As I’ve mentioned before, I LOVE giving handmade gifts!
This time, I decided to make a birthday present for my grandma — something she could actually use in her everyday life, but that would also represent what she loves most: cooking.
Honestly, she could spend entire days in the kitchen… and I completely understand why. Cooking is such a beautiful way to spend time: learning new techniques, improving our skills with every recipe, and ending up with something we can share with the people we love the most.
My grandma makes everything, from savory dishes to sweet treats. But if there’s one recipe that instantly reminds me of her, it’s definitely rissóis: they are a very traditional Portuguese savory pastry. They’re made with a thin dough filled with a creamy mixture (often shrimp or meat), folded into a half-moon shape, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried until golden and crispy. They’re super popular at family gatherings and one of the most nostalgic comfort foods in Portugal.
I grew up watching my grandma make them so many times! She would often let me and my cousins help wrap the little pastries, and of course… they always turned out amazing. They were honestly one of my favorite meals: rissóis with rice. Maybe one day I’ll share her recipe with you… if she allows it, of course!
But back to the gift: I wanted to create something special for her kitchen, and that’s when I thought of making a plate where she could serve desserts to the whole family. And what better theme for decorating a plate… than an actual dessert?
That’s how I decided to make it inspired by a cherry pie, because I just think it’s so cute. I even added a sweet little message on top, like a drizzle of icing across the pie.
In this post, I’ll show you exactly how I made my grandma’s plate — and of course, you can adapt the idea to any shape or theme you want… or even make your own cherry pie plate too.
It’s such a meaningful gift for someone special, but it can also be the cutest cozy addition to your own kitchen.
Ready?
Watch the full video tutorial here!
Materials
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Air-dry clay (for this plate I used around 1.5 kg)
Acrylic paint (red, beige, brown, etc.)
White or ivory Posca marker
Sandpaper
Slip (a paste made with fresh clay and water)
Food-safe epoxy varnish (this is VERY important if the plate will be used for serving food. If it’s only decorative, a regular varnish can be used.)
Step-by-Step
1. Shaping the Plate
To start, it’s important to decide what size you want your plate to be.
I wanted my grandma to be able to serve medium-sized cakes on it, but at the same time I didn’t want it to be too big and inconvenient to handle. In the end, my plate measured 26 cm in diameter, which felt like the perfect balance.
Another important factor is thickness. After all, we want the plate to be sturdy — especially if it will be used for serving food and handled often. But again, I didn’t want it to be too heavy, so I designed the plate to be about 1.2 cm thick.
With the measurements decided, it was time to get to work!
An important step is working on top of something that allows you to move the plate later, especially if you need to transfer it somewhere else to dry. I used a sheet of parchment paper, but if you have a glass or porcelain base, that’s even better.
There are two reasons for this:
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it prevents the plate from deforming when you move it
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and parchment paper can wrinkle slightly with moisture, which may leave some small texture marks on the bottom of the plate
I cut a 26 cm circle of parchment paper to use as a template. Then I rolled out the clay until it reached the desired thickness, cut the circle using the template, and smoothed the edges with a slightly wet finger.
2. Making the Crust Border
Since my plate is meant to look like a pie, it needed a pie-style crust border! I decided to make a braided design.
I started by making it separately. I rolled two clay “snakes” and twisted them together, trying to keep them tightly wrapped so the braid wouldn’t unravel. I even twisted them once more after braiding to help secure the shape. Then I gently smoothed it with a damp finger.
To attach it to the plate, I made small scratches all around the edge of the clay circle — this helps the pieces bond together. I then used slip as glue (a mixture of clay and water in roughly equal parts).
After that, I wrapped the braided border around the plate and sealed the join using more slip. A brush helps a lot in this step! I smoothed everything out with my finger.
At this point I had a small incident, because the clay I used for the border was slightly dry. This caused some cracks when I twisted the clay strands — but a crafty ladybug never panics!
I simply brushed some slip over the entire border to fill and seal those cracks, and in the end they completely disappeared.
And just like that, the pie — I mean, the plate — started taking shape!
I then left it to dry completely before painting (about 2–3 days). I know it can be very tempting to start painting right away, but it’s really important to let the clay dry fully.
Stay strong!
3. Painting the Pie Design
After what felt like forever, the plate was finally ready to come to life!
For painting, I used acrylic paint. It doesn’t need to be food-safe because the varnish will seal and protect the surface.
To start, I used a ruler to draw the classic pie lattice pattern — the little squares where the jam shows through. Since I wanted the plate to look natural, I didn’t measure everything perfectly and instead followed the general direction of the lattice pattern.
I painted each square a deep burgundy red, and to create a jam-like look I used a watered-down acrylic technique, almost like watercolor.
To make this paint, I mixed acrylic paint with water in roughly a 2:1 ratio. The goal is to create a slightly transparent paint that still keeps a vibrant color. If you want the color to be more translucent, just add more water.
I painted shadows in the jam the best I could (I have to admit my watercolor skills aren’t exactly advanced, but I followed my heart!) and at the end I added some shine using small strokes of a lighter red color.
Once the jam was finished, I moved on to the pie crust.
Same technique: I painted the whole crust with a base color first, and then added depth using the diluted paint. A helpful tip here is to pay attention to the direction of the pie strips when painting shadows.
If you’re unsure, you can always follow the reference photo of my plate.
Don’t forget to add a few darker touches to give the crust that beautiful golden baked look, like a pie fresh out of the oven.
