Make your own eyes

If you have ever knit a stuffed toy, or crocheted an amigurumi creation, you might have found yourself in search of the perfect eyes to bring life to your softie. While my quest for the perfect eyes is on-going, I have found a few ways to make suitable ones out of crafty materials that I already have. In this post, I will talk about making polymer clay eyes.

This one is really no biggie, and you probably already have it figured out after reading “polymer clay eyes,” but I’ll go into a little more detail for those interested. Polymer clay is widely available from two manufacturers, Sculpey and Fimo. It is available at craft stores as well as many art supply stores. Choose a color, sculpt your creation, bake it in the oven, then keep it forever.

For the eyes I chose sculpey (simply because it was cheaper). Before we start, preheat your (preferably toaster) oven to 275 F.

I cut out a small portion

and the kneaded it until it was soft.

I rolled it into two small balls of equal size, and squashed them flat. Then i used a toothpick to poke two holes in each eye, button-style. Don’t forget to flip them over and poke through from the other side so the hole is clean.

Finally they went onto a piece of foil and into the 275 F oven for 10 minutes.

Finished!

If you like your eyes shiny, you can seal the sculpey with commercially avaliable sealants. I have had no problems using clear nail polish. This method has the advantage of being able to create a wide variety of sizes. You can add color by using other colors of clay. Some of them are glittery which could make some nice eyes. **Note: These of course would not be safe for children.**

Next… Plastic eyes (my favorite).