How to Make Clay Cats
Cat lovers can decorate their house with a homemade clay cat model, instead of going for commercially available cat-themed decorations. Clay is easy to mold and harden, unlike porcelain and plastic -- other materials used in commercial cat decorations -- and therefore, the craft is approachable even for novices. However, only polymer clay is suitable for this craft, as oil-based clay cannot get harder and self-hardening clay is vulnerable to water. You can find images of various cat breeds for your project at "CatsInfo.com" and "Pets4Homes."
Instructions
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Mold the polymer clay with your hands to hold the basic shape of the cat, including her body, head, pointed ears, legs and tail. You can depict the cat sitting on her back legs or lying, with her tail stuck on her body, to simplify the craft.
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Use a carving knife to add the cat's details. Carve her eyes, mouth and the details on her ears and form short lines all over the cat's head, body and extremities to give the impression of fur.
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Cut eight 3-inch-long pieces of plastic wire with a wire cutter. You can either use plastic wires used in bra making -- available online -- or plastic-coated wires, measuring 0.6 mm -- roughly 1/50 inch -- in diameter.
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Pierce the left side of the cat's nose with four wires and the right side with another four wires to add the whiskers. Remove the whiskers gently, leaving eight thin holes on the nose.
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Place the clay cat in the oven and bake it for 30 minutes per quarter-inch of thickness. The baking temperature varies between different brands of polymer clay, so consult the package for more information.
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Allow the polymer clay to cool down and paint it with acrylics. Apply glue on the tip of the plastic wire pieces and insert them into the nose holes to add the whiskers and complete the craft.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Martin Poole/Digital Vision/Getty Images
