In my opinion, truly great actors are extremely rare in society today. The death of Robin Williams has just added to that problem. Here on Glue and Random Objects, we tend to put awesome things on our earlobes and I thought that he really deserves a spot on mine. As tribute to him I made Genie and lamp earrings from Aladdin, which I must have watched a bazillion times as a kid and have watched another 4 times since his death.
You Will Need:
- Clay in blue, white, black, red and yellow. Once again I used Crazy Clay by Bostik, same as I used for the Biscuit Earrings and the Perry the Platypus Earrings. I prefer to work with crazy clay because it's light, air drying, it sticks together really well and I just find it generally easier especially when including small details. The downside is that it's bouncy, so if you sometimes have butter fingers (guilty, I actually dropped the first head that I made and it bounced away so I had to start again) feel free to work with Polymer Clay or whatever you're comfortable with. Just use your discretion by including baking time or increasing drying time, etc before making them into earrings.
- Toothpick (optional, I just use my fingers)
- Bobby pin
- Jump rings (See Vocab Tab)
- Basic Hooks (See Vocab Tab)
- Round-nosed Pliers (See Vocab Tab)
How To:
Obviously you're only going to make on of each thing; 1 Genie, 1 lamp. So you only need enough clay for one each. To make this tutorial easier, I'm going to divide it into 2 parts. One for Genie and one for the lamp. We'll start with the easiest.
THE LAMP
Begin by mixing yellow with a smidgen of red. When I say a smidgen, I mean a smidgen. You want to get a yellow slightly less lemony than they provide, so a yellow with a slight tinge of orange. Mix in increments of red until you're satisfied with the colour.It helps to google a picture of it. Here's the picture I used
Pinch off a little bit and set it aside for Genie's cuffs and earring. Then divide the remaining clay into 5 pieces; the first piece about half of your overall amount, then the second less than that, the third less than the second, etc.
Take the biggest piece and roll it into a ball. Then taper it at one end so that it looks like a stretched teardrop shape. This is going to be used as the body of the lamp. Shape the tapered end into a slight upward curve, like you can see in the picture.
Next you will be working with your two smallest piece. Roll the smallest into a ball and then taper one end to form a droplet shape. Roll the second smallest into a ball and then flatten the bottom to form a subtle dome. Attach the dome flat side down onto the top of the body as the lid and then attach the small droplet point upwards to the top of it to make the handle.
Roll the second biggest piece into an even sausage, roughly 3mm thick. Curl one end of the sausage to create a round little bubble that you can see at the bottom of the handle. Attach the handle to the body on the round end, bending it as you can see in the picture with the little bubble at the bottom.
Finally roll the third biggest piece into a ball and then flatten one side to create a more pronounced dome than the lid. Attach the round side to the bottom of the body to form the base of the lamp.
GENIE
Take a deep breath and know from the beginning that this is going to be difficult. In order for him to be recognizable, there are a lot of tiny, fiddly details that are a pain to make and attach. Just be patient and methodical. Try to keep your hands steady. Here we go.
First use blue and white clay to mix a sky-blue colour. Once again, it helps if you look up a picture. This time, the colour doesn't have to be exact because there are so many other details that give Genie character. My blue was not quite right, but I'm running low on white, so I didn't want to make more clay than I would use.
Use about half the clay to make the torso. Roll it into a ball, then flatten it slightly. Taper one end a little so that the shape is vaguely triangular. On the opposite end, pinch and roll two arms on either side. They also need to be a little tapered on the end and make sure to get the beefiness of those biceps. I guess it's the product of 10 000 years cooped up in that tiny lamp. What else is there to do but work out? So right now, Genie should look a little like he's doing the YMCA. In between his shoulders, pinch and roll a little neck for the head to rest on.
Time for the yellow. Remember that little piece you saved from the lamp? OK, so Pinch off a little piece and set it aside for Genie's earring. Divide the remaining clay and roll them into sausages, then squish them flat. These are going to be the arm cuffs. Very carefully, wrap them around Genie's wrists. Start at the side and go around the back, so if you run out of clay and there's a gap, it won't be noticeable when you fold his arms. Use your toothpick here if you find it makes it easier, but be careful not to mark the clay.
Fold his right (your left) arm across his chest and then fold his left (your right) over that one. It should look like his arms are folded. Then take the remaining blue clay and divide it in two unequal parts. The smaller one will serve as his head, so make sure it's head size.
Take the bigger blue part and roll it into an elongated cone. This will be Genie's tail. Stick the flat end to the bottom of the torso. Roll a sausage of red and flatten it, then wind it around the join of the torso and tail to form his belt. Once again, you can use the toothpick here if you find it helps. Once the belt is attached, bend the tail one way and then the other, to form the twist in Genie's tail.
Take the remaining blue clay, pinch off a little and set it aside for the nose and ears. Then roll the clay into a ball, roll the ball into an oval, then press one side to form a skinny rounded triangle. The skinnier side is the top of the head.
Pinch off a tiny amount of black, roll it into a sausage and bend it into a crescent. Squish the crescent flat to form Genie's mouth. Roll tiny amounts of white into sausages and squash them onto the top and bottom of the mouth to complete the teeth. Then attach the entire mouth to the bottom of the face.
Take a little from the blue you set aside and roll it into a small cone. Attach the flat side of the cone to the face, just above the mouth to form the nose. Bend the tip slightly toward the mouth.
Now for the eyes. Use the plastic beads on the end of the booby pin to hollow out some eye sockets on the face above the nose. Pinch off two little amounts of white and roll them each into slightly oval balls. Take an even smaller amount of black and divide it in half. Roll each half into a ball, squish it flat and then press one onto each white ball to form the pupils of Genie's eyes. Gently press the eyes into the sockets on the face.
Pinch off another small amount of black and divide it in half. Set one half aside. Roll the clay into a sausage and attach it to the face under the mouth to form the beard. Add a tiny little curl of black under Genie's chin to give him his goatee.
Take the other half of the black and divide it in half again. Roll it into sausages and then bend them into crescents. Stick each crescent to the face just above each eye to make the eyebrows. Pinch off another little bit of black and roll it onto a droplet shape. Stick this on the top of the head, round side down to make Genie's ponytail.
Take the remaining blue clay you set aside and divide it in two. Roll each into a droplet shape and then flatten. Attach them on either side of the head to form the cute little pixie like ears. Then take the remaining yellow you set aside and roll it into a sausage. Bend it into an almost circle and attach to Genie's right ear (your left).
Finally attach the head to the neck and your Genie is done. Wait for the clay to dry, mine took a day.
To attach them to the basic hooks, use the round-nosed pliers to open the jump rings. Attach the lamp with a jump ring around it's handle, then connect that jump ring to another jump ring which is then connected to the basic hook. This ensures that you can see a side view of the lamp, rather than the less effective top or bottom.
Use another jump ring to pierce through the base at the back of Genie's neck. Use another two jump rings to connect Genie to the other hook.
Use about half the clay to make the torso. Roll it into a ball, then flatten it slightly. Taper one end a little so that the shape is vaguely triangular. On the opposite end, pinch and roll two arms on either side. They also need to be a little tapered on the end and make sure to get the beefiness of those biceps. I guess it's the product of 10 000 years cooped up in that tiny lamp. What else is there to do but work out? So right now, Genie should look a little like he's doing the YMCA. In between his shoulders, pinch and roll a little neck for the head to rest on.
Time for the yellow. Remember that little piece you saved from the lamp? OK, so Pinch off a little piece and set it aside for Genie's earring. Divide the remaining clay and roll them into sausages, then squish them flat. These are going to be the arm cuffs. Very carefully, wrap them around Genie's wrists. Start at the side and go around the back, so if you run out of clay and there's a gap, it won't be noticeable when you fold his arms. Use your toothpick here if you find it makes it easier, but be careful not to mark the clay.
Fold his right (your left) arm across his chest and then fold his left (your right) over that one. It should look like his arms are folded. Then take the remaining blue clay and divide it in two unequal parts. The smaller one will serve as his head, so make sure it's head size.
Take the bigger blue part and roll it into an elongated cone. This will be Genie's tail. Stick the flat end to the bottom of the torso. Roll a sausage of red and flatten it, then wind it around the join of the torso and tail to form his belt. Once again, you can use the toothpick here if you find it helps. Once the belt is attached, bend the tail one way and then the other, to form the twist in Genie's tail.
Take the remaining blue clay, pinch off a little and set it aside for the nose and ears. Then roll the clay into a ball, roll the ball into an oval, then press one side to form a skinny rounded triangle. The skinnier side is the top of the head.
Pinch off a tiny amount of black, roll it into a sausage and bend it into a crescent. Squish the crescent flat to form Genie's mouth. Roll tiny amounts of white into sausages and squash them onto the top and bottom of the mouth to complete the teeth. Then attach the entire mouth to the bottom of the face.
Take a little from the blue you set aside and roll it into a small cone. Attach the flat side of the cone to the face, just above the mouth to form the nose. Bend the tip slightly toward the mouth.
Now for the eyes. Use the plastic beads on the end of the booby pin to hollow out some eye sockets on the face above the nose. Pinch off two little amounts of white and roll them each into slightly oval balls. Take an even smaller amount of black and divide it in half. Roll each half into a ball, squish it flat and then press one onto each white ball to form the pupils of Genie's eyes. Gently press the eyes into the sockets on the face.
Pinch off another small amount of black and divide it in half. Set one half aside. Roll the clay into a sausage and attach it to the face under the mouth to form the beard. Add a tiny little curl of black under Genie's chin to give him his goatee.
Take the other half of the black and divide it in half again. Roll it into sausages and then bend them into crescents. Stick each crescent to the face just above each eye to make the eyebrows. Pinch off another little bit of black and roll it onto a droplet shape. Stick this on the top of the head, round side down to make Genie's ponytail.
Take the remaining blue clay you set aside and divide it in two. Roll each into a droplet shape and then flatten. Attach them on either side of the head to form the cute little pixie like ears. Then take the remaining yellow you set aside and roll it into a sausage. Bend it into an almost circle and attach to Genie's right ear (your left).
Finally attach the head to the neck and your Genie is done. Wait for the clay to dry, mine took a day.
To attach them to the basic hooks, use the round-nosed pliers to open the jump rings. Attach the lamp with a jump ring around it's handle, then connect that jump ring to another jump ring which is then connected to the basic hook. This ensures that you can see a side view of the lamp, rather than the less effective top or bottom.
Use another jump ring to pierce through the base at the back of Genie's neck. Use another two jump rings to connect Genie to the other hook.
Rating:
Effort Required: 9/10
These are among the more challenging earrings I've made. The tiny details on Genie require some patience that I almost didn't have. But there's something fulfilling about making something so detailed. I think overall, excluding drying time, these took me about 40 minutes to make. Which is pretty good considering the first head I made bounced away and is still somewhere on my bedroom floor...
Durability: 3.5/10
I would be lying if I said I was sure about this rating. Truth be told, I have yet to wear them out and Louise didn't even know about them before I posted them. I only made them last night. But with the handle and lid handle of the lamp being so flimsy, I cannot imagine they would be all that durable. This depends on the type of clay you used and how big you made your earrings.
Cool Factor: 8/10
Once again, I'm not entirely sure of this. I have yet to wear them out, so this is my own (biased) opinion. I think they're a pretty good representation of Genie and of course, I love Robin Williams. Any accurate movie-based earrings are going to be cool anyway. Also, these are my personal goodbye to one of my all-time favourite actors. I am also 90% certain that you won't find any other earrings like these.
In memory of Robin Williams (1951-2014) RIP.
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