Looking for a fun way to dress up a coffee bar? This coffee break isn’t going to plan; my polymer clay coffee bean character has decided he’s making a run for it! With one foot over the rim and a mischievous look that says, ‘I’m outta here!’, our fun-loving bean has no intention of becoming someone’s morning brew. And I can’t blame him. After being tossed into a coffee cup day after day, maybe it’s time for a jailbreak. I would make a run for it too!

I’m starting with a small paper cup. But, if you like, save the cup from coffee you purchase and make your polymer clay coffee as large as your budget will allow.

Like more than a billion coffee drinkers around the world, we’re fuelled by coffee here at Birdz of a Feather too. If you’re a fellow coffee lover, read on to make your very own cheeky coffee character, ‘Mugsy Brewster’ with our polymer clay tutorial!

Before we get to the tutorial, it’s time for another Creative Craft blog hop co-hosted every other month by yours truly and Donna from Modern on Monticello! If you are visiting from Carol and Blue Sky at Home, welcome!  Thanks for hopping over!

At the very bottom of this post, we’ll be directing you to the next stop on this venture. But don’t forget to check out the other stops too because you’ll find plenty more ideas. Be sure to drop back in throughout the week to visit them all!

Materials

[If you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered (disclosure): The blue links in this post may be affiliate links. We earn a commission from qualifying purchases which we proudly donate to Alzheimer’s research. But don’t worry, you don’t pay a cent more! Thanks for helping to support our fundraiser!]

• I used Sculpey III in various colours; white, tan, black, red or pink.
• Sculpey Oven Bake Clay Adhesive (get it at Michaels or try Sculpey Bake and Bond on Amazon)
• Xacto knife
• Stainless Steel Circle Cutters (for eyes)
• Stainless steel cutter
• Acrylic rolling pin
• Clay modelling tools
• Oven thermometer
• Toaster oven (for baking)

Polymer Clay Coffee

This all starts with upcycling a paper cup; the kind you use to get water from a water dispenser. Of course, you could make this out of an actual paper coffee cup, but I prefer to work small scale here.

Make a paper pattern from the cup by rolling it; mark it first so you know where to start and stop. Roll out a sheet of white clay and use the pattern to cut the shape, leaving plenty of room to wrap it around the cup. Make sure to cover part way down the inside of the cup too so nothing shows.

After covering the cup, let’s make that classic coffee cup sleeve. Again, trace around your paper pattern and make the corrugated cardboard marks with a round tool. Here, I’m using a piece of metal.

Try to stay parallel to the curve of the pattern so the lines don’t look wonky when placed on the cup.

Once done, cut it out completely with an Xacto knife so you have clean edges.

Do a dry run by wrapping the fluted sleeve around the cup to see where the ends meet; trim if necessary. Close up the seam at the back so it looks neat and tidy.

You can see how far down I tucked the white around the inside of the cup.

Swirl some white into a piece of brown and shape it into a circle to fit inside the lip of the cup. You can stop here, but I’m making a fancy coffee with latte art! Roll some small balls of white.

Flatten the balls onto the circle in a spoke pattern radiating out from the middle.

Dip into some Sculpey Bake and Bond with a silicone tool.

Then drag the tool through the white to form a pattern. It should look ‘creamy’.

When you’re happy with the result, set aside while you make the coffee bean character.

Coffee Bean Character

Form a brown lump of clay into a coffee bean shape and form the centre crease with the help of the silicone tool.

Here’s where the cheeky part comes in. Form the mouth and a little pink tongue.

For the eyes, use a circle cutter to make circles and add a tiny dot of white for the catchlight.

Attach the tongue, eyes and eyebrows to the polymer clay coffee bean to complete the face.

Use a spare cup to help shape the hands around the rim. The waxy finish will prevent it sticking (like it would if you use the cup you previously covered with clay).

Insert wire into a rolled piece of clay for the arm to add stability. Seal the hand to the arm.

As you can see, the wire is peeking out in the right hand and left arm, which isn’t ideal. Cover any wire that shows and blend in.

Now, sculpt the legs and feet.

I’m bending at the knee and forming a boot of sorts.

Assembly

Now that all components are done, it’s ready to assemble.

Stuff the paper cup with foil and add a piece of baking paper on top to level it out.

Add more wire to pin the arm into the body and place the polymer clay bean to ensure the hand grabs the rim where you want it.

Then add the other arm and move onto the back by forming an oval shape.

Add the oval onto the back to fill it out.

Blend it in to round out the back.

Your bean should look like this, flat in front and slightly round at the back.

Add the Coffee in the Cup

Complete the coffee cup so you can add the character. Before assembling, if you want the top to have a slight curve, form it onto the side of a bowl.

Place into the cup and seal the edges.

In the end, I only used one of the legs so he’d look like he is ready to jump out.

Put onto a tray with some baking paper and bake at 275 F for at least an hour.

Your polymer clay coffee bean character is done!

And there you have it; Mugsy Brewster, always ready to make a break for it whenever coffee time calls. Now add him to your coffee bar for a playful touch of personality and a little coffee-fuelled mischief.

Isn’t he cute with his little tongue sticking out?

Friendly Competition

Hubs and I actually had a little coffee cup competition and you can see Hubs’ polymer clay coffee alien is perfectly happy enjoying his dunk.

There’s so much you can do character-wise with this coffee theme. What character would YOU make?

I’m having so much fun with food characters like this Polymer Clay Popcorn. But I might try my hand at creating a cake topper for my neice’s upcoming wedding (if we can find someone to bake a gluten free wedding cake).

Pin Polymer Clay Coffee

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Creative Craft Hop

Now it’s time to check out this Ruffled Lace Tabletop Lighted Tree from Gail at Purple Hues and Me. When you’re done, please remember to visit these other amazing talents below:

• Santa’s Naughty Or Nice List On Ribbon
• DIY Painted Gingerbread Bird Ornaments
• Pottery Barn Cloche Dupe for Fall (Plus 3 Ways to Style It)
• Polymer Clay Coffee
• Ruffled Lace Tabletop Lighted Tree