Pancake Stack Turtle

Learn how to make a foam clay pancake turtle with fake maple syrup and butter on top. Makes a cute gift and a fun decoration on your kitchen shelf. Check out my other food turtles and create your very own collection for a fun display. you can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/s2z5KubS4BU?si=Vu9fWAL-5UtnrEQO

Supplies

• Foam Clay: Brown, yellow and white (I dye my clay with food gel colors to get any shade)
• brown soft pastels: I mix the tan, a medium and a dark brown together
• Toothpicks
• Safety eyes
• Resin
• Gloves

Step 1: Color Your Clay

I added 2 drops of brown gel food color to 50g of white clay to get a light brown pancake batter shade. you could even add a speck of yellow.

Mix well until all the pigment is evenly distributed. It’s not as messy as you think with a little practice you’ll be able to avoid staining your hands during this process and after the pigment is mixed in, the clay does not stain your hands.

Step 2: Shape the Turtle

Take some light brown clay and shape it into a 1.75 inch flattish ball for the turtle’s body.

Next, shape a 0.75 inch egg-shaped head.

Use half a toothpick to join the head and body together. Use some glue for extra hold.

shape 4 teardrops, about 0.5 inches for the legs and attach with a quarter of a toothpick for more joint stability.

For the turtle’s eyes, I now use glass eyes to save the step of making them shiny. For this size turtle I use the 6mm pin eyes. Stick them right into the clay, no glue is needed.

To get that nice, baked look I mix tan, light brown and dark brown soft pastels. Shave each color to a powder and mix and apply all over leaving the edges more pale while the top is more dark.

Step 3: Turning the Turtle Into Pancakes

For the plate, roll out some white clay and cut a circle with a round (1.5 inch) cookie cutter. Then add some details to the plate edge with the end of a paint brush. Add the plate to the turtle’s back.

Next, make the pancakes with the same light brown clay. Flatten them to about 0.75 inches then take a toothpick and engrave the baking line for a realistic look. Shade the pancakes the same way as the turtle’s body. Then stack them up on the plate

For the butter, color your clay yellow and mix well. Take a small piece and shape it into a rectangle or square (about 0.25 inches) to top the pancake stack and an even smaller piece for the head.

To create the syrup, I use UV resin and the same gel food colors as for the clay. Mix a couple of drops of yellow with just a speck of brown to get it to that golden color of the maple syrup. Then apply it and spread with a toothpick. If it’s runny, have your UV light handy to harden it right in the spot before it drips all the way to the bottom.

Safety precaution: wear gloves and work in a well-ventilated area due to the fumes

After you're done let the resin cure under a UV lamp for as long as directed on the bottle.