3D print the tools. Make it in clay.
3D print the cutters and Fold Bar, then cut, letter and fold polymer clay into a fortune cookie, matching dangle earrings and a wall art display.
Digital download: STL files to 3D print, plus a PDF guide. Requires a 3D printer or 3D printing service.
12 3D-printable STL files, an illustrated maker guide and the Maker Licence.
Tools for the 80 mm display cookie and its message strip.
A smaller 40 mm cookie with a short blank strip.
A 211 mm message strip that holds three pairs of earrings.
The cookie starts as a flat clay circle and is folded by hand, so its finished size is an estimate from a fold model of the circle. Strips are the clay strips at 100% print scale. The images are not shown at actual size. The outlines show the flat clay blanks before folding.
20 mm at the outlines' scale. Not an actual-size template.
The 80 mm cookie is a display piece. The 40 mm cookie is the earring size. Weights are estimates from the file geometry; weigh your first earring.
| Outline to scale | Size | Clay outline (W x H) | Methods | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookie | 80 mm circle, about 4 cm across and 4 cm tall once folded |
| The pictured display piece | |
| Message strip | 110 x 16 mm, with about 100 mm showing |
| A short one-line message | |
| Earring cookie | 40 mm circle, about 22 mm across once folded |
| A pair of dangle earrings on fishhook ear wires, about 3 g each | |
| Earring strip | 18 x 6 mm, with about 12 mm showing |
| A painted dot, a heart or a single letter | |
| Wall art strip211 x 40 mm |
| Wall art display that holds three pairs of earrings | ||
Making methods
Cut a clay circle and a white message strip, bake the strip flat, then tuck its blank end into the circle and fold twice around the printed Fold Bar. Bake and cool the cookie before hand-lettering the exposed strip. For the included phrase, stamp the raw strip before its first bake, or stencil the baked strip before assembly with paint whose maker permits the later cookie bake. The earrings use the same two folds at 40 mm.
Cut an 80 mm circle and a message strip. Stamp the raw strip if you want a pressed phrase, then bake it flat and cool it. Tuck the blank end into the circle and fold twice around the printed Fold Bar. Bake and cool the cookie before hand lettering; stencilling before assembly needs paint explicitly suitable for the later bake. A display piece for a shelf, desk or gift.
Cut the circle and strip; stamp the raw strip, bake it flat and cool it before folding. Fold twice around the printed Fold Bar, then replace the bar with card support for the cookie bake.
The same two folds at 40 mm on the smaller Earring Fold Bar, with a short blank strip for a painted dot or letter. A small screw eye in the top takes a jump ring and a fishhook ear wire.
Cut two 40 mm circles and fold them the same way. Twist each screw eye into the raw clay, bake it in place, then glue it once cool. Hang three pairs on the wall strip. Findings are supplied by the maker.
Your first piece
Print only the files for the piece you are making; the rest are there when you want the earrings or the wall art. Add the stencil or stamp only when you want the included phrase.
Bake the strip flat, fold the cookie around its blank end and bake the cookie. Once it has cooled fully, support the projecting strip and hand-letter your short message.
See what you needStamp the strip while raw, before its first bake. Stencil it after that bake and cooling, while it is still separate from the cookie, using paint suitable for the cookie's later bake. Both tools print with a finer nozzle than the cutters.
See what you needThe same two folds at 40 mm, about 3 g each with findings (an estimate; weigh your pair). A blank strip peeks out of the seam, ready for a painted dot or letter.
See what you needWall art display
Cut one long strip about 211 mm wide from a single slab, and it holds three pairs of cookie earrings from its six holes. Press “The future is peaceful” into it or keep it plain, in any colours.
Make the message first, then one circle and two folds make the cookie. The guide gives the full method, the three ways to add the message and the earring findings.
Step 01 · message strip cutter, message stencil or message stamp
Cut the white strip on an oven-safe tile. For a pressed phrase, stamp it while raw. Bake it flat and cool it. Leave it blank for hand lettering after the final cookie bake, or stencil it now only with paint whose maker permits that later bake.
Message strip cutterHelp with this step
Step 02 · circle cutter
Cut the cookie circle while it is flat, add a few shallow texture marks and softly shade the outer edge.
Circle cutter
Step 03 · cooled message strip
Place the blank end of the cooled strip just inside the top circle edge, at right angles to the Fold Bar, with a touch of liquid clay. Keep the whole message area outside the edge and clear of the bar.
The blank end of the baked, cooled strip goes inside the cookie.
Step 04 · Fold Bar
Lay the Fold Bar across the flat circle, then bring both sides upward evenly while keeping the central opening and message clear.
The first fold brings both sides around the Fold Bar.
Step 05 · Fold Bar
Hold the Fold Bar still and turn only the folded cookie a quarter turn, then bring both rounded ends downward around the same bar.
Turn the cookie a quarter turn before the second fold.
Step 06 · Bake + cool
Slide the Fold Bar out and keep it out of the oven. Hold the opening with a roll of plain card and cradle the rounded ends with fibrefill or crumpled foil, then bake by the clay packaging. If time depends on thickness, use the thickest assembled clay section, including the folded seam and earring plug. Let it cool fully, support the projecting strip on folded card and hand-letter it if you left it blank. Paint small earring-strip decorations after this final bake too. Set earring screw eyes before baking and glue them after cooling.
Remove the printed bar and support the fold with plain card for baking.Help with this step
What you will need
Use the tools you already own. Choose your piece to see what it needs, then check the shared materials below. Some linked hardware packs contain enough for many pieces.
Links marked "Affiliate link" may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Check sizes and materials before checkout.
What are you making?
Per earring: a screw eye, one jump ring and a fishhook ear wire. Make a mirrored pair.
One goes into the top of each earring cookie. The guide gives the size and how to set it.
One small ring joins each screw eye to its ear wire.
The pictured pair hangs from fishhook ear wires. Pick a metal that suits your ears.
Holds each screw eye once the cookie has baked and cooled. Two-part epoxy works too; follow the label and let it cure fully.
Two pairs open and close the jump rings without scratching them. This kit adds a starter set of findings.
The pairs you hang on it use the earring supplies. Earrings are not included.
Two headed nails or screws carry the strip through its two printed hangers, or tape the two printed wall studs to the wall instead. The guide gives the head, shank and gap that fit.
Glues the two printed hangers to the back of the baked, cooled strip. Keep it out of the slots and let it cure fully.
Drills the six marked holes in the phrase strip after baking and full cooling. The blank strip cuts its holes as you cut it. The guide gives the bit size.
Most makers already own some of these; the rest is your shopping list. You will also want plain card, foil or fibrefill to hold the cookie's fold while it bakes.
A firm clay for the cookie shell, plus white for the message strip.
Rolls even slabs between thickness guides.
Set each slab to the thickness the guide gives. Use shims or thickness guides and check with calipers, or use pasta machine settings you have measured.
Cut and bake the message strip flat on it, then bake the folded cookie on it. Hand-letter the exposed strip after the cookie has cooled fully.
Adds a few shallow texture marks to the cookie.
A touch on the blank end of the baked strip helps it stay put inside the fold.
Checks the real oven temperature against your clay packet. Keep every 3D-printed tool out of the oven.
Conditions clay and rolls even slabs far faster than a hand roller. Keep it for clay only.
Only if you want shine. Test it on baked scrap first.
Show your cookie earrings on printed cards at a market stall or in product photos.
Prints the cutter files. If buying, compare models for your budget and workspace, and ventilate while printing.
The guide gives the nozzle, layer and support settings. Match the filament diameter to your printer.
Make it your own
Once you have made the basic form, change the fortune. Try tiny observations, absurd predictions, names, dates, private jokes or messages that would never normally appear inside a fortune cookie.
Fold the 40 mm circle the same way and hang each cookie from a small screw eye, a jump ring and a fishhook ear wire. Make the pair mirrored, with the strips on the outer sides.
See what you need
Press the stamp into the raw strip before baking. Stencil the separately baked strip only with paint whose maker permits the later cookie bake, or hand-letter the supported strip after the assembled cookie is baked and fully cooled.
See what you need
Slide the Fold Bar out, hold the opening with a plain card roll and cradle the rounded ends with fibrefill or crumpled foil, clear of the message, then bake.
Leave the included phrase tools aside and hand-letter a short observation, prediction, name, date or private joke on the blank strip.
Change the cookie colour, lettering, texture or edge shading to give each piece a different character, or try a seasonal colourway.
Show your cookie earrings on printed earring display cards at a market stall or in product photos.
Cut the long strip for wall art that holds three pairs of cookie earrings.
See the wall art displayYou may sell the finished polymer clay pieces you make. You may not sell, share or redistribute the digital files or 3D-printed tools. See the included Maker Licence for the full terms.
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