How to Make Your Own Pinch Pots

My boys love working with polymer clay for crafts, so we recently made some clay pinch pots together. It was such a fun and simple project, and it turned out too good not to share! So, here are some of our favorite pinch pot ideas.

a small diy clay pinch pot on a nightstand

What Are Pinch Pots?

Pinch pots are small clay bowls that are formed by hand. They get their name from the way you make them – by gently pinching from the center of a ball of clay with your fingertips to slowly form a bowl shape!

A basic pinch pot is really easy to make, and and it’s a great project for kids. You don’t have to be a pro, have a kiln, or do anything fancy to create a pinch pot masterpiece!

How to Make a Pinch Pot

This might be the most simple tutorial I’ve ever written – promise. Pinch pottery is so easy and you’ll have a blast doing it!

I put together a little video as we were working, so let’s start there. You can see how the bowls come together, and get some ideas from our designs.

Video Tutorial

You’ll Need…

Sculpey Clay or Air Dry Clay
An assortment of acrylic paints
Paintbrushes
An oven to bake your finished pot in
A little bit of patience and a lot of creativity!

a child's room wtih an assortment of items on a yellow dresser

Pinch Pot Technique: How to Form a Dish

Start by grabbing a small lump of clay and forming it into a ball. Then, use your thumb to press into the center of the ball, and begin pushing outwards to form a bowl. Continue working, smoothing out the lumps and cracks as you go until you have a shape you like. There’s no real right or wrong way to do this – if you create a shape that makes you happy, you’re good to go!

You have do all sorts of shapes. You can add a handle if you want to get fancy, create a coil of clay and form that into a bowl, add some bumps to the outside for some texture – have fun with it!

Bake Your Pinch Pots (Or Let Them Dry)

Once you’ve formed your pinch pots and are happy with how they look, it’s time to bake them. Follow the directions on the package of your clay for this. I recommend setting the pots on some foil to ensure they don’t stick!

If you’re working with air dry clay like we were, no need to bake. Simply set them out in a safe spot for a couple of days until they’re fully cured. Double-check the directions on your clay for the full timeline of the drying process, but it’s usually very simple.

overhead view of a small pinch pot made of air dry clay

Time to Paint!

Once they’ve been baked and fully cooled, it’s time to paint them. Again – this is a great time to let your kids’ creativity run free! My kids had a blast designing their pinch pots, and they all turned out so cute.

Simple Pinch Pot Ideas

Once you get started with creating pinch pots, you’ll quickly realize there are so many possibilities! We mostly stuck to creating small bowls this time around, but you can make vases, ornaments, jewelry and more with the same method! Pinch pots would make a great gift for your kids to give to anyone when the holidays roll around, too.

a small blue and green clay pot a child made

Here are a few creative pinch pot ideas:

Play around with the pot shape – form it into a heart-shaped bowl or make them look like leaves. The kids made theirs in the shape of Mickey and Minnie!
Paint your bowl to look like an animal (how cute would a little turtle pinch pot be?!)
Add texture to the clay’s surface for some more intricate designs
Put three small pinch pot bowls together to form a little snowman pinch pot!
Add a ball of clay to the center to make a nose, then paint a face in your pinch pot

You genuinely can’t go wrong here. It’s such a fun project and one of the easiest ways to get your kids doing something creative and fun.

These turned out so cute, and we had the best time making them. I definitely think we’re going to be revisiting this project come the holidays so we can create some Christmas gifts! So, stay tuned for that!