint art template cut from cardstock than your child’s hand. And creating a handprint template makes it possible to make more than one ring holder dish easily.
- So, we made our handprint art template with super heavyweight cardstock for a sturdy handprint template that would be safe to use repeatedly. But be warned. It’s almost impossible to trace the hand of a toddler, preschooler, or kindergartener perfectly. So please do your best to clean up the lines until you like the shape of your handprint template, and then cut it out.
- The good news is that you only need to trace one hand to make a handprint art template for your ring dish. You can flip it to either side to make a left or right-handed jewelry bowl.
Related: Salt Dough Handprint and Footprint Heart
2. Mix polymer clay colors to create a marbled effect.
- Select a few types of polymer clay colors and roll them into several clay snakes of various sizes (thin vs. thick) to vary the marbled effect, as shown in the video above and the photo tutorial below.
- A tiny bit of black polymer clay added into the mix to create different color textures is essential. When mixed with different types of clay colors, the black polymer clay helps define the marbling and makes a jewelry bowl look gorgeous. Although it can be made without it, a marbled polymer clay jewelry bowl doesn’t look as good without black clay.
- Next, roll the ball of polymer clay into a snake again for a super-thin, marbled swirly look.
- Then, fold the marbled clay snake in half and twist the marbled clay snake up once again.
- And finally, roll the twisted marbled clay into a ball.
- Tip: Reuse the polymer clay from two or more ring bowl scraps to make a third ring dish. To do this, First, roll the leftovers from each clay jewelry dish into one or more snakes. Next, twist the marbled clay snakes together, and add another polymer clay snake in a different color if needed or desired.
and roll them into several clay snakes of various sizes (thin vs. thick) to vary the marbled effect, as shown in the video above and the photo tutorial below.
helps define the marbling and makes a jewelry bowl look gorgeous. Although it can be made without it, a marbled polymer clay jewelry bowl doesn’t look as good without black clay.
Related: Keepsake Gifts Kids Can Make
3. Use a rolling pin to flatten the marbled polyform clay.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten the ball of marbled polymer clay made in Step 2.
- Please make each DIY clay jewelry bowl as thick as you can. Jewelry dishes and ring bowls that are made too thin are highly fragile and can easily break, which is not ideal.
4. Trace the handprint art template.
- Place the handprint template on top of the flattened marbled clay.
- Trace it to cut it out using clay tools or an X-acto knife, as shown in the DIY clay craft project video and photo tutorial. (An adult should complete this step.)
- We used a precision glass cutting mat for rolling out and cutting our marbled clay hand-shaped ring dish. It was easy to use and made it easy to protect our tables and counters from stains and cuts. (This mat also makes a great painting pallet because you can easily scrape dried paint off the glass!)
5. Bake the marbled clay handprint jewelry dish.
- Place the marbled clay handprint art into an oven-safe bowl and bake according to the polymer clay manufacturer’s directions.
- We cooked our jewelry dish for 15-20 minutes at @275 degrees.
6. Allow the handprint clay jewelry dish(es) to cool.
- Allow your homemade handprint art jewelry dishes to cool completely before moving on to the next step in the instructions.
7. Paint the rim of the clay handprint art ring dish.
- Use a metallic silver or gold paint pen or a small paintbrush with acrylic paint to add metallic gold or silver around the rim of each handprint jewelry dish or ring bowl.
- Keep a wet rag or water wipe close to keep the marble clay ring dish clean as you work.
- For an extra special custom touch, use an extra-fine tip paint pen to write a personalized message on the bottom of the handprint ring bowl for mom, dad, nana, grandma, or grandpa.
to write a personalized message on the bottom of the handprint ring bowl for mom, dad, nana, grandma, or grandpa.
8. Apply a glaze on the marbled clay crafts to seal and protect the handprint jewelry bowls (optional).
- Apply polymer clay glaze varnish to seal and protect your handprint ring dish. (optional)
Related: Homemade Gifts Kids Can Make
Clay Handprint Jewelry Dish or DIY Ring Bowl Gift Idea Kids Can Make
Make a beautiful ring holder dish with your children at home or in the classroom with the step-by-step instructions and video tutorial for beginners above. A jewelry dish makes a lovely homemade gift idea for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Christmas, or a Birthday.
With help from a caregiver or teacher, children can make a handprint art jewelry dish or DIY ring bowl for parents and grandparents at home or in the classroom. A marbled clay ring holder dish makes a unique gift idea that friends and family will love. Scroll down to see a list of fun jewelry crafts you can make to complete the gift or check out this list of homemade gifts kids can make.
Complete the gift with any of the easy ideas below!
The necklace in the handprint jewelry dish in the left handprint ring bowl pictured below is a drawing of my daughters that I had made into a necklace. See the lists below for more jewelry gift ideas and fun ways to complete your handprint gift.
Homemade Necklace Gift Ideas for Handprint Jewelry Bowl
- Thumbprint Heart Necklace
- Fingerprint Flower Necklace
- DIY photo necklace
- Mom (or Mum) necklace
- Mother-daughter necklace set
- How to make a beaded necklace or bracelet
Gorgeous Jewelry gift ideas to gift with a handprint art ring dish
- Delicate name rings
- Gemstone Stacking Mom Rings
- Disc necklace with birthstones
- Mother-Daughter Circle Pendant Necklace
- Family Name Rings Personalized Necklace
- Personalized name necklace
More gorgeous gift ideas that kids from toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners to grade school kids and teens are on this great list of homemade gift ideas kids can make!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
If You Liked This Handprint Art Jewelry Bowl, You might also like the following Gift Ideas:
- Fingerprint Flower Glass Magnets
- Cute Keepsake Gift Ideas
- Favorite Gifts for Mom
- Four Season Handprint and Fingerprint Tree
- Fingerprint Art Glass Magnet Keepsake Craft
- Salt-Dough Handprint and Footprint Heart
- Personalized Mother’s Day Candle Holder
- Shell Frames with Handprint Art Keepsake Craft
- Homemade Gifts Kids Can Make (photo below)
How much clay does it take for each hand?
Good question Carla. You’ll need a small handful for each hand. Do you best to keep the hand at least 1/4 inch thick. If it is too thin it will easily break. I hope that helps!
I absolutely love this idea for a mother’s day project for the kiddos. I have watched multiple YouTube “how to” videos and I don’t see why the adhesive is necessary in this project. I bought the three pack glaze as suggested but I’m left thinking of how to incorporate the adhesive. Is it in case we add bling?
Yes, Adriana, the only use for it is to add bling. You don’t really need it for this project. We found it useful for making snowman ornaments to make sure the twig arms stuck and the carrot nose stayed put.
Just wondering if it is possible to write on these maybe after they are baked?
Great question, Jennifer!
Yes, You can use paint pens! Metallic silver or gold would look amazing! In fact, you can use metallic paint pens to paint the sides instead of using a paintbrush and paint. You can find our recommendations in the craft supply list above. 🙂
The clay handprint jewelry bowl was such and easy and fun keepsake to make with my 6 year old son. He picked out the colors, rolled the clay, twisted it and rolled it into a ball. I did the rest and it was very easy and they came out looking awesome! Thank you!!
That’s wonderful Rebecca!
I’m so glad that you and your 6-year-old son enjoyed making this handprint craft together and that you are happy with the result. Thank you so much for letting me know… It makes it all worth the while.
With gratitude,
Nell
Should we spray to protect the surface .
Hello Sue! I’m so sorry for the delayed response. We have been busy with the holidays! You can spray them to protect them, but it is not necessary. They are fragile, so a spray varnish just may help!
Can you use mod podge to seal them when they are done in the oven??
Great Question Brynn!
I have not tried it, so I’m not sure. The consistency of Mod Podge is a bit thin compared to the glaze made for polymer clay, but yes… I think it would work just fine. If you try it, come on back and share if it works, thanks!
Hi, just wondering If the hand (polymer) shrinks after taking out of the oven.
Thank you!
Hi Ana, great question! No, in my experience, the polymer clay does not shrink after baking the ring bowl and jewelry dish craft. The handprint hardens but can be fragile. Handle with care!
Nell
I want to make this handprint jewelry dish with some of my students. Can the dish be baked in a toaster oven?
Hi Michelle, great question! I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why not? The smell of clay cooking isn’t great–so make sure you cook them in in a well ventilated area.