Let's fix that crack!

Hi, it's Donna here from Memes Art Place.

I am up this week. I hope you are ready for fall! It is here and with that, it brings more crafting time! I know that summertime we all are having picnics and family time. Now that fall is here we start thinking of Halloween and Thanksgiving and then, dare I say Christmas? UGH!

Well good thing we are not doing Christmas today!

Today I just want to remind you that cracks do happen! When they do it is important to have slip made and ready to be used! Look at those cracks I have. It is okay, we can fix this.

 My slip is already made and is stored in this little plastic tub. I have just added some harder pieces of Creative Paperclay® to this container. I just add a little more water and mix it up. I do this when a piece of the Creative Paperclay® gets left out a little to long, I just plop it into the slip container and add a bit more water. Now none goes to waste!

 Here is where I have done the repair on my cracks. I used a paint brush to apply some water to the area where the cracks needed to be repaired and then just added slip into the cracks. Once this was done. I smoothed it out a bit with a larger brush.

Smoothed out a bit more. That is it! Just make sure you have plenty of water and slip and you will be able to fix all the cracks you have!

 I put this together at the same time, but it did not crack at all!

 Nor did these!

Can you guess what Holiday I am working on?

Halloween! It is a favorite!

Speaking of witch (which), are you linked up for our Blog Hop?

It is coming fast and we want YOU to join us!

 



Make sure you link up by October 7th............It will be a spooky good time!

 

I have given you a sneak peek of my project, can you guess what it is? It is the one with all the cracks in it! It is turning out so cool......you will have to Hop with us to find out what it is!

 

Thanks for stopping by the blog today and I hope you will join us again soon!

 

Donna

Memes Art Place

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Kids' Project: Leaves of Clay Necklace

This project can easily be scaled in complexity depending on the age and attention span of the child you're working with. I'm working with a four (soon to be five) year old, so I'll share with you how we made this necklace.

We started with a ball of Creative Paperclay® about the size of a golf ball. Chloe rolled the ball flat to a thickness of about 1/8". We used these veined rose leaf embossing cutters.

I held the cutter in place while Chloe pressed it into the clay, cutting the shape and embossing the surface in one step. We made many leaves, so we could select the best ones for our finished project. These are a few of the leaves before drying and sanding.

You can pierce holes in the leaves for jump rings while the clay is still wet, or you can wait until they are dry and drill a small hole with a fine bit and Dremel.

After the leaves were dry, I sanded the edges and the reverse side. I found that an emery board worked great for sanding the jagged leaf edges.

Next, was painting the leaves. We used mica powders mixed with Gloss PPA. Mixing the colors was a combined effort, but Chloe did most of the painting. Then, another round of drying before one last finishing coat of Gloss PPA. Here's what our leaves looked like after the paint was dry.



Chloe had fun going through my stash to select beads to add to the final project. I did all the jewelry work, with Chloe handing me beads and jump rings. Here's our finished necklace—just in time for the crisp autumn weather.

Don't forget our Halloween Link Up Party!!

Carole	Chloe
Table Cell	Table Cell

Faux Slab Ceramics with Creative Paperclay®

Here I was sitting around and I spied an old panel that I had planned to paint over and decided to cover it with Creative Paperclay®. I was very close to getting a degree in ceramics but hated the hurry up and wait aspect of it. With paperclay it is so much easier. I just laid the clay over the panel and started making marks on it. How easy is that?

Supplies List

Creative Paperclay®

Burnt Umber acrylic paint for stain

I slightly dampened the clay then added more clay and textures. I let all this dry then applied an overall coat of matte clear polymer medium so I would have more control over my stain later.

BTW - This piece is named Behind the Veil and is a 12" x 12" mixed media piece on panel.

This piece was finished with a burnt umber stain then the eyes were added in the two window like areas. An acrylic pour was added over the eyes. To me it looks like a clay slab piece I could do with traditional clay but so much easier and faster this way. I think this has the potential for a series.

—Darlene Olivia McElroy

Join Our Link Up party on Oct 7th

Join our Link UP party on OCT 7th for a chance at a GREAT prize

ON this Date, stop by this blog and link up your blog post to our blog..

Can't wait to see what you are making

Witch's Spellbook with Rachel Whetzel

Hello, out there in Creativeland!! It's Rachel Whetzel, here. It's starting to feel like Fall here in Oregon, and Fall puts me in a spooky mood, so I took some inspiration from the interwebs, and decided to create a Spell Book to add to my Witch's Apothecary Halloween display! 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED to make your own canvas:

• An old phone book
• Creative Paperclay®
• Sandpaper
• Paints. I use Folk Art acrylic craft paints.
• Stain. I used Valspar antiquing stain
• Paint brushes

Get your phonebook sanded up, to help your clay cling to the surface. 

 Because my phonebook had colored pages I didn't want to show, I painted the outside of the pages to make them all look uniform.

 Then, I wet my cover, and started building the "cover" of the book.

 I also carved the words "Book of Spells" onto the cover while the clay was wet, and then painted the cover black once my clay was dry.

 Sand your cover to smooth it out, and create a leathery look to the overall piece. I used gold paint to highlight the title of the book, and wiped off the excess.

 Here's the finished piece, with some of my other Creative Paperclay® pieces from years past.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to keep up with me, and see more of what I'm up to, I'd also love it if you'd visit MY BLOG and Subscribe! You can also find me on FACEBOOK!

Carnivorous House Plant Project by LuLu Lancaster

It's the most wonderful time of the year :) Halloween is coming it is raining here and I am ready! Every room of my home will have some little spooky critter or creature lurking. Join me in creating a carnivorous house plant or 3 or 4 :)

Gather your 

small gauge floral wire

masking tape

Creative PaperClay®

miniature clay pots

some cheese cloth

and acrylic paints

Create a T shape with your wire

take a small amount of Clay. enough for the bottom of your pot.

Cover your wire T with masking tape and invert. Poke through the clay.

remove the upside doen T 

this will be your plant head and stems

cover each stem with clay and create a head out of a ball of clay

you can split the head for a mouth :)

create eyes from smaller balls of clay and attach to the wet clay head with a little bit of water.

make leaves for hands by elongating the balls you have attached to the side stems.

using a toothpick you can create teeth, by pulling through the clay.

add nostrils and tiny grooves in the stems to add character :)

Once dry you can use some tacky glue and attach the cheese cloth to the inside of the clay pot.

another dab of tacky glue and attach the plant base to the inside.

Now you can paint your plant to creepy perfection!!!

Thank you so much for following along!

I hope you have enjoyed this project :)

LuLu Lancaster

LuLusApple

Creative Papercaly® Elephants WIP-DONE!

Hi Everyone!

 

It's Donna from Memes Art Place, so happy you have come to join me this week!

 

Remember those cute little elephants that my grand daughter and I did?

 

The ones I left in Minnesota?

 

Well they flew back here with those big ears! If you need a refresher on how to form these elephants just head HERE!

 

So these little guys had some work done!

They were painted with Acrylic paints and sealed.

They even grew a little tuff of hair! This was done by poking a hole and adhering some embroidery floss into the hole and ta da!!!! We have hair.

 

               Adds some fun to this cute roly poly elephant! 

Here is another shot!

 Look at this cutie that my Grand daughter has made!
                  Check out his hair, it is sparkly!

 

Turned out so well! I love to have the kids work with Creative Paperclay® they can let imaginations fly and you can't do it wrong! Anything goes!

We will have these memories forever and something visible to remember the day!

 

 The two together.

 So much fun!

 I think you should pick some Creative Paperclay® up and share it with a child!
Think of what you could spark in that child?

Before I go I need to share something with youuuuuu!!!!!!!

We are going to have a blog hop!

If you love Halloween.....you may want to link up and be part of this amazing hop!



Who knows what kind of scary stuff you might find...........

These were also made with my Grand daughter!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the finished projects!
Please remember to give Creative Paperclay a try, you might just LOVE it!

Tips for Working with Creative Paperclay®

Here are a few of my favorite random tips for working with Creative Paperclay®.

1. Keep the material damp. Work with the smallest amount that you need, and keep the remainder in the packaging and then in a sealed zip-lock bag.
2. Work on a non-stick surface such as a Teflon craft mat or freezer paper. Some folks use waxed paper, but I find that it isn't strong enough, and eventually wilts. Baking parchment will do in a pinch.
3. Allow ample time for your project pieces to dry. Overnight is usually good for smaller, thinner pieces. Thicker, larger pieces will take longer.
4. You can speed drying time by placing your project pieces in a very low oven, around 225°F.
5. To get your pieces as smooth as possible, use your finger or a small paint brush dipped a into water, then gentle smooth the surface of the piece.
6. Don't be afraid to work with the clay!! Knead it in your hands. Let it "talk" to you. Enjoy the creative process.

Carole

Creative Paperclay® Masquerade

I have been invited to show my art in an invitational show, Masquerade, and decided to add a Creative Paperclay® mask and cast butterflies to my painting. I marked on my art where I wanted the mask to go with a water soluble crayon. See the light white line on the left. Then I started adding the clay.

Creative Paperclay®
Paint or metallic rub
Silicone Mold
Small Round Objects
Supplies:
Silver & Gold Rub

BTW - The name of the piece is Fly Bye and is a 12" x 36" mixed media on panel.

I completed my design and added small round objects. I thought they might pop off but they are well stuck into the clay. Then I let the clay dry.

I tend to work in very thin layers so this is a comfortable way for me to add texture and dimension to a piece. Plus it is always fun to mold something from scratch.

Once it was dry, I painted the piece then added both gold and silver rub.

Hope this added more ideas to try on your art.

— Darlene Olivia McElroy