Follow these simple steps to make this cute Gloomy Bear pendant. All you need is some polymer clay red paint for the spooky gloomy blood! mwa ha ha! Makes a great gift for the Gloomy Bear lover in your life (can you tell from the pic that i reeeeeeally like Gloomy Bear?! ha ha!) Could i say Gloomy bear any more times? Gloomy Bear, Gloomy Bear, Gloomy Bear!

The instructions are laid out step-by-step, but read them all first so you know what to expect :)

A new Instructable every Monday on www.alittlestranger.com

Step 1: You Will Need

Materials and Tools:

a) Polymer clay in a colour of your choice (for the face) I used Fimo, look on eBay under 'crafts'
b) Lacquer. An Acrylic based one will dry quickly
c) Aluminium foil
d) White polymer clay (for the muzzle)
e) Acrylic paint in red and black/ a dark colour to tone with your main clay
f) Craft knife
g) Paintbrush
h) Fine/Superfine sanding sponge
i) 1 Jump ring and 1 Top Screw (look on eBay under 'crafts')
j) Superglue
k) Bobble chain
l) Pliers

Before you start, preheat your oven as directed on your packet of clay

Step 2: Sculpt the Face

1) Decide the size Gloomy Bear you want to make and print it out. I made the 5cm wide Gloomy.

2) Take a pinch of your main colour of clay and soften it up with your fingers

3) Roll it into a ball with the palms of your hands

4) Flatten the ball, and use your thumbs to push the sides out, making it a flat oval shape.

5) Offer the oval up to the gloomy bear template you've selected. Your oval should be the same size as the head

6) Push the edges down. You want the back of the face to be flat, so use your thumbs to push the sides down at 90 degrees to the back, all around.

Step 3: Make the Ears

7) Take two smaller, equally sized, pieces of clay. Roll them into balls with the palms of your hands. Hold them up to the template to check the size and add/take material away as necessary.

Tip: An easy way to get them the same size is to take a large piece, roll it into a sausage, fold it so the ends meet and cut it in half at the bend.

8) Pinch two corners on each ball with your thumb and first finger. You want each ball to be a half moon shape.

9) Position the ears onto the face. Squash them against the face using a little pressure. Make sure the edges are nice and round.

Step 4: Making the Muzzle

10) Peel the paper template off the back of the clay. Carefully put the face onto your tinfoil. The tin foil serves as a little baking tray so i've folded mine a couple of times to give it a bit of strength.

11) Take a small piece of white clay and warm it up with your fingers

Tip: wash your hands before changing clay colour, it tends to get stuck in the grooves on your fingertips and can smudge onto the white clay.

12) Roll the clay into an oval/lozenge shape with your fingers.

13) Hold the muzzle up to the template to check the size and add/take material away as necessary.

14) You want the back of the muzzle to be flat. Push the corners down, same as you did with the face.

15) Peel the muzzle off the template and using it for guidance position the muzzle on the face. Press down lightly

Step 5: Mark the Face Details

16) Use the end of your paintbrush to create the ears and nose details. Gently push the paintbrush in where the ear meets the face and lay it down to make the ears. For the nose pus the paintbrush gently into the muzzle in little stabbing motion moving from left to right.

17) Mark the eyes. Use the end of the paintbrush, holding it almost horizontally and pushing it into the top and bottom of the eye to really define the shape. Use the template as your guide, Gloomy Bear's eyes are surprisingly low - the tops of his eyes are pretty much at the top of his muzzle.

18) This is what your Gloomy should look like now

19) Smooth out any bumps with the end of your finger and poke a hole in the top of his head with a pin (ouch!) This makes it easier to insert the top screw later.

Step 6: Time to Bake!

20) Pop him in the oven. Don't open the oven door to sneak a peek while he's cooking, you want to maintain a constant temperature.

21) Sit back and wait. Bake as directed on your polymer clay packet, usually around 20 minutes.

Tip: When polymer clay is cooked it has a springy texture, check he's cooked by giving him a gentle poke with a fingernail, if it springs back out he's done!

22) When he is cool use your sanding sponge to get rid of any bumps. Use little circular motions all over.

Tip: Fold the sanding sponge and use the fold to work the clay, this keeps it rigid so it will catch the high points of your sculpt and easily remove bumps.

Step 7: Painting the Details

23) Use your dark paint to paint in the eyes, nose and ears. Use your template as a guide for the ears and make them little 'c' shapes.

24) Tip: If your paintings a little messy use a scalpel to scrape the paint away.

25) Use your red paint for the blood.

Tip: If you're painting on a dark base colour use a thin coat of white paint underneath the red to make the colour bright. Use a hairdryer between coats if you're impatient like me :)

26) He should really be looking like the Gloomy bear we know and love now! Let the paint dry thoroughly...

Step 8:

27) Insert the top screw into the pin hole you made earlier. Finish with it facing flat from the front.

28) Put a dot of superglue on the back of the top screw to stop it turning.

Tip: Put a line of glue where the ears meet the head, for added strength.

29) Open your jump ring. Find where the ring splits and grasp one half in-between your fingers and one with your pliers, gently twist the ring open.

30) Thread the jump ring onto the top screw and press closed with the pliers

31) Lacquer the blood splat. Leave to dry for as long as directed on the bottle (usually an hour or so) Once it's thoroughly dry thread onto your chosen necklace and you're all done!!

A new Instructable every Monday on www.alittlestranger.com