Bobble Hat Cats (b.7 October 2009)

You may recall that I was toying with the idea of adding hats to the Rainbow Scarf Cats. Well, here are the results! It took quite a bit of trial and error to get the hat looking like a hat, and not just a piece of clay stuck on top!

In the end, for the small yellow cat, I used the santa hat template (essentially half a circle rolled into a cone), and then rolled up the eges to form the woolly rim, and cut off the point to flatten it. Having the ears poking through the hat completes the look.

For the tall cat, I cut out a full circle from thin clay and then smoothed it down to form a dome, I added a thin strip of matching clay around the rim, and indented it to look like a ribbed hat. The fact that the hat covers his eyes was a happy accident!

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.

Roly Poly Cat Keyrings (b.6 October 2009)

This was a bit a departure for me, and one I'm planning to take further. I want to experiment with keyrings and mobile phone charms (the loops are on order), and I'm pleased with the way these have turned out.

They are about 2.5cm in diameter, and by using thick clay for the ears and liquid polymer clay, not to mention a couple of coats of satin varnish, they are pretty robust. I'll have a go at making Wee Pigling Keyrings, and I think the Wee Owls lend themselves very well to charms and keyrings too.

Rainbow Scarf Cats (b.6 October 2009)

I had such a good day today! I've been going all steam ahead making lots more stock for this weekend's craft fairs! I had so many ideas after the craft fair at The Treehouse Cafe, and this was the day for giving shape to those ideas.

After making the Pumpkin Cats and Owls, I wanted to try out Santa Cats (something else I had dreamed up the night before). But before I moved on to them, the idea came up to make Scarf Cats. And here they are! I think they look like carol singers, and I'm thinking I'll have to try them out with bobble hats too - the weather's certainly cold enough for that!

I decided to make these Cats in pastel colours, and to make the scarfs in contrasting bold colours and stripes. Again, the possibilities are endless and I will experiment with different kinds of scarfs - I could do a range of football scarfs (not for me, I hasten to add), and I'll try out some floral millefiori ones too. Any ideas or suggestions would be most welcome! (My favourite one is the green cat).

Owls and Wee Owls (b.6 October 2009)

Finally got the Owls sussed! After making the Pumpkin Cats, I was on a roll, so I decided to have another crack at getting the Owls right.

My first Owl is the one in the right picture, shepherding the Wee Owls. Using more natural owl colours works best, I think, although I will try out some rainbow colours as well, just to see whether they work.I then tried out slightly contrasting colours (see left picture), and I think this works better.

I've changed the basic shape from the prototype Owls (see Owls (b.28 September 2009)), removing the 'ears', and I have instead incorporate 'eyebrows' (do owls have eyebrows? They certainly have quite a scowl!) I put a disc of darker clay into the eye sockets before imprinting them with a pen lid and inserting black onyx beads. I have kept the wing shape with marked feathers, as well as the breast features.

I love the Wee Owls! They are quite diminuitive - only 2cm wide by 1.5cm high (the Owls are 2.5cm wide and 3cm high). To make them distinctive from the Owls, I have not included the 'eyebrow', but the beaks, wings and markings are the same.

The Owls and Wee Owls will be featured this weekend's craft fairs in Ilkley and Pudsey, and are also on sale at Folksy.com.