Dog Earrings in Polymer Clay

Just a quick note about earrings. I’ve found that if I need to make a matched pair of something, I’d better work on both at the same time, or else they’ll never turn out the same size/shape/color/etc.

• Before you begin, find a picture of the breed of dog you’re trying to model. Take note of the shape of the face and features. I’ve chosen a black Labrador retriever. First, condition your clay and roll a ball of the size you want for the height of the head (we’ll be adding the snout later, so it will get longer, but not higher, unless you’ve chosen a breed with perked-up ears).

• Now roll a small log of the same color, just a little longer than the diameter of the ball you just rolled. This is going to form the upper jaw.

• Bend the log nearly in half, and squeeze and flare the ends a bit.

• Stick that onto the head, then roll another log about half that size. Flatten it and taper one end.

• Put the lower jaw in place under the upper jaw.

• Select or mix the colors you want for the eyes and tongue. I’ve chosen a gold-brown mix for the eyes and a bubblegum-pink for the tongue (white plus just a little red).

• Roll two tiny balls and stick them in place for the eyes, then pierce a pupil in each with a blunt needle. Roll two more very small logs of the original color as eyebrows.

• Roll out a nice long tongue and press flat between your fingers. Fingerprints won’t hurt here, since it will just add texture to the tongue. Gently pull apart the upper and lower jaws to insert the tongue, then press them back into position. Use a needle to press an indentation along the center of the tongue.

• You can put the tongue in any position you like. You can see that the dog on the other earring is licking his chops.

• Now for the tricky part. Start with a flat-eged tool and began scraping the clay from the upper jaw and eyebrows back into the face (and vice versa) to blend the transition. Once you have the seams erased and the general shape the way you want it, take a round-tipped tool and roll gently over the surface to smooth out the rough spots.

• Now you’re ready for ears. Make these about the same thickness as the tongue, and whatever shape is appropriate for the breed you’re sculpting. Obviously, you’ll need two per doggie.

• For the lab’s floppy ears, I put them in place facing upwards, then folded them down into position.

• Form another small ball of dog-colored clay, about double the size you used for the eyes. Pinch it just slightly into a triangular shape to form the nose. Add nostrils with a blunt needle. Depending on what you are going to do with your dog, you may want to insert a wire eye pin before baking. To secure it better, bend the end a little before inserting and coat with a little TLS if you have it. Otherwise you may want to dot with a little superglue or plastic epoxy after baking to be sure it doesn’t slip out.

• Because the dogs have small intricate shapes, I didn’t sand mine at all after baking. If you plan to follow suit, be sure to smooth the surface by rubbing with a wet fingertip to remove as many fingerprints as possible before baking.

• Here are my dogs ready for baking. I made some coordinating beads to accent the earrings, and baked them along with the dogs. After baking, I glazed everything with Sculpey Glaze (you can use Future floor polish, Flecto Varathane, Minwax Polycrylic, or any other water-based acrylic glaze, if you prefer). For a more realistic version, you can only add glaze to the “wet” areas: the eyes and around the mouth and tongue.

• Voila! The doggies are ready to wear! Here is another dog made with the same basic technique, and painted afterwards with acrylic paints to add detail.