Cat and Fish Ornament

Materials:

Premo! Sculpey:
 - 5392 raw sienna
 - 5093 ecru
 - 5001 white
 - 5572 cadmium yellow
 - 5382 cadmium red
 - 5033 orange
 - 5063 cobalt blue
 - 5515 violet
 - 5504 fuchsia
 - 5323 green
 - 5042 black
2-5/8" clear ornament
2 black seed beads
5/8" Kemper leaf cutter
18-gauge wire
6" length of 1/8" red ribbon
2 eye pins
straight pin
shiny gold thread
toothpick
craft knife or Nublade clay blade
paintbrush
pasta machine or brayer
polyester batting

Tips:

• To make pink clay, mix a 1/4-inch ball of white with a 1/16-inch ball of cadmium red.
• Condition clay before starting. Roll out in a log shape again and again until warm and pliable.
• If planning to ship this ornament, take out the fish. In transit, the fish will jump around and break the ornament.

Fish
You will be making three fish: (figure A)
 - cadmium yellow and orange clay for body, cadmium yellow clay for fins
 - cobalt blue and violet clay for body, violet clay for fins
 - green and fuchsia clay for body, fuchsia clay for fins

1. Body - Roll a 1/16-inch thick sheet of both colors of clay. Cut into one-inch squares, four of each color. Stack and press together using brayer (figure B). Slice a 1/8-inch thick piece. Using the leaf cutter, cut body out so stripes line up vertically. Use round edge of cutter to cut off tip.

2. Tail fin - Roll a 3/16-inch ball of yellow clay and shape into a half moon. Press on end of fish.

3. Dorsal fin - Roll a 1/8-inch ball of yellow clay and shape into teardrop. Press onto body. Using knife, place three or four lines on fin.

4. Eye - Roll a 1/16-inch ball of white clay and press onto body. Roll a 1/32-inch ball of black clay and press onto eye.

5. Use knife to create smile in all fish.

6. Place an eye pin in cadmium yellow and orange fish and cobalt blue and violet fish. Cut a one-inch piece of wire and poke it 1/4 inch into the yellow and orange fish. Place the other end of wire 1/4 inch into the green and fuchsia fish. Bake at 265 degrees for 30 minutes. When cooled, string with lame'. Remove metal top to ornament and tie the lame' with the fish attached to the top using knots (figure C).

7. Place fish inside of ornament and place metal top back on the ornament. Set aside.

2. Legs - Roll two 7/16-inch balls of raw sienna into 1-3/4-inch long logs. Flatten one end and use knife to cut three toe lines. Bend in half and attach to each side of body.

3. Arms - Roll two 3/8-inch balls of raw sienna into one-inch long logs. Round one end of each arm and attach the not rounded end to both sides of the body.

4. Head - Roll a 9/16-inch ball of raw sienna and flatten slightly. For muzzle, roll two 1/4-inch balls of ecru and flatten slightly. Place muzzle on lower half of head. For nose, roll a 1/16-inch ball of pink and center on muzzle. For eyes, press two seed beads above muzzle. Use toothpick to make two eyelashes in each eye. For ears, roll two 1/8-inch balls of raw sienna and shape into triangles. Press onto head. Use the end of a paintbrush to indent (figure D). Place head on top (figure E).

5. Tail - Roll a 3/16-inch ball of raw sienna into a 1-3/4-inch long log. Round one end slightly. Place on back of body.

6. Sit kitty on top of bulb and press slightly. Have kitty's arms touching but leave room so that the ribbon can fit through the arms and through the bulb top.

7. Place ornament on polyester batting and bake at 265 degrees for 30 minutes. When cooled, string cat and fish ornament with red ribbon.