I once saw a strand of beautiful glass pig beads in Hobby Lobby. I wanted them so badly, but they were like $8! So I went down a couple of aisles and found myself next to the clay. I’d always wanted to make my own beads, now I knew exactly what kind of beads I wanted to make! I bought some light pink clay and brought it home. With a little experimentation I made my very own pig beads!

But then I thought, “Wait, I could make these even cooler. I could paint them and make them into the Justice League of Pigs!”

Thus, this Instructable was born.

These pigs are easy to make. Anyone can do it, and I think this would be a great project for kids too!

Step 1: Get Together Supplies

Supplies:
2 oz of Sculpey III Oven-Bake Clay in Ballerina (can be bought at any Hobby Lobby)

A few wooden toothpicks

A small piece of wire, about 16 gauge

Assorted seed beads, size 11 or so

A clean nonporous working surface

And the most important part…Creativity!

Get your supplies together and, now this is very important, make sure your hands and work surface are clean and absent of dust. Any pollen or dust will dirty your clay irreversibly and no one wants dirty little piggies.

Step 2: Make Pig Parts!

Take the clay from the package and break off a third of it. Knead it and work it with both hands. At first it will be quite stiff, but eventually the warmth from your hands will soften it into a workable medium.

Pinch off varying sizes of clay and roll them into balls until you have all the shapes shown here.

Step 3: Assemble the Pig!

Place on his snout and press it to the body so it bonds and stays put.

Step 4: Put on the Ears!

This is how you make the ears. Pinch it between your fingers like this to make the triangle shape required. As with all the body parts, you may have to rework and add or subtract from your clay ball until it is the right size.

Once you have the ears on, take the toothpick and gently press the tip of it into the pigs ears and snout to form his nostrils and ear curve. Sorry if this last picture kind of stinks, I only have two hands.

Step 5: Feet and Tail

Place on his feet. Once all four are on, you can set him down and press him gently to the table if you want to be sure that he stands right.

Now take that little strip of clay you wound around the toothpick, pull it off and stick it on his rump! Don’t make the tail too long, or stick out to much, as you don’t want it to break off later when he is baked and hard.

Step 6: Add Eyes And...stick the Pig!

Press the seed beads of your choice into his face to make his eyes.

Stick the pig! Take that small piece of wire and stick it through the pig’s body directly behind his ears, as shown. Now he is a bead!

Step 7: Admire Your Awesome Creation (and Bake It)

Congratulations! Your pig is almost done! Now it is time to customize it! You can decide what gender your pig is, or what character you want them to be! You can roll out tubes like you did for the tail, and put them on the pig’s head like hair! Add any accessories you want! Stick a jump ring through your pig’s nose to make him a punk! I even put wings on one of my pigs! Who says pigs can’t fly?

When you’re done, it’s time to bake him! Heat your oven to 275 degrees. Place your pig in a shallow metal pan and bake him for about 25 minutes. If you choose to use a different clay than I did, you’ll have to refer to the package instructions as they may be different.

Yay! Your pig has been born! Doesn’t he look cool? I know what you’re thinking. Yes, he’s cool I guess. But he’s just a plain pig, nothing’s very special about him.

Don’t worry, all it takes is color to make him special!

Now that he’s baked, you can paint him in any way you desire! Get creative! I used acrylic paint and with small brushes, painted my pigs into the Justice League! You could make the Avengers into pigs, or any character you want!

Step 8: Be Creative!

As you can see, I had a lot of fun messing around with them. After I got done goofing off, I made a necklace out of them and matched beads to the colors of their costumes! You can also make them into ear rings! How cool would that be?

Hope you enjoyed this Instructable, it’s my first. I am entering this into the Jewelry contest that ends May 1st 2017, so please vote for me!

Happy making!

-SlugMamma