Jurassic Pendant Tutorial

Today I'm going to teach you how to make a cute, little clay Dino monster. These little dudes are always a popular on my Etsy and they're easy as pie to make! You can pop them on keychains and necklaces or leave them hardware free and put them in your terrarium. 

​Let's get started! 
First you'll need to round up your supplies;
Screw hook eyes
Clay tools (optional, but I like to use a small plastic knife)
Sculpey or Fimo
I like to use 5 colors, body, spots and spikes, little pink tongue and just a teeny bit of black and white for the eyes.

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First, you'll want to lob off a chunk of your main body color, then knead it a bit until soft and roll it into a ball. 

Secondly, you'll start shaping your Dino body. I shape it into a little tadpole first, and then give him some feet. Basic clay Dino evolution! 

At this point I like to screw in my hook, that way when you're placing the horns on top you don't end up with a horn blocking where your hardware should be. I don't leave the hook in though, it's tough to maneuver around a hunk of metal. 

At this point you'll be switching colors, you might want to wash your hands before switching because clay colors can transfer easily. Now, you'll want to create some horns. Roll up some small balls of your coordinating color, I like to do about 5 or 6 depending on how big my Dino is. Then press them firmly into the top of the Dino so there's no chance of them falling off! 

Now, roll out a bunch of tiny balls to act as your Dino spots. I like to do about 6, three on each side. 

Now he needs some eyes, roll out two small balls of white clay and two smaller balls of black clay. Make sure they're even, then squish your white portion on the Dino, followed by the black. 

You're nearly done! Now he needs a mouth. Create a little impression where your Dino tongue will be placed. Then grab a small, oval piece of pink and place on the mouth. I use the blunt end of my knife to push the tongue portion back into his little mouth then create an impression down the center. 

Then, just for aesthetics, I like to take a needle and give my Dino some nostrils. I also like to separate his little tootsies so he has four, sometime's I even take the time to give him tiny toenails.  

Screw your hook back in and he's ready to bake! Make sure to follow your clay packaging instructions for bake time! It's usually around 275 degrees for 20 minutes per 1/4" of clay, essentially the thicker your Dino is, the longer he'll need to bake. 

You'll want to remove the screw hook after baking and then screw it in coated with a thin layer of super glue. After baking you might also want to coat your Dino in varnish. I suggest Sculpey brand gloss glaze, it's super shiny and won't peel off (like ModPodge) or yellow with age (like spray sealant.) 

Here he is all baked up and sealed! He's just so cute! 

If you're interested in learning how to put together a necklace chain for your charm, I have a tutorial for that here. Also, if you're wanting a cute Dino charm but don't wanna make one yourself I have a few here, here and here!  

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, I love making clay stuff so you'll see more cute little creatures on here from time to time.

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if you have any questions!

-Ashley

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