Polymer Clay Penguins

Our six-year-old has had a fascination with penguins since ... well, like ... forever. We have so many penguin stuffed animals it's like a colony. To add to his collection, we made a few out of polymer clay.

This is a wonderful activity that exercises fine motor skills.

Supplies & Step-by-Step
Polymer clay (we used FIMO) in black, white, and orange
A stove or toaster oven
Scissors

1. Roll the black clay into a medium sized ball; this is the head.
2. Roll another larger ball for the body. Squish the ball into an egg shape and stand on one end to make it slightly flat on the bottom.
3. Either set the head atop the body and apply pressure to affix the two or after doing so, using a finger smear the clay on the head down toward the body to make a smooth bowling pin shape.
4. Roll a ball of white clay and then flatten to an flat egg shape. Add to the penguin body.
5. Roll two tiny balls of white clay and flatten. Either use these as the outer eyes or place the circles side by side and gently press together, pull the bottom to form a heart. Affix as the face.
6. Roll two teeny black balls. These are the eyes. Press gently onto the face.
7. Roll two small tubes of black. Pinch the ends and flatten for flippers. Attach to either side of the body.
8. Roll a small football shape out of orange clay. Clip one end horizontally with scissors to make the upper and lower parts of the beak. Clip to shorter, making a flat surface with which to attach the beak. Press onto the face.
9. Roll two tiny orange balls. Flatten. Clip two tiny triangles out of each to make penguin flipper toes. Attach to the bottom of the body.
10. Add a hat, scarf, eyebrows, etc. to accessorize your penguin!
11. Bake in a 250 degree toaster oven for 60 minutes (roughly 15 minutes for every 1/4-inch thickness of clay).
12. Let cool and then play with - maybe even write a story with your new penguin as the main character or make a stop motion video!

Read
To go along with our craft, we read two books, both which cleverly address how a penguin who wants to fly handles being a flightless bird. Both are utterly enjoyable. These sweet fiction books are beautiful and fun. Check them out!

Our penguins were inspired by the creations shared at How To Instructions and Bonnie Bakes.