MAKE A CLAY BEAR ...and Play Dough too!


      Recipe #1 Clay that will last a long time.

      CLAY DOUGH RECIPE

            1 CUP FLOUR
            2 TEASPOONS CREAM OF TARTAR
            1/4 CUP SALT
            1 CUP WATER - ROOM TEMPERATURE
            1 TEASPOON OIL
            FOOD COLORING

        Stir all of the ingredients into a pan and cook over MEDIUM heat until smooth. Once the Mixture is cooled to the touch, lay the dough on the counter and knead until it becomes firm. Now you can begin to make your CLAY TEDDY BEAR. This dough can be saved in an airtight container and saved to use on another RAINIE DAY. Clay will last longer if you place it in the fridge.

      Recipe #2 Clay that will harden, then you can paint your Teddy Bear.
      CLAY BREAD DOUGH

            2 SLICES WHITE BREAD
            1 TABLESPOON WHITE GLUE

          Remove the crust from the bread. Tear the bread into tiny little pieces and place in a bowl. Add the glue and mix with a fork until all of the bread is moistened. Roll the dough into a ball and knead until smooth. This clay will air dry in 1 to 3 days. After it is dry, paint with an acrylic paints.


      Another clay you can use is SCULPY clay. This clay when baked will harden so you can paint it. Ask your Craft Store if they carry this clay. Another clay is FIMO. It is a harder clay, but it comes in a lot of different colors. To soften up the Fimo clay you can mix the Fimo clay with the Sculpy clay... that's what we do. Using the colorful Fimo clay... we don't have to do alot of painting.


    NOW THAT YOU'VE GOT YOUR CLAY - LET'S BEGIN TO CREATE YOUR TEDDY BEAR.




      First you will need to make three round balls. The round balls are for the bears HEAD, MUZZLE and NOSE. To do this roll the clay in the palms of your hands in a circular motion until a round circle shape is formed.



      Next you want to make 2 ovals. The oval shapes are for the bears BODY and EARS. To make the oval shapes, first you want to make the clay into round shapes (...just like you did when you were making the head, except this time this round ball needs to be bigger.) - roll the clay in the palm of your hands in a circular motion. To turn the round shapes into ovals, roll the clay in a back and forth motion in the palms of your hands.



      Now you want to roll out the clay for the arms and legs. Start by rolling the clay into a round ball. Next roll the round clay ball either between the palms of your hands or on a counter top adding light pressure with the palm of your hand. Kinda like you are making a clay snake.... eeeehhhhuuuuu, Loraine doesn't like snakes, but I do!


      NOW YOU ARE READY TO PUT YOUR TEDDY BEAR TOGETHER



      Loraine likes to make the BODY of the bear first, because she says it gives you a base to work from. Place the larger oval shape on the counter. Push down on the body with enough pressure that the bottom of the oval becomes flat. By doing this your bear will be able to set without falling over. Use the point of a dull pencil to give your bear a Belly Button... giggle.



      Take the larger of the 3 circles and place this circle on the top of the BODY of your bear. This larger circle will become your bear's HEAD. Next push the middle size circle onto the face, this is the MUZZLE of your bear. Add a bit of pressure here to make sure that the muzzle will stay onto the face.

      Use a dull tipped pencil to make the EYES. Place the pencil tip into the clay, then pull the pencil back away from the head. There... now your bear can see what a wonderful job you are doing! Add the bears NOSE to the muzzle, just about on the top middle area of the muzzle.



      Next lets work on the EARS. Take the smaller oval and cut it in half. There, now you have 2 ears for your bear. Hold 1 of the ears between your thumb and index finger and push the ear lightly onto your bears head. Again, add enough pressure to make sure the ears stay on.



      Your bear sure is taking shape! Have you picked out a cool name for your Teddy Bear yet? You could even name your bear after your best friend. But something is missing here... hummmm, what could it be? Oh yes, you are right - your Teddy Bear needs arms and legs! Silly me, how could I forget that ... giggle.




      Take the longer tube that you rolled and use it for the bears LEGS. Cut the tube in the middle. Where you make the cut, it will flatten the clay just a little. The flattened end you want to use your fingers to round it off. Next hold the tube in one hand, then use your index finger to press up on the rounded end of the tube to make the bears feet.




      Take the shorter tube and use this for the bears ARMS. Cut the tube in half. The part of the tube you cut, round it off, just like you did for the legs. Now press the end, just a little, to flatten - like in the picture. Hold one of the arms with one hand, and with the other hand, hold the flattened area and pull up to give your Teddy Bear paws.



      Now place the legs onto your Teddy Bear first. Put them in the areas where the RED crosses are. Make sure when you add the legs that the bear's feet go in the front. Next add the arms where the BLUE crosses are. There... your Teddy Bear is done! Wasn't that fun! I bet you had such a good time that you would like to make a zillion more Teddy Bears! ... giggle!


      Here is a picture of the Teddy Bear Alex (Loraine's nephew) made when he was 7 years old. I think he did a great job! He even added fingers to the bear's paw. He said that if his bear had fingers, he could get more honey! Alex named his bear JACK.

      See some Fancy Bears... made by Loraine


      You can print this page so you can use it later ... like on a Rainie Day! [Rainy Day... smile] The way to do that is by clicking on FILE, usually located in the top left corner of your screen - then clicking on PRINT.

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      Copyright © 1997 Loraine Wauer Ferus