An artist has replicated popular British biscuits in the form of clay coasters so people can have a bit of “fun” while they drink a cup of tea.
Hayley Tomlinson, who is based in Worcestershire and goes by the name @clayleybyhayley on TikTok, began creating art using clay in 2022 and has since gone on to create realistic coasters of biscuits including Jammie Dodgers, Party Rings, ginger nuts and Jaffa Cakes.
Videos of Ms Tomlinson, 30, creating the lifelike coasters have been seen by more than 40,000 people and received hundreds of likes, including from the official @jaffacakes TikTok account which called her recreation of a Jaffa Cake “iconic”.
“I didn’t think (my coasters) would ever be something that would reach the actual companies that make the biscuits so that was pretty cool,” Ms Tomlinson, who works at a care home in addition to creating her clay art, told the PA news agency.
“I remember being a kid and playing with Play-Doh and then I looked into air dry clay and made biscuit coasters because I wanted to make everyday items that you wouldn’t expect to be made from clay.
“What do you pair with coasters? Cups of tea or hot drinks and again, what goes with cups of tea is biscuits, so I thought it would be a bit fun and different to make biscuit coasters.”
The coasters take a few days to make and the process begins with grey air dry clay, which Ms Tomlinson moulds into the shape of the biscuit she is recreating using photos as a guide.
She then uses different tools including metal rings and a craft knife to make sure her coasters look as similar to the biscuit she is depicting as possible.
She has to wait for between 24 and 48 hours for the clay to fully dry in her shed before she can paint the coasters, which she said makes them “come to life”.
Finally, she covers her coasters with resin to give them a shiny look.
She said the drying process can be stressful at times, adding: “You can spend hours making a whole series of biscuits and then the next day you go in, wherever you’re drying it, and go and have a look and you’ve got these cracks or breakages in the clay and you have to start again.”
Her Jammie Dodger coaster was her favourite because it was more intricate due to having to create different layers, from the jam filling to the shortcake.
However, the biscuit she most enjoys eating is a Jaffa Cake, even though there has been much debate on whether the sweet treat is in fact a biscuit or a cake – a question she posed to the official Jaffa Cakes TikTok account and is still awaiting a response to.
“That’s the controversial one – I’m not sure if it is a cake or a biscuit, but I quite liked making the Jaffa Cake (coaster) because it’s so simple as it only uses two main colours of acrylic paint but once it all comes together, people know straight away that’s a Jaffa Cake,” Ms Tomlinson said.
She said she believes the coasters have been so popular with those on social media because biscuits are such a synonymous thing Britons have with their tea.
“Biscuits are a very personal thing to go with your cup of tea,” she added.
“I think the answer is always tea and biscuits to anything … and it reminds me of going to my grandparents and they’ve always got biscuits in the cupboard.
“You can’t go wrong with biscuits as no matter if someone’s not too keen on biscuits, there’s going to be at least one that they like.”
Other food-centred coasters she has made include stackable clay versions of a Victoria sponge, a ham and cheese toastie and a burger – complete with cheese, lettuce and red onion.
“Coasters need to be stackable so I was thinking of food which could be stacked which is quite endless,” she said.
“Cakes have different layers, burgers have different layers and the fun thing with cakes and burgers is similar to biscuits – it’s not a one size fits all.
“Some people like a certain type of jam or different types of filling and because each piece I make if quite unique, it is fun having the different options of layers so people can almost build it themselves.”
Next on her list are Bourbon biscuit and Custard Cream coasters.
Ms Tomlinson’s work can be viewed on her Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ClayleyByHayley
