Okay, so, I’ve been wanting to get into pottery for a while now, but starting with big pieces felt a bit… much. I thought, why not start small? Like, really small? That’s how I landed on the idea of making a mini porcelain tea set. It seemed like a fun little project to dip my toes into the world of ceramics.

First, I had to gather some supplies. I found a decent deal on some basic porcelain clay online. Nothing fancy, just enough to play around with. I also picked up a few simple tools – you know, the kind you’d use for sculpting or maybe even cake decorating, nothing too specialized, I got those from a local craft shop. Oh, and a rolling pin from my kitchen, ’cause I figured I’d need to roll out the clay.

I started with the teacups. I rolled out the clay until it was pretty thin, then used a small, round cookie cutter to make the base of the cups. For the sides, I rolled out little clay “snakes” and coiled them around the base, smoothing them out with my fingers and a bit of water. It was messy, and they were far from perfect, but hey, that’s part of the charm, right?

The handles were tricky! I tried a few different ways, but ended up making tiny, thin strips of clay, shaping them into little loops, and carefully attaching them to the cups. A couple broke off, but I managed to get most of them to stick.

Next, the teapot. I used a similar coiling technique for the body but making it a bit bigger. The lid was just a flat circle of clay with a tiny knob on top. The spout… let’s just say it was an experiment. It took a few tries to get something that looked vaguely spout-like and would actually stay attached to the teapot.

After letting everything dry for a few days – which felt like forever, by the way – it was time to fire them. I don’t have a kiln, obviously, so I took them to a local pottery studio that lets you rent kiln space. That was a bit of a learning curve too, figuring out the firing temperatures and times, but the folks there were super helpful.

• First time at the local pottery studio.
• Learned about firing temperatures and times with the help of the staff there.
• Waited for my mini porcelain tea set to be fired.

When I finally got my tea set back, I was so excited! They were a little wonky, sure, but they were mine. I even tried glazing a couple of the pieces with some simple, clear glaze I picked up. That added another layer of “oops” moments, but it was all part of the process.

Result

In the end, I had a complete, if a bit rustic, mini porcelain tea set. It’s not going to win any awards, but it’s a reminder of the fun I had learning and experimenting. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll actually make a full-sized tea set. Or maybe I’ll just stick to minis – they’re pretty darn cute.