Dog House Clay Magnets

By: Becky Meverden from the Constant Crafter

Learning how to make refrigerator magnets out of polymer clay is doggone simple! Follow this polymer clay tutorial, and you'll create a family of these lovable companions. These dog-inspired polymer clay crafts are cute on their own, but you can also craft a doghouse for them. Becky Meverden shows you how to make name tags for Daddy Dog, Mommy Dog, Sister Dog, and Brother Dog. This set of Dog House Clay Magnets makes a great gift for any animal lover, especially ones who have their own furry families. You can personalize the name tags to match their pups' monikers.

Materials:

Needle-nose pliers
Kato Nublade or knife
Kato Nuflex blade
Round toothpick
5" x 8" index cards
Scissors
E-6000 adhesive
Black fine-tip permanent marker
Circle template, optional

Dog House

Kato Polyclay: red, ultra blue, gold, beige
Three 1/2" round magnets
Kato Repel Gel
Pasta machine or acrylic roller
Shade-Tex Architexture Rubbing Plates: stone

Daddy Dog

Kato Polyclay: brown, black, white, red, beige
Pink clay: 1/4" ball of white plus 13/64" ball of red

Mommy Dog

Same materials as Daddy Dog
Kato Polyclay: violet, yellow, orange, white
Lavender clay: 3/8" ball of white plus 9/32" ball of purple
3/16" Kemper flower cutter

Brother Dog

Same materials as Daddy Dog
Kato Polyclay: turquoise

Sister Dog

Same materials as Daddy Dog
Kato Polyclay: magenta

For Each Dog

1/2" round magnet
eye pin
7mm jump ring

Instructions:

Condition clay according to manufacturer’s instructions.
To make the house pattern, fold a 5" x 8"index card in half the widest way. Use scissors to cut 1-5/8 inch, parallel to the fold, 1-1/2 inch from the open end. Angle towards the fold and cut approximately 2-1/2 inches.
For the door, cut 1 inch from the fold and up 1-1/2 inch and then curve around to the fold. Open and you will have a house pattern.
To make the house: Flatten a sheet of red through the pasta machine at a #1 setting (1/8 inch). Rub the sheet with Kato Repel Gel to keep the sheet from sticking to the rubbing plate. Set the rubbing plate against the sheet and carefully run both through the pasta machine. Lay the pattern on top of the sheet and use the Nublade to cut out house.
Roll a 1/4-inch-diameter log of both ultra blue and gold. Twist together and curl one end. Press around upper edge of house and cut off 1 inch beyond end and curl.
Roll a 1/8-inch-diameter ultra blue 12-inch-long log. Fold log in half and twist both ends. Press around door opening and cut off excess.
Flatten a sheet of beige through the pasta machine at a #4 setting (3/64 inch). Curve Nuflex blade and slice sheet. Curve blade again and slice 3/8 inch from previous slice. Cut a sign that is 1-5/8 inch long. Set aside rest of beige sheet to be used for name tags for the dogs.
Daddy Dog: Roll a 5/8-inch ball of brown into an egg shape. Use toothpick to draw center line 1/4 inch from the top to the bottom. Draw a half circle at the top of the line.
Flatten two 5/16-inch balls of brown and attach to the bottom of the body.
Flatten a 7/16-inch ball of brown into an egg shape. For the eyes, flatten two 7/64-inch balls of white into egg shapes. Press narrow ends together and press onto head. For pupils, roll two 5/64-inch balls of black and press onto each eye. For the snout, flatten a 5/16-inch ball of beige into an oval. Press onto the head under the eyes. For the nose, flatten a 3/32-inch ball of black into an oval and press onto the snout. For the mouth and tongue, use the toothpick to indent bottom of snout. Flatten a 1/8-inch ball of pink into a teardrop and use toothpick to press onto snout and to indent tongue.
Roll two 7/16-inch balls of brown into 1-1/4-inch-long tapered logs and flatten. Curl under the narrowest end and curl out the widest end of each ear. Press onto both sides of the head. Press head onto top of the body.
Mommy Dog: Repeat steps 8-11. To make the hat, flatten a 1/4-inch ball of lavender. Roll a 1/4-inch ball of lavender into a 5/8-inch-long log. Flatten and pleat using your fingers. Press onto the top of the head. Press the hat on top of the brim. Flatten a small sheet of yellow through the pasta machine at a #5 setting (1/32 inch). Use the flower cutter to cut out a flower. Roll a 1/16-inch ball of orange and press onto the center of the flower. Press flower onto the hat.
Brother and Sister Dogs: Repeat steps 8-11, using the following ball sizes: body: 7/16 inch, feet: 9/32 inch, head: 3/8 inch, eyes: 3/32 inch, pupils: 1/16 inch, snout: 9/32 inch, nose: 5/64 inch, tongue: 3/32 inch, and ears: 3/8 inch.
Brother Dog's Kerchief: flatten a small sheet of turquoise through the pasta machine at a #5 setting (1/32 inch). Use Nublade to cut a triangle wide enough to fit around the neck, 3/4 inch long on its longest side, 1/2 inch long on the other two sides. Place around the neck of the dog.
Sister Dog's Bow: flatten two 5/32-inch balls of magenta into triangles. Use toothpick to press a like into each triangle. Press together slightly. Roll a 7/64-inch ball of magenta and press into the center. Press bow onto the top of the head.
Press an eye pin into the bottom of each dog.
For the name tags, use the beige sheet from the house sign above. Use the Nublade to cut rectangles, 3/8" x 3/4". Use a toothpick to make a hole in the center top of each tag. Make one for each dog.
Bake house, house sign, dogs, and name tags according the clay manufacturer’s instructions.
When everything has cooled, use black permanent marker to write the family name on the dog house sign and individual names on each name tag. Glue dog house sign over door.
Use the needle-nose pliers to attach a jump ring to the eye pin of each dog. Add name tag to each dog. Close each jump ring.
Glue three magnets to the back of the house, one near the top and the remaining two near both bottoms. Glue a magnet to the back of each dog.