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DIY Clay Leaf Bowl & Leaf Accents for Thanksgiving Styling

DIY clay leaf bowl for Thanksgiving styling on a dining room table

DIY Clay Leaf Bowl & Leaf Accents for Thanksgiving Styling

In this tutorial, I’m showing you how to make a DIY clay leaf bowl and leaf accents for Thanksgiving styling. Using IOD and Redesign moulds, you’ll learn how to shape a maple leaf into a little bowl and create coordinating accents that can be tied onto napkins, wrapped around candles, or tucked into a fall table setting. These simple handmade touches add charm and warmth to any Thanksgiving gathering or cozy autumn display.

📽️ You can follow along step-by-step in the video below!

leaf accents tied around an amber bottle for cozy Thanksgiving decor thanksgiving table setting with clay leaf dish and resin napkin holder

Supplies You’ll Need For Your Leaf Bowl & Leaf Accents

Here’s everything I used for this project (feel free to swap in what you already have at home):

IOD Moulds – Oak Leaves & Acorns, Autumn Cottage
Redesign Mould – Falling Leaves
Air dry clay
Fast dry resin
Behr Wax – Clear, Dark, and White
Rub ’n Buff in Leaf Gold
Fusion Mineral Paint – Cashmere, Ironclay, Conservatory
Paint brushes & wax brushes
Baby wipes & paper towel

Step-by-Step: Making the Leaf Bowl & Accents

(This is a brief step-by-step — see the video tutorial for full details!)

Mould & Shape – Press air dry clay into your leaf moulds. For the bowl, shape a maple leaf into a small dish form. For the leaf charms, I used fast drying resin.
Dry & Refine – Allow the clay to dry fully or cure. I then drilled holes in the resin leaf charms so that they were easier to hang.
Paint Layers – Brush on your Fusion Mineral Paints, in your choice of colors. I used Cashmere, Ironclay, and Conservatory.
Wax Finish – Use clear, white, and dark Behr wax to highlight veins and textures.
Golden Touches – Add Rub ’n Buff in Leaf Gold for a soft shimmer.

Candle with velvet ribbon on fall coffee table beside rustic basket of gourds

How to Style Your DIY Leaf Bowl & Accents

These little handmade pieces can be styled so many ways for Thanksgiving and fall:

At the table – Place a mini pumpkin or name tag in each leaf bowl at your Thanksgiving table setting.
Napkin rings – Tie a ribbon through a clay leaf accent for a charming napkin holder, or just simple slide the stemm under your napkin ring like in the photos.
Around the home – Hang leaf accents onto a vase, a candle, or tied onto a basket for a seasonal touch.
As gifts – Add them to a hostess baskets for something extra special.

DIY resin leaf napkin, decor, in a Thanksgiving table setting

Fall coffee table styled with a woven basket of DIY painted pumpkins and gourds

Maple leaf made with an IOD mold, hanging off of an amber coloured bottle filled with fall florals Leaf dish made from the redesign mold, filled with tiny pumpkins and handmade acorns