Make a clay vase

Sweet Living editor Jane Wrigglesworth fashioned these elegant vases, or vase shells, out of air-drying clay. A small glass vase can be popped inside the clay vessels to hold flowers. Just one ingredient and three tools are needed: a 1kg packet of air-drying clay, a doily, a fluted pastry cutter and a rolling pin. The doily leaves a gorgeous print on the clay, although you could use anything that leaves an imprint. The fluted pastry cutter carves a decorative wavy top.

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To make a clay vase:

1. Remove clay from packaging and knead until soft. Separate into two or three pieces for your vases.

2. Sprinkle flour onto a flat surface to stop the clay from sticking and roll out clay with a rolling pin until it’s about 6mm thick.

3. Place the doily on top of the clay and use the rolling pin to imprint the pattern into the surface of the clay. The thickness of the clay will end up around 4mm thick. If you’d like it thicker than this, roll the clay out thicker than 6mm.

4. Use a knife and ruler to cut the clay into a rectangle shape. Use a fluted pastry cutter to cut the top edge. If pinching the sides together when making the vase, you can also cut the side edges with the pastry cutter to leave a decorative edge.

5. Use a spatula to carefully lift the clay from the surface. Wrap around a bottle that’s smaller than your vase shape and pinch the ends together. Leave standing upright to dry for 24-48 hours.

6. Once dry, remove the bottle and slip a vase inside and fill with flowers.