How to Make a Clay Pie

There’s something irresistibly cute about miniature crafts, and a tiny polymer clay pie is no exception! Make your DIY clay pies inside a bottle cap tin, creating a perfectly pint-sized dessert that looks good enough to eat — if only it were real! With a flaky-looking crust, a colourful faux filling, and a classic lattice top, these miniature pies are packed with detail but are surprisingly easy to make.

Whether you’re a polymer clay beginner or a seasoned sculptor, this craft is a fun way to create something tiny and charming. Use your mini pies as dollhouse food, adorable charms, or just a fun conversation piece. So grab some clay and let’s get cooking!

 

Helpful Tips:

1. Mix your own pie crust colour: If you can’t find the perfect shade of clay for your pie shell (we used Craft Smart brand from Michael’s in “tan”), you can blend colours to create your own! Just be sure to mix enough for all the pies you plan to make, so the colour stays consistent.
2. Where to find bottle caps: Reuse bottle caps from your recycling bin, or, if you don’t have any, you can buy them on Amazon, Temu, or even at a local home brewing supply store.
3. Why use a bottle cap? While you can make these pies without a bottle cap, it’s much harder to create a base and keep the shape neat and even. The cap helps create a perfectly round pie and keeps the edges looking tidy!
4. Add realistic baked colour: To give your mini pies a fresh-from-the-oven look, gently brush soft pastel chalk onto the crust before baking. We recommend testing chalk colours on a “spare” piece of clay first so you can achieve the exact baked finish you’re looking for.

How to make a clay pumpkin pie:

This classic pumpkin pie features a smooth, spiced-looking filling with a perfect swirl of “whipped cream” in the center. Simple yet adorable!

1. Follow the instructions above to make the bottom crust like usual, and then use a toothpick to make lines around the edge of the crust.
2. Choose an orange clay to be the pumpkin filling. You can mix in a tiny bit of brown to get the right shade.
3. Condition the orange clay and form it into a ball. Flatten this ball into a disk and place it onto the crust, pushing from the center until it fills the “tin”.
4. Make a tiny cone shape from white clay. Press it onto the center of the pie. Use your fingers to bend the tip and twist it a bit to look like whipped cream. Then use a knife tip or toothpick to make swirls going up the sides of the cone.
5. Dust the crust area with pastel and bake according to package directions.

How to make a polymer clay apple pie:

A tiny take on a homemade favourite, our apple pie has a golden crust and a delicious-looking filling peeking through a classic lattice top.

1. Begin by making the bottom crust from tan clay, pressing it into the bottle cap like usual.
2. Use a translucent clay for the apple filling. Condition it and cut it into small squares with the clay cutter.
3. Then add pieces into the pie shell until it’s full, layering them a little bit. Dust the “apples” with reddish brown pastel, to represent cinnamon.
4. Follow the instructions above to make the lattice top crust, dust the “dough” with pastel, and then bake according to package instructions.

How to make a blueberry clay pie:

Our mini blueberry pie is bursting with colour, featuring a rich, deep-blue filling peeking through a beautifully woven lattice crust. A tiny treat that looks as sweet as the real thing!

1. Follow the step-by-step photo tutorial or video above, but then use a toothpick to poke 4 little dots on each berry that’s visible through the lattice. This will give your fruit a realistic texture.
2. If you need to mix clay colours to get the right blueberry shade, try combining equal parts blue and purple with just a tiny bit of black.

How to make a clay pie with a top crust:

For a more rustic look, this mini pie is fully covered with a top crust. Just add a few vent holes for a realistic, fresh-from-the-oven effect!

1. Roll out a thin piece of tan clay. Push the edges of the bottle cap into the clay so you can see an indent and use it as a guide. Cut slits in the center of the clay, like air vents for the pie.
2. Since you won’t see most of the inside of the pie, ball up a small piece of tin foil. Place it in the bottom of the bottle cap so it sticks up a bit in the middle.
3. Choose a filling colour (red, blue, etc.) of clay and roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick. Place this on top of the tin foil, pressing it down into the bottle cap.
4. Center the tan clay on top of the “pie” and press down on the bottle cap edge, removing any excess.
5. Make 2 more small balls of tan clay and use your finger to roll them out into “snakes” a bit less than 1/8 inch around. Twist these strands evenly around each other.
6. Attach the twisted strands around the outside of the pie. Press them down (without squishing them too much) once they’re properly in place.
7. Add pastel details to the crust and bake according to package instructions.

And there you have it: a perfectly tiny polymer clay pie that looks fresh from the oven! Whether you’re using it for pretend play, turning it into a keychain or magnet, or just admiring the adorable details, this miniature craft is sure to impress.

The best part? You can experiment with different “fillings” and crust styles to make each pie unique. So break out your favourite colours of clay, get creative, and have fun baking up a storm. Once you make one of these tiny, picture-perfect pies you’ll definitely want to make a whole batch!

Here’s even more clay craft ideas:

How to Make a Clay Taco

Clay Macaron Ornament

Clay Conversation Hearts

Where to buy:

You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada