Clay Ladybug Pot Pal

Materials:

2 oz. blocks Premo! Sculpey:
- 5042 black
- 5382 cadmium red
- 5001 white
- 5572 cadmium yellow
- 5033 orange
24-gauge black Fun Wire
2 black seed beads
"Let It Bloom" flexible push mold
3" clay pot
1-1/2" heart cookie cutter reserved for clay use only
7/16" Kemper circle cutter
pasta maker for clay only or acrylic roller
E6000 glue
toothpick
straight pin
paint brush

1. Condition polymer clay according to manufacturer's instructions.

2. To make the flowers: Using the push mold, press a ball of orange clay into the center of the flower mold just until it is even with the petals. Press a ball of yellow clay into the center of the flower, covering the orange. Press from the center out, filling in all the petals. Pop out flower. Make 11 to 13 of these flowers. Bake and set aside.

3. To make the ladybug: For her body, roll a 7/8-inch ball of black into a pear shape. Press a straight pin halfway into the top of her body (figure A).

4. For her arms, roll two 3/8-inch balls of black into 1-inch tapered logs. Press onto both sides of body (figure B).

5. For her legs, cut two 3-inch lengths of the black wire. Wrap each wire around the paintbrush to coil.

6. For feet, roll two 1/4-inch balls of black into ovals and flatten slightly. Press one end of the coiled wire into each foot, and press each leg into the bottom of her body (figure C).

7. For her head, roll a 5/8-inch ball of black. Roll a 1/4-inch ball of white and flatten it to a 7/16-inch circle for her face. Press it onto her head. For her eyes, press two black seed beads into her face. Use a toothpick to make two squint lines in each eye. For her nose, roll a 1/8-inch ball of red into an oval and press it onto her face. For her mouth, press half of a circle cutter into her face under the nose. You can also used a toothpick or your fingernail to draw the mouth (figure D).

8. For antennae, cut two 1/2-inch lengths of black wire and press into the top of her head. Roll two 1/8-inch balls of black and press them onto the top of each wire.

9. Press her head onto the top of her body (figure E).

10. For her wings, roll a sheet of red through the pasta machine at the thickest setting (#1), then thinner (#3) and thinner still (#5). If using a roller, roll until 1/32 inch thick. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut out a heart.

11. For spots, roll 10 to 14 balls of black. Flatten slightly and press randomly all over the heart wings (figure F).

12. Place the ladybug on the pot in position. Press her wings upside down onto the back of the ladybug so that the tip of the heart is pointed toward her head (figure G).

13. Put the clay pot on its side with the ladybug on top and bake it all according to the manufacturer's directions. Cool.

14. Glue the ladybug to the pot and glue flowers randomly all over the pot (figure H).