Realistic Spider Earrings

My friend asked me to make her some spider earrings so she could freak people out. I meant to have this Instructable done by Halloween, but life got too busy, so that didn't happen. So this Instructable is about my first venture making a spider out of clay. Whether you want creepy earrings to freak people out, or you just absolutely love spiders, I hope this Instructable is useful to you.

1. Earring Stud findings (flatback)
2. Very thin gauge copper wire (like gauge 28 or so)
3. Pliers for bending the wire and Wire cutters
4. Silicone shapers or other pointed clay tools
5. Water for smoothing clay
6. Liquid clay or Icing clay
7. A tiny bit of regular clay *I am using cold porcelain clay.
8. A simple craft paint brush for spreading the liquid clay.
9. Paints in whatever shade you prefer to paint your spider (I am using greys and browns)
10. Varnish (I am using Duraclear Ultra Matte)

These wires will function as the main skeleton of our spider.

I have a drawing I made of the size I am envisioning my spider to be. This will help me cut the wire to the size I need.

Each wire will count as two legs, the two that are across from each other on opposite sides of the spider's body. I lay the wire along the drawing to get the general length that I need to cut. I cut four pieces of wire, because each wire is two legs.

Next I need to cut the wire for the spider's little jaws, or chelicerae. This wires I am cutting extra long because I will use them to help attach all the wires together and to the flatback earring piece. I cut two of these.

Here we will connect all the wire pieces of the spider.

Gather the leg sections (you should have four) into a little pile (pick up sticks, lay them straight). Take one of the longer wires and wrap it around the wire bundle, leaving just a bit of the long wire in excess (the pic explains better). Don't wrap the entire long wire, wrap it a couple times and leave the rest of it hanging unwrapped. Do the same with the second long wire until you have a bundle. It should resemble the last picture.

*It is a bit hard to explain in words, but you want what looks like a little stick man with two rabbit earrings, much thicker arms, and two long spindly legs.

Place the flat post onto where all the wires connect (in the middle of the stick man's chest). Take one of the stick man's legs (longer wires) and wrap it up and around the stick of the earring. Do the same to the other "leg" of the stick man. Wrap both wires around the outside of the flat back of the post, keeping them tight so that you anchor the wire body down to the earring. Do this a few times, but make sure to leave some of the long wire hanging out.

Take the excess of the long wires and wrap them together to form a tail (they should be on the opposite end of what used to be the stickman's rabbit ears). Once twisted together, bend them in half on themselves and twist them together until the ends are not sticking out (just wrap them wherever, they will be covered later). This is the spider's back end.

With any luck, it will resemble the last photo. This is the complete skeleton of the spider.

Now we will add the skin of the spider.

Get out the liquid clay or clay icing. With the silicone shaper or another such tool, spread the liquid clay all over the main body of the spider. Try to be smooth about it. Get both the top and the underside. This must be allowed to dry before proceeding.

Once dry (6th photo), you can add additional "normal" clay to the spider's main body to toughen him up a bit. Not a weakling spider must he be! The liquid clay gives an added grip to the wires so that the normal clay does not just slip right off the slick wire. Look at real photos of spiders for reference. The one I am making in particular is the common "grass spider", but a black widow or tarantula has a very different body type from that spider, so it all depends on what you want to do. Use water sparingly to smooth the clay and help the silicone shaper to give the clay form.

On to the legs.

After the spider's body has dried, it is time to do the legs. First, I cut off any legs that I think are too long or do not match their partner leg well enough. Then I take my regular flat nose pliers and bend the legs into the shape I want them to be.

Now I get out the liquid clay again. This time I take a regular cheapo craft brush and "paint" the liquid clay onto the spider's legs. Make sure to paint where the legs meet the body so there is no gap in the clay. Try to make the coat even, and use a bit of water on the brush to help smooth any rough spots in the clay. Allow to dry.

My paint colors are browns and greys because of the spider that I am making, but your colors will depend on what type of spider you are making. I coat the spider with a grey-brown base coat. Then I make stripes with a darker brown, also blotching it along the legs and lightly on the rest of the body. I paint the eye area with a black and the dark brown, and I paint most of the underside a dark brown to give the impression of a shadow. Once the paint is dry, I coat with Duraclear Ultra Matte varnish.

These eventually will be a gift for my friend. For now , these are my prototypes for that.

I hope you enjoyed this Instructable and go clay today!