Beyond the Craft Table: Polymer Clay, Upcycling & Home Decor Crafts
Two days of the summit are already behind us. Day 1 brought paper crafting and mixed media — botanical prints, mini albums, art journaling. Day 2 handed the microphone to fiber and fabric artists — hand sewing, embroidery, machine knitting, macrame. Now it's time for the finale.
Thursday, September 17 is Day 3 of The Art of Handmade Summit, and HobbyScool built this closing day to be the most wide-ranging of the three. The theme is Clay, Decor & Beyond, and it's exactly what it sounds like: polymer clay, mixed media, quilting, fabric painting, and home decor, all in one day of free workshops. If you've been wanting to try polymer clay crafts, pick up an upcycling project for your living room, or finally learn to use a power tool without white-knuckling it, this is the day of the summit built for you.
Here's what we're seeing as we preview Day 3's lineup: it's the day where "craft" stops meaning just paper and fabric and starts meaning your whole home. Below, we're highlighting six of the sessions we're most excited about — plus what else is coming, and how to get access to all of it.
"Slow down, work with your hands, and remember how good it feels to make something that's truly, unmistakably yours."The Art of Handmade Summit 2026
Six Day 3 Sessions We're Excited About
Day 3 covers a lot of ground, from tiny clay earrings to full-size furniture makeovers. These six sessions give you a feel for the range — and each one comes from a maker who clearly loves teaching this specific craft.
Melissa Power — Make Your First Modern Terrazzo Polymer Clay Earrings In Just One Afternoon
Terrazzo — that speckled, confetti-like pattern you've probably spotted on countertops and flooring — translates beautifully into polymer clay, and Melissa Power breaks down how to recreate the look in a single afternoon. You'll learn how to mix, layer, and cut clay to get that modern flecked effect, then shape and bake your own pair of earrings from start to finish.
It's a great entry point if you've never touched polymer clay before: low mess, minimal tools, and a wearable finished piece by the end of the session.
Chas Greener — Boutique Decor on a Budget: Easy High-End Handmade Upcycles
Chas Greener's session is for anyone who's ever stood in a home decor store, loved a piece, and balked at the price tag. This workshop walks through upcycling techniques that take ordinary or secondhand items and give them that boutique, high-end look — without a boutique budget.
Expect practical, repeatable techniques you can apply to whatever you already have sitting in your garage or a nearby thrift store.
Anika Gandhi — Never Used a Power Tool? Build This Toolbox With Me
This one's built for makers who feel a little intimidated by the tool aisle. Anika Gandhi walks through building an actual, usable toolbox from scratch, breaking each step down for someone who has genuinely never picked up a drill or a saw before.
By the end, you don't just learn the basics of power tools — you have a finished project to show for it, which is exactly the kind of confidence boost that makes you want to build the next thing too.
Jackie Brown — Finish Your Quilts at Home: Master the Whimsical Swirls Edge-to-Edge Design
If you've got quilt tops piling up because finishing them feels like the hard part, this session is for you. Jackie Brown teaches the Whimsical Swirls edge-to-edge quilting design — a flowing, all-over pattern you can stitch on your own machine at home, no longarm required.
It's a genuinely useful skill for any quilter who wants to move a project from "pieced" to "finished" without sending it out.
Aimee Combs — Layer-by-Layer Creativity: Using Watercolor, Collage & Journaling to Create Meaningful Art
Aimee Combs's session blends three mediums — watercolor, collage, and journaling — into one layered approach to mixed media art. Rather than starting with a plan, you build a piece up in stages, letting paint, paper, and your own words shape where it ends up going.
It's a lovely one for makers who want their art to hold something personal, not just look nice on a shelf.
Sam Hill — Knit Your Way to Calm: How to Slow Down, Stress Less & Recharge Through Creativity
This session is a fitting note to close the summit on. Sam Hill focuses less on a specific finished project and more on knitting as a practice — the rhythm of the stitches, the permission to slow down, the way repetitive handwork can quiet a busy mind.
If you've ever picked up needles just to decompress after a long day, this workshop puts language and technique behind something a lot of makers already feel.
These six sessions are just part of the picture. Day 3 includes 11 total workshops spanning polymer clay, mixed media, quilting, fabric painting, and home decor — the full lineup is only visible once you register. Two more speakers, Barbie Mitchell and Kate Bullock, are confirmed for Day 3 with their workshop titles still being announced, so there's more to look forward to before September 17.
Why This Day Feels Like the Right Way to Close a Summit
There's something fitting about ending a three-day summit on the day that's hardest to put in one box. Day 1 was paper and mixed media. Day 2 was fiber and fabric. Day 3 takes the "beyond" seriously — polymer clay jewelry, upcycled decor, power tools, quilting, watercolor journaling, and knitting for calm, all sharing one day of free programming. It's less a single craft category and more a reminder that "handmade" covers almost everything you touch in your home.
Upcycling in particular has had real staying power well beyond a passing trend. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has long pointed to reusing and repurposing materials as one of the most effective ways households can cut down on waste, and Chas Greener's session is a practical, hands-on way to put that idea into action — you walk away with a decor piece, not just good intentions. If you want to read more about the reduce-and-reuse principles behind upcycling, the EPA's page on reducing and reusing is a solid, no-fluff starting point.
Polymer clay is having a similar kind of moment, especially among makers who want something small, portable, and finish-in-an-afternoon. You don't need a studio or a kiln — just a home oven, a few basic tools, and a willingness to get your hands a little messy. Melissa Power's terrazzo earring session captures exactly why the medium has caught on: it rewards patience without demanding a huge time investment, and the results are genuinely wearable.
At HobbyScool, we've been tracking which sessions our community gravitates toward across all three days of the summit, and the pattern on Day 3 is clear: makers want projects that touch their everyday life, not just their craft table. A toolbox you'll actually use. Decor you'll actually display. A quilt you'll actually finish. That's the thread running through this closing day.
HobbyScool's Full 3-Day Programming
The Art of Handmade Summit runs Tuesday, September 15 through Thursday, September 17, 2026 — 33 expert makers, 33 workshops, with 11 new sessions released free each morning and live for 24 hours. Day 1 covered paper and mixed media: botanical printing, mini albums, art journaling, interactive cards, hand-drawn florals. Day 2 moved into fiber and fabric arts: sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, macrame. Both days set the stage for where Day 3 lands.
11 free workshops on polymer clay, mixed media, quilting, fabric painting, and home decor. Live for 24 hours. The closing day of the summit.
Because Day 3 is the last day of the summit, it's also your last chance to catch that day's sessions live within the free 24-hour window. One registration gets you access to all three days — HobbyScool sends a daily email each morning of the summit with that day's links, so you never have to hunt for anything or download an app.
What You'll Need to Follow Along
None of Day 3's workshops require specialized equipment you don't already have access to. A few notes if you're planning your afternoon around specific sessions:
- Polymer clay (Melissa Power): Basic polymer clay, a work surface, simple cutting tools, and access to a home oven for baking.
- Upcycled decor (Chas Greener): Whatever secondhand or around-the-house item you want to transform — this is a "use what you have" kind of session.
- Power tools (Anika Gandhi): A basic power drill is the main tool referenced in the title; Anika walks through exactly what you'll need as the workshop unfolds.
- Quilting (Jackie Brown): A home sewing machine and a quilt top ready to be finished.
- Mixed media (Aimee Combs): Watercolor paint, collage materials (old paper, magazines, ephemera), and a journal or art surface.
- Knitting (Sam Hill): Whatever knitting project you're already working on, or a simple one to start — the focus here is the practice, not a specific pattern.
If you've ever wanted to try one of these crafts but felt like you needed a whole studio setup first, Day 3 is a good nudge that you probably already have most of what you need.
Save Your Free Seat
The Art of Handmade Summit runs September 15–17, 2026 — 33 free workshops, no credit card required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Day 3 is Thursday, September 17, 2026, the closing day of HobbyScool's free Art of Handmade Summit. It's themed Clay, Decor & Beyond, with 11 free workshops covering polymer clay, mixed media, quilting, fabric painting, and home decor, each free to watch for 24 hours.
No. Anika Gandhi's session, "Never Used a Power Tool? Build This Toolbox With Me," is built for makers who have never picked up a power tool before and want a guided, no-pressure introduction while building a real, usable toolbox.
Yes. The Art of Handmade Summit is 100% free, held online, and requires no credit card and no special app. You simply register once and follow the daily email links to that day's workshops.
One free registration covers all three days. HobbyScool sends a daily email each morning of the summit with links to that day's 11 workshops, which stay free to watch for 24 hours. An optional VIP upgrade is also available for lifetime access to the full recording library.
Not yet. Barbie Mitchell and Kate Bullock are confirmed Day 3 speakers at The Art of Handmade Summit, but their exact workshop titles are still being announced, so registered attendees will be among the first to see the full lineup.