Santa
Christmas Bell Ornament
Design by Kris Richards
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 Materials:
- Sculpey E-Z
Release "Kringle: Pushmold" *Retired*
- Premo! Sculpey
in the following colors:
- Cadmium
Red #5382
- Fluorescent
Green #5521
- White #5001
- Beige #5092
- Black #5042
- 1" Terra Cotta
flower pot
- Tacky brand
craft glue
- Green, red,
or white metal or pvc coated wire about 6" long
- Two small
black seed beads for eyes
- Needle tool
- Xacto knife
or clay blade
- Pasta machine
- Baking dish
- Brown acrylic
paint to "antique" Santa (optional)
- Gold Krylon
paint marker to add gold accents
 
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Directions: |
Gather all of
your materials. Coat the flower pot with an even coating of Tacky
Glue, and allow to dry.
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Roll red and
green clays into long, thin sheets. Wrap red clay around the large
part (bottom) of pot. Trim excess clay with blade. Smooth seam with
finger.
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Cover rim of pot with green clay (or white, if desired. Tim and smooth
seam as below:
 
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Pinch off two large grape sized balls of red clay, and roll into two
"golf tee" shapes. These will be Santa's arms. Press the thin ends of
Santa's arms in place as shown on either side of the pot. |
Pinch a tiny
spot of red clay off remaining block, and blend thoroughly with
a pea-sized ball of beige for Santa's nose.
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Press a tiny
amount of the pink mixture into the nose area of the Santa face
pushmold. NOTE: You will use much less clay than you think for this.
It is best to use less than what totally fills the nose area.
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Fill
in beard and sideburns. Fill in rest of face and ears. Refrigerate
mold for about 5 minutes and "pop" completed face out.
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Press both black
seed bead eyes in place using needle tool.
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Press
a large white half-ball of clay to the back of Santa's face/head.
Secure both pieces well by pressing them firmly to the top of the
inverted flower pot as shown.
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Roll a long thin
ribbon of red clay measuring approximately 6 inches long by 2 inches
wide. Trim the ends into points as shown.
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Drape this ribbon
of clay around Santa's head. Begin at the center of the ribbon,
and the top of Santa's head.
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Then, press around
the bottom of the beard. Fold and drape the back of the hood, over
the shoulders, and end it by folding it into a long point.
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Roll
two pea sized balls of fluorescent green clay and shape into mittens.
HINT: Use your needle tool to press the thumb indentations into the
mittens.
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Press the mittens
into the ends of Santa's sleeves.
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Press more green clay into the tree pushmold. TIP: Don't forget to
load the small ornaments on the mold with red and white clay.
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Unmold the tree,
and press it onto one of Santa's arms. Wrap his mitten around the
tree so he is actually holding it. If desired, make a holly leaf and
berry mold, and press to the front of Santa's robe.
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Make
a flat green strip for the front of the robe, and press it on. Add
small white buttons by flattening small balls of clay, and pressing
two holes in each with needle tool.
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Use the needle
tool to press a hole into the top of Santa's head for the wire to
pass through. String the wire carefully through the hole. Make sure
not to widen the hole when doing so. Loop the wire over, and run it
out the bottom of the flowerpot.
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Bake Santa at
275 degrees F for 30 minutes, and allow him to cool.
 Carefully
knot the end of the wire close to the looped end at the top of Santa's
head, so that the wire will not slip through and become loose.
Form Santa's boots
from a sixteenth of a block of black clay. Roll into a fat tube shape.
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 Use
the needle tool to divide the tube in the middle lengthwise. Use your
fingers to press the clay into boot shapes, doming up the toes. Impress
the boots around the bottom to create the "soles" of the boots as
well with your needle tool.
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Press two pea-sized
flattened balls of red clay on top of the boots. Press a hole in each
with the needle tool.
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Press the
open ends of the wire into the holes you made in Santa's boots. Bake
the entire piece at 275 degrees F for 30 minutes. Allow entire piece
to cool, and then adjust Santa's boots so they face forward correctly.
His feet now act as the clapper for your Santa Christmas Bell ornament!!!
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Optional Additions:
You may wish to antique the Santa ornament by brushing on some brown
acrylic paint, and then immediately wipe it off the high spots only.
This imparts an "old world" look to the bell. In addition, you may wish
to add gold buttons, dot, and cuffs using the Krylon gold paint pen.
Just allow the piece to cool, and then paint where you wish to add the
gold accents. Allow to dry thoroughly before handling. |
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