Tattletale Santa

The "tattletale" Santas is a fun tradition my husband grew up with in Sweden. These little figures are put up in beginning of December and are there to watch the children and make sure they are not misbehaving-- hence the name "Tattletale Santa".

These cute little figures are easy to make and don’t requires many special tools.

• Polymer clay
• White – ¾” ball
• Beige/Flesh – 1/2” ball
• Red – a bit less than 7/8” ball
• Green – 1” ball
• Burnt Umber – 5/8” ball
• Black – very small amount
• Aluminum foil
• Craft knife
• Sculpting tools
• Needle, needle tools, ball stylus, etc.
• Wet wipes or other cleaning supplies.

Condition the polymer clay.  We recommend conditioning the white clay first, as the darker and brighter colors can stain the hands. It’s a good idea to clean your hands between handling different colors of clay. Mix a very little bit of white with the beige to increase its opacity. (Otherwise, the color may appear darker after curing.)

 

Make a ¾-inch ball of aluminum foil. (This saves clay and reduces the curing time.) Flatten the green clay and wrap it around the ball of foil. Roll smooth. If you see air pockets between the foil and clay, pierce them and roll smooth again.

 

 

 

Press the balls of green and red clay together. Roll the joined balls on their sides, pressing more firmly on the red clay to make a teardrop shape. You can do this on your work surface and/or between your fingers. Smooth the clay to create the impression of a red, cone-shaped hat. Don’t worry if the joint between the red and green is not perfectly straight, as this will be covered up later.

Make a thin disc of the flesh-colored clay—  about ¾ of an inch in diameter. This will be the foundation for the face. The shape should be slightly thinner around the edges than in the middle. Press the disc securely on the green clay, near the red cone.

 

 

Roll a bit less than half of the white clay into a log about ¼-inch in diameter and bend into a "U" shape.

 

 

 

Taper the ends and flatten the middle into a nice beard shape.

 

 

 

 

Apply the texture of the beard with a needle tool, using random, downward stroking motions. When you come to the bottom of the beard, pull the needle off the edge to create a frayed look.

 

 

 

Roll a ¼-inch ball of clay into a thick string. Cut in half. Roll each separately, tapering one end of each. (Do this by pressing more firmly on one end, as you roll.) This will be Santa’s moustache. Bend them slightly in the middle.

 

 

Put the moustache in place on the face. Texture with a needle tool. The size of the moustache, like everything else, is up to you. Make it as big or small as you like.

 

 

 

Next is the nose. Shape about 1/4-inch ball into a teardrop. Flatten the top of the drop and apply to the face. Blend the joint between the nose and the face. You can make the nose any shape you want—a fun, cartoonish, round shape or something more realistic.

 

 

Make two tiny balls from the black clay. These will be the eyes. Carefully press them to the face. Try to make the eyes the same size and level on the face or else he’ll look like he’s had a little too much eggnog.

Make a 1/8-inch-diameter rope of white clay—long enough to fit along the joint between the red and green clay, approximately 3 inches. Flatten slightly. Apply to the Santa body. Join the ends at the back of the head.

Use a ball stylus (or any other blunt-tipped tool) to stipple the trim of the hat, creating a fluffy texture. Try to achieve a random effect. Rows of dots won’t look as good. Don’t forget to stipple the top and bottom edges.

 

 

Shape the hat any way you want it. Leave it straight or bend it to either side—even the front or back.

Make a small ball of white clay approximately ¼-inch in diameter. Use the ball-ended tool to make an indention in the ball. Apply this firmly to the tip of the hat. Use the ball stylus to stipple some texture onto the white ball of clay. This can be a bit tricky, so just do your best.

Next come the arms. You need a ball of green clay about 3/8 of an inch in diameter for each arm. Shape each into a short log. Apply gentle pressure to one end of a log to flatten it slightly. Fasten the flattened end to one side of Santa’s body, where an arm should be. Repeat with second log. Shape the arms any way you want them—down the side, sticking straight out, pointing forward, etc.

For the hands, make 1/8-inch balls of the flesh-colored clay. Press these to the ends of the arms, flattening them slightly.

The last step is to make Santa’s feet. Flatten the ball of brown clay slightly. Use a craft knife to cut out a small v-shaped wedge. Round off the toes a bit. Place the feet on the work surface and press Santa down on top. Press firmly to make a good connection.

Cure (bake) the Santa according to the clay manufacturer's instructions (found on the package).   It's a good idea to tent your Santa figure under aluminum foil to prevent scorching. 

 

 

By varying the colors, facial expression, and position of the arms, you can make each Santa unique, with its own personality.  Or make a whole fleet of identical Santas to disperse throughout your home!

If you prefer, you can make your Santa figurine in stages, putting it through multiple curing cycles.  Once a piece is cured (even if only partially), it hardens enough that you no long have to worry about smooshing or leaving finger prints on the cured parts of the figure.  It may be helpful to use a little liquid polymer clay as "glue" between cured and raw clay, but in many cases, the raw clay will stick to the cured clay on its own (or can be superglued into place after all the curing is done).