Glow in the Dark Octopus Pendant

How many tickles does it take to make an Octopus laugh?

Ten! Ten tickles!

Ha-ha, get it? Tentacles?

Okay, sorry. I just really like that joke.

All joking aside, I'm going to show you how to make this really cool, glow in the dark, octopus pendant. All the supplies are relatively cheap and it's a pretty easy pendant to make. Great for a last minute gift or just something fun to do.

-Polymer clay: Glow in the dark, white and black

-Clay tools

-Focal bead/shell/stone

-Wire/eye pin/jump ring and clippers/pliers

-Clear coat finish

Grab a small hunk of glow in the dark clay. I like to start with a ball of clay no bigger then the diameter of a nickle.

Cut that in half. Set one half aside and cut the other one into four pieces.

Roll the four smaller pieces of clay into long spaghetti strips of clay tapering slightly at each end.

After you have your four strips all rolled out and about the same lengths (slight variation is okay). Stack them in a star pattern, all meeting in the middle of their stands, and lightly press them together.

Congratulations, you just made your octopus' tentacles!

Now take the second half of the glow in the dark clay we set aside earlier, roll it into a ball, and pinch the one side of it.

You want a kind of an oblong tear drop shape.

Place it flat over the center of your tentacle base. Make sure you line the edge of your flattened head piece with a pair of intersecting tentacles. You want to have four tentacles on each side of the body, you don't want one shooting out of the center of it's face.

Now grab a clay tool and try to smooth the head and tentacles together. I used a double point knitting needle. There isn't a picture of this because I need both hands to do it and didn't have anyone to take a picture for me. I'm sureyou get the idea though.

In this step you just gently wrap your octopus around your focal bead.

I chose to use a glass gem. I got a whole bag of them at the dollar store. You could use pretty much anything you can bake. I had an assortment of sea shells or small beach stones to choose from as well. I just liked the transparency of the glass with the light color of the clay.

Make sure you wrap the tentacles around both sides of your focal bead. I like to wrap them underneath too, so once I bake it it won't be able to fall out. If yours does fall or is too big to wrap underneath, you could always glue it in after baking.

Face time!

Get two little balls of glow in the dark clay. Big enough to fit the head but not so big that they will touch once you attach them.

Slightly press the balls of clay into thick disks.

Place the on either side of the octopus' head and use a clay tool to gently blend them into the head.

Now that you have the entire glow in the dark body of the octopus done, grab two tiny tiny balls of white clay.

You want the balls of white clay to be about of quarter of the size of the surface you are going to be placing them on. Which is the raised "face parts" we just made.

Gently press each ball flat with your fingers.

Line them up where you want them and then press them in flat with the back of your fingernail.

Get a ball of black clay about the same size as one of your white balls of clay.

Gently roll it so it looks like a single teeny tiny sprinkle.

Cut the in half with your nail.

Place them over the white part of the eyes you just made. I like them tilted lightly off from horizontal.

Press them in with the backs of your nails again.

Last step before baking.

I chose to use an eye pin, but any wire or jump ring will work.

Cut it down to the size you need, and stick it the back of the octopus. Try to guess what would be center weight wise if you can. It will help it hang a little nice on a necklace when you are all finishes.

Now bake your pendant according to the directions on the pack of clay.

Time will depend on the thickness of your clay. Just keep an eye on it because the you don't want the tentacles to start to burn on you. If they do, take the pendant out, it should be cooked enough at that point.

Once your pendant is cooled, give it a clear coat. It will make the clay look shiny and more finished.

After the paint dries, your pendant is done! Throw it on a chain or cord and it's ready to wear!