Santa Cat Tree Decorations (b.23 November 2009)

The first of my Christmas tree decorations! I've been meaning to convert a few of my designs for a while now, and I was prompted into action by a commission request through Etsy from Sarah in California (many thanks, Sarah!)

Although I toyed with the idea of changing the shape of the Santa hat so that the ribbon could be fed through it, in the end, I opted to keep the standard shape and add a top pin (known as a screw eye peg). The hardest part was pushing the top pin into the Santa Cat - it just seemed so harsh! I added a small dab of liquid polymer clay to seal the pin in place, and after curing and varnishing, I added a generous length of thin red ribbon, loosely tied at the top so that the length can be adjusted as necessary.

I went on to make up another three Santa Cat Tree Decorations, and I'll be listing them online when I get the chance. In the meantime, if you want to order any, just get in touch.

I've also received a commission to make up Santa Piglings, so that's the next on my list, after some Wee Robin decorations!

Santa Cat with Beard & Ninja Cat (b.9 November 2009)

I'm having a great time making up a commission order from Mickey (check out her fantastic eco shop - The Green Apple), who is mad about cats! Here are the first couple of kitties made to her specification - this Santa Cat sports a fluffy white beard, and Ninja Cat is definitely ready for action!

More updates to follow - watch out for Christmas Elf Cat, Pirate Cat, and (I'm really looking forward to doing these!) AC/DC Cats in the shape of Brian Johnson and Angus Young!

Thanks are also due to Mickey for her fab idea to do a Christmas Kitten Nativity scene - work due to start on this shortly!

Santa Cats, Bobble Hat Cats and Rainbow Scarf Cats (b.4 November 2009)

I've been burning the midnight oil this past week getting more stock prepared for this weekend, and another three Santa Cats have materialised along the way! These are just so much fun to make - choosing the right colours of clay, and then mixing them until I'm happy with the resultant swirly patterns, which are always unpredictable! A coat of varnish really does help to bring out the pattern - it's like wetting a pebble on the beach, particularly with the darker clays like the centre cat here.

As well as Santa Cats, more Bobble Hat Cats and Rainbow Scarf Cats (twins no less!) have also joined the family:

One of the Rainbow Scarf Cats is winging its way to Blissknits as we speak!

Santa Cats (b.6 October 2009)

Christmas is inevitably approaching, so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! I spent quite a lot of time working out how to do the hats properly - I tried a number of approaches, including making a baked cone template from scrap clay, but in the end (as often happens), the simplest answer was the best. I rolled out a very thin sheet of red clay and then cut out a small circle. I cut this in have, and then rolled each half into a cone. I folded over the tip, and then put a white pom-pom at the tip, using liquid polymer clay.

I had really wanted to use fluff for the white band, and I experimented with two different kinds of white wool. However, it proved to be too much of a faff, so I ended up cutting out a band of white clay and then patterning it with a pen lid to make it look more 'fluff-like'. I think the end result works pretty well.

After a dubious attempt using a dark green clay colour for the cat itself, I decided that using more natural 'cat' colours works best for the Santa Cats. It also opens up possibilities for accepting cat commissions!

I'm in two minds whether to bring them along to the craft fairs this weekend. I do feel quite strongly that the run-up to Christmas shouldn't start until November at the earliest, so I may keep them in reserve until then.