Halloween Craft Week Part II: Black Cats Playing Musical Instruments

From left to right: Martha on drums, Captain Snodgrass on vocals, Lucy on the trumpet, and Oliver in the front.

I made this band of cats based on some vintage Halloween cut outs I loved so much I wanted more solid versions of them. I used polymer clay, mostly Fimo, which I like for its softness and the vibrancy of the colors. If you want to make a little guitar player like the one below, here's what you do:

What you need:
Latex gloves. Fimo swears it's non-toxic and it probably is by the current standards, but the main ingredient in polymer clay is pthalates, and since there's a lot of controversy around that right now I use gloves when I work with it.
1 package of black clay
1/4 package of gold or brown clay for the guitar
about an 1/8 of a package of your color of choice for a skirt (I chose purple) and scarf (I chose red)
1/4 package of your color of choice for  the stand, and a teeny bit of yellow for eyes, nose and mouth.
4 or six acrylic stars (available at any craft store)
3 head pins
1 tiny snow man cookie cutter or a small paper clip  (optional)

What you do:

I usually start with the head. First you make a ball out of black clay (about 1" in diameter) and pinch the top of it to make ears.  Then, flatten a piece of yellow clay and either using your fingers or a paper clip, (I used the head of this cookie cutter snowman that I bought in the polymer clay section at Micheal's crafts) make two rounded shapes for eyes.

You can use the discarded clay from the eyes to shape the mouth. (Trim the top part down.) Or shape a mouth by making a small strip of yellow into a crescent shape and pinching the inside with your thumb and forefingers. (See face below)
The nose is kind of hard. You just have to make a tiny triangle and pinch it with your fingers to get the right shape. Sorry, I don't have a simpler way to do it. Although you could just make a little round dot, it might look about the same and be a lot easier. Go ahead and experiment on that one.

Put the eyes nose and mouth on the cat head, so that it looks something like this:

Roll two tiny balls of clay between your fingertips to make pupils and stick them on the eyes. Hello, kitty! Your little cat is cheerful and awake. (Although bodiless.)

 Now is about the time I usually go get a snack or make some tea.





For the body, take another chunk of clay, about half the package, and roll it out, shaping it into the body, which should look a little bit the way a cat does when you give it a bath--thin and long-limbed. Push a head pin through the crown of your cat's head, and stick it onto the body.

Next you have to dress your cat. Take about a 1 inch ball of whatever color clay you've chosen for the skirt and flatten it out. (I usually do this with my hands, but you might get better results with a smooth glass bottle.) Wrap it around the cat's waist  and pinch it together in the back.

To make the stand, you take another ball of clay, about 1 inch in diameter, and flatten it into a thick circle. Then press your cat's feet into it. You can make it sturdier by sticking pins up through the feet, which feels a little bit like practicing voodoo. 
Use the gold clay to make a guitar (or buy a miniature guitar at a craft store--which would be much easier.) I make the guitar by taking a blob of clay pinching two sides of it, then pulling on one end of it to fashion the neck.
Place the guitar on the cat's belly, and wrap its arms around it. (See picture below.) To put on the scarf, (which you make by flattening a thin strip of clay) pull the cat's head up a few inches like this: 

 Then wrap the scarf loosely above the shoulders as if the cat had a neck. Then gently push the head back down on top of it. 

Don't forget to make a tail--roll out a little snake of black clay (about 2 " long) and fix it to the back. (See above. Although note that the picture on the right is of a glazed, decorated cat. Do not put the cat in the oven with the acrylic stars on it, or once it's been glazed.)

Put your cat in the oven and bake it at 230 for about 20 minutes. Take it out and air out your kitchen.
After the cat has cooled, you can glaze it. I used to use a shiny acrylic glaze, but lately I've been using Modge Podge, which gives the piece more of a matte finish. Decorate the skirt with some acrylic stars. 

 Et Viola! Your cat is ready to play.

PS: If you do try this, please let me know how easy/hard the directions were to follow.