Wooden Cow Clock

14. Make a feather cane out of polymer clay to create leaves. Mix a skinner blend of lime green with a darker blue green color using one half block of each color.

15. Reduce and manipulate into a 'slab of bacon' with light green clay on top of stripe.

16. Lay a slab of purple clay (using the #1 thickest setting on a pasta machine) onto the slab o' bacon, and run it the long way through the pasta machine at its thickest setting. This will give you a nice color blend with a purple stripe.

17. Cut the strip into two inch pieces. Lay these on top of each other reversing the color orientation every few stripes. Also while stacking, wrap the end around the end of the previous stack. Add in a couple of tubes of another color every once in a while, perhaps a soft yellow.

19. Make a flower using the same technique, changing colors to reds. Reduce, cut into five pieces and arrange these five petals around a snake of yellow (figure J). Put in fridge to cool.

20. Slice canes into 1/4-inch pieces (figures K and L). Pierce with a needle tool and thread onto 20-gauge florist wire. Lay these loaded wires flat between two white pieces of paper that are sandwiched inside flat ceramic tiles. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes. Note: Extra time is needed for the heat to permeate inside the tiles.

21. Gloss the beads using Flecto Varathane Diamond Elite finish.

22. String beads onto old telephone wire. String a flower in the center of a green wire approximately 12 inches in length. Give it a few twists then string on a leaf and a few small beads. Finish twisting until the last inch of wire around a very small knitting needle (figure M).

23. Fold over the last 1/2 inch of wire and crimp with pliers to smooth. Add a drop of Super Glue and poke this wire end into one of the drilled holes in the base. Make flowers for each hole in the base.

24. Add desired embellishments, like a cute little bird standing on the cow's backend for height and interest. Insert the clock.

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