If you don't have an Ikea store nearby, cute plastic cups could be found at a party supply store or Toys R' Us.

Begin by choosing a clay color and rolling it into a small ball. If you want to save on clay, wrap the clay around a foil ball as shown. Place it inside the bottom of one of the plastic cups, still retaining its round shape.

Next, pour a small amount of white glue into a small disposable cup. Add some tempera paint. Just enough paint to tint the glue to the color you want. I wanted to create a “chocolate syrup” so I added brown paint to the glue. Mix it up with a craft stick. Slowly pour a bit of the “syrup” over the first scoop of “ice cream”. Form a second ball of clay and repeat. This should bring you up to the rim of the cup.

Roll out a slightly larger ball of clay and press a small dome in the bottom of the clay ball. Pinch the edges a bit to give the scoop the ragged edges you often see in real ice cream. These edges should turn upwards just a bit to prevent the “syrup” from running down the sides of the plastic cup. If you want just one scoop, pour some more syrup over the scoop watching to make sure the syrup stays on the scoop and does not wander onto the cup. If you want to add additional scoops, repeat the last steps for making ice cream scoops, adding a bit of syrup after each one. The goal is to not build the scoops so high that the sculpture topples over. This can be good lesson in balance.

A "scoop" of ice cream sits on top in this picture. For some finishing touches, you might want to add a twisted piece of white Model magic to represent whipped cream, a small cherry with a little wire stem and some colored “sprinkles” made out of tiny pieces of Model Magic clay. You could also add a small spoon. Finally, sprinkle a bit of white glitter over the wet "syrup". Be careful, it really does look good enough to eat!

Another way of working with the clay is to twist ropes of white and brown Model Magic in order to create a "soft serve" ice cream treat.

Here is a close up view of a "soft serve", vanilla & chocolate treat. I added "syrup", glitter sprinkles and a clay heart on a small stick for decoration.