What are you gonna make today?

When my dog, Spoon attacked my rabbit PEZ I decided to make the best of a bad situation. Sure the PEZ was ruined, but I wasn't too worried about losing a good PEZ dispenser to the jaws of my dog. However, I thought twice about chucking it into the recycle bin and decided to do a little plastic surgery, using Spoon as my inspiration for the makeover. Here's the story of my time as a plastic surgeon...

Click the photos below for more information and here to see the dispenser in action.

Before any good surgeon takes a patient under the knife, they plan their procedure. Take some time to sketch out your ideas and deconstruct the character on paper before you lay a single hand on any tools.

A good tip to remember is that our faces are made of shapes, oval eyes, triangular noses, rectangular foreheads - use this idea as you sketch your design. If you are recreating a brand new face, you'll want to look at the shape of the current PEZ head and determine how it will best support the new look. In the case of the Spoon PEZ, once the ears were removed the remaining structure worked well as the base of a dog head.

Now, I spent way too much money getting a fancy art degree so I could learn how to "sculpt" with clay. You however shouldn't have to. Working with Sculpey clay is so incredibly easy and you'll be surprised by what you can do with it. In fact I encourage you to simply play with the clay before you add it to the existing PEZ head.

Still worried you can't create a new face? This is a fantastic tutorial on creating "clay heads". You might opt for some of the fancy tools used in the tutorial or you might make adjustments to your PEZ process based on what you already own.

Once you have a good idea of what you'll be doing, plan what tools you'll need. Need a little guidance? Email me your ideas and I'll send you tool prescription.

Wrap the dispenser in painter's tape to avoid getting any muck on the case. As you can see I sculpted the clay to resemble that of a dog, but what you can't see is the "frame" under the head - it's the actual plastic rabbit head.

A successful PEZ surgeon will use the what is already there and build upon it. I used a material called Sculpey, a polymer clay that can be molded and sculpted and after it is baked hard in the oven, it can be sanded and drilled.

Consider using a single color of polymer clay to construct the new face and apply colored paint to the finished project. I believe it is a lot easier than using multiple colors of clay. Plus, you have more control over the outcome when using this technique.

Once your clay is in place, carefully remove the head from the dispenser. This is where most PEZ heads crash on the cart. Squeeze too hard and you'll snap it's neck mechanism. A light and steady hand (as well as bent nose pliers) will allow you to remove the head. Don't worry snapping the head back into place is much easier and in fact if you are gentle you can snap it right back into place.

The project will need to be baked at 275 degrees for 15 minutes for each quarter-inch of clay thickness. Remember to place the project on a piece of paper and do not leave the project unattended.

Once the clay is done baking, carefully remove the head with tongs and allow to cool completely. At this point you are free to hand paint the designs of your choice. Acrylic paints combined with fine tip brushes are an excellent choice for painting new features. You might also consider using DecoColor Paint Pens especially if you plan to embellish the dispenser part of the PEZ.

A good first step is to paint the entire head a solid color, such as white and pencil in the areas you will paint. (Think of the paint by number concept). Once you have finished painting, allow to dry. Next, dab the area with a coat of water-based sealant to protection your creation. Remove the tape and fill your new toy up with PEZ candies.

Some people continually buy PEZ everytime they make a new one (I know collectors are a fun bunch). But why not give the one already own simple makeover - plus you're making a one-of-a-kind PEZ. Skip the plastic surgery approach and settle for quick touch ups using a variety of materials (E6000 glue, DecoColor markers) and embellishments (beads, stickers, etc.) to customize your PEZ dispenser.

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