Graduation Dog: Today, I was working making heads for polar bears rugs and had a little piece of white Sculpey left over. I needed a bit of a break, and the clay 'spoke' to me, and I made a cute mini autograph dog with a graduation hat. You can see pictures to illustrate the instructions below in my Assorted Miniatures album on Webshots http://community.webshots.com/user/iamazin.

Let me start by saying you can leave off his cap and add a bow at the neck to use him for a Sweet 16 girl, or other event! The parts are pictured on the web page. Here are the directions.

After making all your parts from polymer clay, attach them together by rolling the 'seams' back and forth using a nice smooth, round toothpick or the handle of a paintbrush. When adding the head to the body, create a 'neck' by shaping the clay in that area with your tool. After you add each leg, turn the end forward slightly to form a paw. Make two vertical dents in the paw part with the toothpick to make the dogs 'toes'. If you are making the graduation version, squish a tiny ball of black clay onto the top of the head, then make sure the top of that is flat.

Bake at 275 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Using black paint or marker, paint on two dots for eyes, a nose and a smiling mouth as in the photo. Center and glue the black paper square to the black clay base on the dog's head.

Make the tassel as shown in the picture, using a piece of silk or embroidery thread. Tie a knot in the middle of a short length of thread, then cut most of the strands off on one side of the knot. Trim to the length you want and glue to the hat, the tassel side hanging down and add a tiny black bead or drop of dimensional paint at the center top of the hat.

Using the finest point marker you can, sign your dog! You can add other names as well, or have fun letting your friends sign it! Please feel free to share this project with your miniatures friends or clubs. You can download and or print the photos from my Webshots album. All I ask is that you do NOT make them to sell.

Alice Zinn- Pt. St. Lucie FL