Lady Bug Figurines - Sculpey Clay Projects

September - Ladybug, Ladybug...

by Amy Koranek

Some Basic Information:

Sculpey III, Bake & Bend, and Amazing Eraser Clay should be conditioned before using. To condition, roll and squeeze each color in your hands until the clay becomes soft and pliable and an even consistency.

It's important to bake projects for the right amount of time and at the right temperature. Once your project is complete, follow these baking instructions for each type of clay:

Sculpey III bakes in your home oven for 15 minutes at 275 Degrees F (130 Degrees C).
Bake & Bend bakes in your home oven for 20 minutes at 285 Degrees F (130 Degrees C).
Amazing Eraser Clay bakes in your home oven for 10 minutes at 250 Degrees F (130 Degrees C).

Line your baking sheets with aluminum foil or index cards when using them to cure (bake) polymer clay projects.

Always assist children during the baking process and never touch a clay project until it is completely cool. You should use an oven thermometer to make sure the oven temperature is accurate. Overheating polymer clay can cause it to become discolored. In the case of Amazing Eraser Clay, the eraser may not erase well if it's over baked.

Good working surfaces include a large piece of glass, wax paper, marble, or an old baking sheet. It is important that you not place unbaked polymer clay on any good furniture surface. Do not use everyday cooking utensils with clay if you are going to continue using them for preparing food.

Shapes:

All of the projects in this series can be made from the following shapes:

Ball - Take a lump of clay and roll it in your palms until it's smooth.

Teardrop - Start with a ball of clay and then taper it on one end with your fingers.

Coil - Roll a lump of clay until it¹s long and skinny.

What you'll need:

1 oz. of Sculpey III Red Hot Red
2 oz. of Bake & Bend Black
Toothpick

Instructions

1. Divide the Black Bake & Bend in half and two quarters. Set the two quarters aside. Divide the 1/2 into three small balls and one medium size ball. These will be the bug bodies.

2. Shape one of the quarters of Black into a long skinny coil. You'll need nine pieces about 1" long and three pieces about 1-1/4" long. Take three pieces equal in length and lay them criss-crossing each other. Gently press them together in the middle. Repeat until you have four sets of legs.

3. Press a Black bug body down on top of the center of the legs. Repeat for each bug, making sure the medium size bug body gets the longer set of legs.

4. Pinch off four teeny tiny pieces of Red Hot Red and set these aside for Ladybug noses. Shape three small balls of Red Hot Red and one medium size ball. Flatten these and cut them in half. Press the halves on top of the bug bodies with a little gap at the back, so they look like wings.

5. With the remaining amount of Black, make a medium size head, three little heads, and 18 tiny Ladybug spots. Press the heads onto the front of the bug bodies. Press the noses onto the center of each head. Poke little holes for eyes with a toothpick.

6. Bake the Ladybugs in your home oven at 275 Degrees F (130 Degrees C) for 15 minutes. Wait until they are completely cool before handling them. You can glue them to the tops of thumb tacks or put magnets on the bottoms.