DIRECTIONS:

1. Lay a piece of wax paper on your work surface to protect your table from clay residue and your clay from any particles you don't want clinging to it. Next, roll a small amount of clay into a ball. The picture below indicates the approximate size your ball should be.

2. Roll the ball in a straight line backwards and forwards a couple times to give it a tube shape. Try to make one end of the tube just a little more narrow than the other.

3. Carefully poke an eye pin all the way through the clay. The 'eye' of the pin should sit snug against the large side of the clay tube. Make sure the pin itself is straight as possible and that you center it in the clay.

4. Apply gentle but even pressure along the sides of the clay to remove any gaps of air that may surround the eye pin. Once that's done, smooth out any hard edges or finger-prints in the clay (while keeping Zeta's general facial structure in mind). I find that a tooth-pick makes a handy tool for this process but, if you have a light touch and relatively short nails, you can also use your finger.

5. Once you are satisfied with the shape and surface texture, bake the clay according to the package's instructions. Different brands can vary greatly in their how-to's so make sure you read the directions carefully. Once baked, let the clay cool completely. If there are any rough areas or lumps you didn't notice before baking, you can smooth them out with super-fine grit sandpaper or with a fingernail buffing board (which is not the same thing as a nail file, just so you know).

6. Now you're ready to paint. Before you buy your paint, though, please be aware that I used cheap, craft-store acrylics. You really don't need to buy enamels because we'll be sealing the clay later.

Hold the base of the eye pin and paint the head with a coat of silver. Be sure to use long, vertical strokes to prevent ridges from forming in the paint. Also make sure that you don't leave any 'globs' of paint on the dome or the underside of the head- it'll look sloppy and you'll be kicking yourself, later.

7. If you get tired of holding the eye pin while waiting for the head to dry, you can rest the 'eye' against a jar lid (as shown below). Just make sure that the lid is tall enough to keep your clay from lying against your work surface- no sense in ruining that perfect paint job.

Once the paint dries completely (patience is a virtue!) check for any spots that you may have missed; if needed, add one more coat and let dry.

8. Now we're ready for the face. Use a sharp pencil to draw a light outline of Zeta's face (as shown below). Then take an extra-fine Sharpie (or other super fine-tipped permanent marker) and trace the pencil lines. This may require several coats before the lines look dark or solid enough; wait a couple minutes between applications to let the ink take hold.

9. Now it's time to paint on the eye sockets. Technically, you could do this with the Sharpie if you want, but I think the paint tends to give it a little more of a 3-D effect. It's up to you.

For this step, you'll need a semi-blunt instrument: a dull pencil or a tooth-pick broken in half. Dip the tool of your choice in black paint and apply a dot to each side of the face so it looks like the picture below. Make sure that the dots stick out on both sides of the lines they're centered on. Once the paint is dry, take your marker and make a diagonal mark across each eye. Symmetry is key, here, so work slowly and carefully.

10. One more step and we're done with the face! Using another toothpick, carefully apply a spot of white or light green paint to the center of the eye sockets. Why green? Because some of the official art shows a slightly green cast to his eyes and I've always rather liked it- so go with your preference. You could even use red. ;)

11. Once all the paint has completely dried, it's time to seal the project. To do this, you'll need a small jar of polymer glaze (I used Sculpey Glaze). Holding the eye pin, submerge the head into the glaze and let the remaining liquid drip back into the jar. This may take a few minutes as the glaze tends to be rather thick. You can use a clean toothpick to carefully scrape the excess back into the bottle- just make sure not to leave any ridges in the glaze from the toothpick. You'll also need the toothpick to pop any air bubbles that appear.

12. When the excess glaze has run off, tip the head right side up and clear the eye pin's 'eye' of any goop that has collected there. It can take quite a while for the glaze to dry completely and you'll probably get tire of holding it. A quick solution is to stick a piece of wire through the eye pin and lay the wire across the top of a cup or bowl so the glaze can dry without touching anything. If you do this, make sure to stick a napkin in the bottom of the cup to catch any glaze drippings- don't want to ruin your dishes, right?

13. While the glaze is drying (let it sit for at least an hour!) you can work on the charm strap. First, you'll need to cut a length of waxed cotton cord approximately twice the length you'd like the strap to be, plus an extra inch or so. Tie the two ends together in a tight knot (as pictured). When you're sure it is secure, cut off the loose ends as close to the knot as possible.

14. The picture below is kind of hard to see (sorry!) but the step itself is easy. The knot should be placed inside the bead crimp, close to the loop on the end of the crimp. The 'tooth' on the bead crimp is hard to discern in the photo but it lies on the opposite end of the crimp, between the two cotton cords. Make sure that the cords are on both sides of the tooth- it will help anchor the cord inside the crimp.

15. Using your pliers, squeeze the sides of the crimp closed. Make sure that the knot is completely enclosed in the crimp.

16. If you want to add any decorative dangles, grab a few beads and some eye pins. String the beads on the pins (in any fashion you want) and then use your pliers to bend the remaining wire at a ninety-degree angle (as close to the bottom bead as possible). Then, bending the wire back towards the center, create a loop of similar size to the 'eye' at the top of the pin. Use your wire cutters to cut away any excess wire that's not needed for the loop. Give the loop one last adjustment with your pliers, just to make sure there aren't any gaps. Make as many or as few dangles as you want.

17. If the head is dry, you can now bend the eye pin into a loop (using the previous step). However, if you're not absolutely sure it's dry, don't even attempt it! If you touch the glaze before it sets, you'll leave fingerprints in it. Let it sit until you have no doubts- then do this step.

18. Use your pliers and a couple of jump rings to attach the head to the strap and the beads to the head.

19. Last step! Just loop the strap through the little hole on your cell phone and you're done! Now just try not to run your phone bill up while gloating to all your friends that you have the coolest cell charm ever. ;)

If you make this craft, I'd love to post a photo of your finished project- especially if you've made any interesting variations! ^_^