Challenge Yourself to Make This Air-Dry Clay Octopus Tray

I wanted to make a small tray for all the little things that always end up scattered around my desk, but a regular tray felt a little too simple. So I decided to turn it into an octopus instead.

It’s made entirely by hand with air-dry clay and works as both a little sculpture and a place to keep rings, earrings, and other small items. Here’s how I made it!

1. Air-Dry Clay — for the tray and octopus. I’m using DAS air-hardening modeling clay. No oven needed, it cures naturally in air.
2. Sculpting Tools — for shaping forms and adding fine details to the octopus and tray
3. Water Brush Pen — for joining clay pieces together, blending seams and smoothing surface marks, fixing small cracks while clay is still soft
4. Aluminum Foil — for filling the octopus head to cut down clay amount and lighten the weight
5. Sandpaper — for sanding and refining rough spots on fully dried, hardened clay
6. Acrylic Paints — for painting the main base colors on the sculpture
7. Acrylic Markers — for drawing the octopus eyes, tentacles and details on tray patterns
8. Water-Based Sealer —for protection and a matte finish. I’m using PADICO Water-Based Waterproof Material, Non-Gloss. It’s water-based and shields painted surfaces from scratches.

Roll out a piece of air-dry clay to the size you want, keeping the thickness fairly even.

Curve the edges upward, using a little water and a sculpting tool to shape and smooth the clay. I use a water brush pen to control the amount of water more easily.

Once the edges are shaped, this side will become the back. Flip the tray over and adjust the edges. Use water and a sculpting tool to smooth out any rough areas on the front surface.

Set the tray aside to air-dry.

Crumple aluminum foil into a ball to use as the filling for the head. This foil core helps reduce the weight of the head. Add two or three layers depending on how large you want the head to be.

Roll out a piece of air-dry clay and wrap it around the foil. Use a sculpting tool to form a rounded head, then attach it along the edge of the tray with a little water and smooth the connection.

Shape a small cylinder of clay and attach it to the head. Make a small hole in the center with a sculpting tool to form the nose. Set the tray aside to air-dry again.

Shape a piece of clay into a tentacle, keeping one end thicker and tapering the other end.

Use a little water and a sculpting tool to attach it to the tray and smooth the connection. Continue adding about 4 or 5 tentacles, making some longer, some shorter, and giving each one a different curve.

This is where you can get creative. Play around with the length, shape, and direction of each tentacle to give your octopus its own look.

Set the tray aside to air-dry one more time.

Once the clay is completely dry, use sandpaper to smooth any rough or uneven areas on the tray.

Gently sand the surface and edges until they feel smooth, then remove any dust before painting.

Use acrylic paints to add your favorite design to the center of the tray, then paint the back, edges, octopus head, and tentacles in any colors you like.

Let the paint dry, then use acrylic markers to draw the octopus eyes and add different patterns to each tentacle.

Feel free to play around with the colors and patterns to make your octopus unique.

Once the paint and marker details are completely dry, apply a layer of water-based sealer to the entire tray to protect the surface and give it a matte finish.

Let the sealer dry completely, and your octopus tray is finished! Now all those little things finally have a place to go. Give it a try, you can even make it with your family for extra fun.