How to Make Fairy Dolls With Clay

Make your own fairy doll with clay.

Polymer clay is a medium used to create miniature dolls, fairies, and other decorations for your doll house or other displays. It gives the finished doll the realistic look of real skin. If you are looking to add a fairy doll to your display collection, consider making your own out of polymer clay. Creating a fairy doll requires little more than polymer clay and cellophane for the wings.

Things You'll Need

• Steel wire
• Wire cutters
• Aluminum foil
• Polyvinyl glue
• Small brush
• Polymer clay
• Small sculpting tools
• Oven
• Fine grit sandpaper
• Acrylic paints
• Doll clothing
• Cellophane
• Nail polish remover
• Hot glue
• Glitter
• Small rhinestones

Instructions

1. Sketch the general look for the finished fairy doll. Having a sketched image will help you determine how to form the clay when working with it.

2. Bend wire pieces to create the skeleton of the doll. Use a heavy gage steel wire that you can bend but retains its shape and support the weight of the clay. You can find modeling wire at the local craft store. The amount of wire you need depends on the size of the doll you want to create. Use wire cutters to trim away any excess wire.

3. Cover the wire skeleton with aluminum foil. Squeeze sheets of foil all over the body to give the clay something to cling to and to define the general mass of the doll. Also, use the foil to create the mass for the head, giving it a generalized shape.

4. Apply polyvinyl glue to the entire surface of the aluminum foil. Squeeze the glue on and then use a small brush to smooth it over. Polyvinyl glue allows the clay to bond with it, holding to the aluminum foil structure. Leave the glue to dry completely.

5. Apply lumps of polymer clay to the surface of the structure. Use your hands to squeeze the clay onto the structure and mold it into the desired shape. Add more clay or scrape away clay, as necessary, to reach a general form that matches the sketch from Step 1.

6. Sculpt the face and other fine details of the fairy doll to match the sketch from Step 1. Use small sculpting tools to achieve this.

7. Bake the doll according to the polymer clay's instructions. Remove the doll from the oven and leave it to cool completely.

8. Sand the surface of the doll, using a fine grit sandpaper, to remove any rough texture.

9. Paint the doll with acrylic paints to finish the look of the doll. Allow the paint to dry before dressing the fairy in any doll clothing you desire.

10. Draw the desired shape of the fairy wings on a piece of cellophane. The size and style are up to you. Cut out the wing. Use it to trace a second wing on a piece of cellophane and cut that one out as well. If any markings remain from where you drew or traced the wings, use nail polish remover to remove them.

11. Decorate the wings as desired. Use glitter or small rhinestones attached with craft glue to secure them. Use hot glue to attach the wings to the back of the fairy doll to finish it.

Tips & Warnings

• Hair can be molded out of the clay and painted. Or if you want a more lifelike look, use doll hair or yarn.

References

• Anna-Dolls: Sculpting Faces
• Elvenwork: Tips and Techniques

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish