InstructionsJolly Longbeard
shown on page 55
MATERIALS
18-inch length of 22-gauge
florists wire
Aluminum foil
Mallet or hammer (optional)
Oven-bake polymer clay (such as
Sculpey brand)
Wire cutters
Embossing stylus
Clay roller or rolling pin
1^1 ∕ 2 -inch-diameter round biscuit
cutter or scalloped cookie cutter
Bakeable adhesive for oven-bake clay
(such as Sculpey Bake & Bond brand)
Acrylic paint: desired flesh color, red,
cream, black, dark brown
Artists brushes
Polyurethane matte varnish
BUILD BODY AND HEAD
Bend the fl orists wire in half and twist
the halves together, leaving a loop on
the folded end (Photo 1). Bend the wire
ends up approximately 1 inch to meet the
twisted wires (Photo 2).
Tear off a strip of aluminum foil. Wrap
and pack the foil fi rmly around the twisted
wire ends. Continue adding strips of tightly
packed foil to form a bowling pin shape for
body and head. The wire with looped end
will stick out the top of head (Photo 3).
If desired, use a mallet or hammer to
compress the foil and mold the armature
into a 3-inch-tall bowling pin shape about
1 inch wide at the belly.
Tear off a piece of polymer clay and
knead to soften. Press and smooth the clay
over the foil armature. Continue adding
clay layers until clay is at least^1 ∕ 4 inch thick.
Flatten the bottom of the body by fi rmly
pressing it against a work surface.
Tear off a small piece of aluminum foil
and compress it into a ball. Press the foil
ball all over the clay fi gure to add texture.
Following manufacturer’s instructions,
bake the clay fi gure; let cool.ADD BEARD, ARMS, AND HAT
Trim the wire on top of the fi gure to
11 ∕ 2 inches long. Referring to photos, above,
shape the wire to mimic tilt of stocking
hat. Tear and press strips of aluminum foil
around the wire; press the foil fi rmly into a
stocking hat shape.
Tear off and knead a small piece of
polymer clay. Roll it into a gumball-size
ball. Roll the ball into a cone shape; on a
fl at surface, apply pressure to one side to
fl atten the cone into the beard. Referring to
photos, fl atten and stretch the top of beardto fi t on the lower portion of face and
halfway around head. Press beard onto face
and gently pull and curve the end down
the body.
Tear off and knead a small piece of
polymer clay. Roll it into a pea-size ball for
the nose. Press nose onto face, just above
the beard. Using an embossing stylus, blend
the beard and nose into body and head.
Press a crumpled piece of aluminum foil all
over nose and beard to add texture.
Tear off and knead a piece of polymer
clay; roll clay to form a 4^1 ∕ 2 -inch-long log
tapered on both ends. Cut the log in half
to make two arms. Press the arms onto the
body. Tear off and knead two small pieces
of polymer clay; roll into two equal-size
balls. Slightly fl atten each ball, and shape
each into a hand. Press a hand onto the end
of each arm. Use the embossing stylus to
blend arms and hands into the body. Use a
foil ball to apply texture to arms and hands.
Tear off and knead a piece of polymer
clay; roll clay to form a 6-inch-long^1 ∕ 4 -inch-
diameter log. Wrap log around the head
for the hat brim, overlapping the top of
beard at sides of head and joining log ends
at back of head. Tear off additional pieces
of polymer clay and form remainder of
hat. Gently pull clay away from wire ends