Working on an Easter Egg Bowl with Creative Paperclay

Easter is just around the corner so I thought I would start coming up with some things to decorate the house.

Supplies needed for this project:

Creative Paperclay

Plaid Paints in:

Fresh Foliage Green Enamel

Lemon Custard Yellow Enamel

Aqua Enamel

Raspberry Enamel

Gold Enamel

Brushes

Stamp (I used a new one designed by Ann Butler)

Powder or cornstarch

I like to use baby powder when I'm working with Creative Paperclay and this project was no exception. I powdered up my bowls as I did use two. I found after rolling out the clay for the first big bowl that I had some extra clay left over and decided to use it for a smaller bowl.

After I rolled out the Creative Paperclay and applied some powder to the stamp, I stamped out the pattern that was all swirls. I just loved this stamp! I draped the Creative Paperclay  over the bowl that I was using and used a sharp knife to trim off all of the excess. I repeated the process for the smaller bowl and used up all the Creative Paperclay  from the package that I had opened. I had to let the bowls dry for a couple of days to get them good and dry. Once they were dry I painted them different colors on the inside and outside with the Plaid Paints. 

For the larger Creative Paperclay bowl I used the Plaid Aqua Enamel on the outside and the Plaid Raspberry Enamel on the inside. On the smaller Creative Paperclay bowl I used Fresh Foliage Green Enamel on the outside and Lemon Custard Enamel on the inside of the bowl. I painted the rims of both Creative Paperclay bowls with the Plaid Gold Enamel.

You can still see the pretty swirls in both of the Creative Paperclay bowls from pressing the stamp into the clay while it was wet.

I really like how the Gold Enamel set off the edges of the bowls and made the colors pop. The colors really looked good for the Easter Holiday.

I happened to be at the Florida Gourd Show this past weekend and used one of the other vendors dyed egg gourds to place in the Creative Paperclay bowls that I had made. Looks pretty good doesn't it? Now I know that the bowls would look good with dyed eggs or candy eggs. 

If you haven't tried out Creative Paperclay yet you are missing out on a great opportunity. Go on over and check out the Creative Paperclay website at: www.creativepaperclay.com They have a lot of projects over there in addition to the Creative Paperclay that you can purchase.

You can also leave me a comment here on the blog. I read everyone of them, thank you.

Barbara

Creative Paperclay® Tea Party

I like to push my art skills and what I can do with different techniques. And, of course, as a mixed media artist I have to glue something dimensional onto my pieces.

In this lesson I am going to create an abstracted still life with Creative Paperclay® and image transfers.

SUPPLIES

Creative Paperclay®
Toner image (lase/xerox) (reverse image)
Chartpak Admarker colorless blender
Acrylic paint
Button & rhinestones
Wood panel or canvas
Lace

I started with a light tan wash on my surface then added the Creative Paperclay® that I had cut into shapes and embedded a lace design into the tea pot and cups. I let the clay dry overnight.

Make sure your toner image is reversed because you will be flipping face down on your surface. Then rub the Chartpak colorless blender over it and burnish it immediately. Repeat. You will want to do small areas at a time and repeat the process several time until you get a good transfer.

Note: The transfer was done on unsealed clay.













Depending on the look you are going for, you can either leave the soft transfer look or paint on top of the transfer for a more finished look.

Using a Molotov pain pen, I added the white marks then collaged painted paper, rhinestones and an old civil war button to the piece.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

See more of my work on Instagram and DarleneOliviaMcElroy.com.

Create a Faux Bronze Bust with Creative Paperclay ®

Hello everyone! My name is Cinnamon Willis and today's tutorial is going to show you all how to create a faux bronze bust using Creative Paperclay®. In honor of Black history month, I am going to introduce you to an African American sculptor who was part of the Harlem Renaissance named Augusta Savage. She was a notable sculptor, teacher and an activist that fought for equal rights in the arts for African Americans. Most of her work was done in clay or plaster and painted to look like it was a bronze sculpture since she couldn't actually afford to work in bronze. Her art was heavily documented, but the location of most of the pieces are unknown. Her most notable work is the bust above called Gamin which is also made of plaster and painted to look like bronze. In today's tutorial, I'll be working in a style that resembles Mrs. Savage's style more so then my own. I hope you enjoy and take time to look at some of Mrs. Savage's other incredible works.

Courtesy Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, 1935-1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Supplies:

• Chicken/poultry Wire
• Thin wire
• Pliers
• Scissors
• Creative Paperclay®
• Newspaper
• Masking tape
• Sand paper
• Acrylic paint
• Sealer, Varnish

Start with a sheet of chicken wire, cut it down to the size you would need it to be for the head, neck and shoulders for your piece. Start shaping it with your hands and pliers, be careful not to poke yourself. I usually take the ragged ends of the chicken wire and fold them into each other. Take the lose wire and weave it if needed to fasten the ends of the chicken wire together.

Take your masking tape and wrap it around the chicken wire completely. You could paint a layer of gesso on top of the tape so that the clay could adhere better to it or just stick it on as I sometimes do. You may need to add a drop of water to the surface for the clay to grab hold to better.

Start adding your first layer of clay to the base. Once the piece is dry, which roughly takes 24 hours depending on the thickness of the clay, you could begin working on the details such as the face shape and features. This can be done by adding a drop of water onto the places that you would like to add clay to and blending the new clay into it. Don’t worry about getting things perfect when working with moist paper clay, most of the sculpting is done when it is dry.

When working on a piece like this, I find it easier to build up the face in different intervals and allow each stage to dry before I continue. This allows me to work without worrying about me ruining a part of the doll or bust that isn't dry yet. As I always state in my tutorials, the drying process can be sped up with a toaster oven set to approximately 200- 220 degrees. Make sure to check on it every twenty minutes to ensure it doesn’t get burned! It's great for those who are impatient like me!

While sculpting this bust I began to realize that it more closely resembled a man's face than a boy's. Instead of the painter's cap that was on the original sculpture, I decided to go with the classic Kangol cap.

After building up this piece quite a bit with the clay, I sanded down the parts that I wanted to be smooth such as the face. I use different grits of regular sand paper that you can find in the hardware store to get the results shown above. 

I used Craft Smart's metallic brown to get the bust to look bronze. There are many other metallic brands that would give you the same results, this is just the brand that I had on hand. It took about 5 coats of paint to get the color to be even. If you want to take it a step further, you can do a wash with black paint over the piece to give it a worn look instead of this finish that I have.

Seal with varnish and you are done!

Thank you all once again for stopping by, and I hope that you enjoyed today's tutorial! You can find Creative Paperclay® at the following retailers Creative Paperclay® Online Store, Michael's, Amazon, Joann's.

See more of my work at Melandolly.com and be sure to catch updates on my Instagram page!

You are Lovely Altered Frame

Hello everyone! Jenn here today to share my altered frame I created using Creative Paperclay™ and Delight®!

 Creative Paperclay™ Modeling Material and Delight® are great for creating beautiful molded embellishments for all mixed media projects such as this altered frame.
Here is a  photo tutorial on how I created mine:

You can use watercolor pencils as I did with a waterbrush or use paints as well.

All of my embellishments were molded using silicone molds. I always have a stash of molded pieces!

Use scraps of cardboard at different thicknesses to elevate the pieces for dimension.

Be sure to dry in between sprays of color with a heat tool so they do not mix.

 Creative Paperclay® is moldable and sculptable!

Delight™ air dry modeling compound is lightweight when dry so it is great for creating projects such as these. It takes very well to inks and sprays when dried and gessoed as well.

Thanks so much for viewing my post today! I hope that you are inspired to give this amazing clay a try and create something amazing!

Creative Paperclay® and Delight™ are conveniently available for you to purchase online and at the below listed retailers.

Creative Paperclay® Online Store

Michael's

Hobby Lobby

Joann's

Until Next time Stay Creative!

Valentine Love

Happy almost Valentine's Day!  For my blog post this month I went back in time...WAY back to when my husband and I were dating for a couple of throwback photos.  I put those together with texture, Pan Pastels, a few hearts, a painted canvas, and (of course) my favorite Delight! Air Dry Modeling Compound.

Over the summer I experimented with acrylic flow painting and a variety of ways to create the "flow".  It took 3 attempts and a large number of canvases to get my mix "just right", but in the end I was thrilled with the canvases.  I went to my stash of painted canvases for the base of this project and found the perfect one!

As I looked at the canvas I knew I wanted wording on it.  Bless my man's heart, he surprised me with a Cricut Maker for Christmas.  I knew it was about time to open the box and experiment (yes, it took me THAT long!).  After learning the basics and going through a bit of frustration (thank you Leticia for all the hand holding!), I was able to create the perfect saying for my canvas.

NOTE 1:  I would NOT suggest starting out with something this difficult, but then I am known for jumping in with both feet. NOTE 2: If you don't have a Cricut the saying can be added with sharpie directly to the canvas OR printed on vellum and attached to the canvas OR printed and decoupaged to the canvas (this option will cover the painted background though)

 With my saying firmly attached to the canvas it was time to start the clay work.  This is my FAVORITE part!!  Delight Air Dry is my go to choice when it comes to "quick & easy" projects (not counting the canvas and Cricut experiments 😉).  I pulled out a few tools to work with:

1) texture (a rubber stamp sheet and a favorite leather stamp)

2) Pan Pastels

3) a couple of heart cutters

4) a knife/cutting tool of some sort

5) and (of course) Delight Air Dry Modeling Compound

Pull off a bit of clay and flatten it with an acrylic roller or rolling pin or pasta machine (I have all 3 in my studio).  Once flattened, impress with the texture.

 Cut out a heart (whatever size needed to frame the chosen photo elements).  

Use the knife (unless you have a larger heart cutter) to cut around the heart, creating a small frame once the inner heart is lifted out.

Remove the inner heart and set aside.  Place frame around photo element and trace the outer edge with a pencil/pen/marker.  Remove the clay frame and cut out photo.

                                     

The texture of the frame is highlighted by rubbing a bit of Pan Pastel over the top.  For this step remember to use a light touch and little bits of the pastels!  I had a small amount fall into the embedded texture...a quick "blow" removed it.

I repeated the process (flatten, cut, texture, pastel) with additional clay.  This piece was textured with one of my favorite leather stamps.

 (Oh my goodness, we were young!!)

Now to arrange the components on the canvas.

I thought it looked a little heavy.  It needed a little something else.  I removed both solid hearts, used a tiny heart cutter and cut out the insides of each. 

First I switched the insides

That looked nice, but still a little "heavy" when placed on the canvas.  So I decided to open them up.  After a bit of experimentation with the arrangement, I stopped with a mix of open hearts and solid hearts.  I let the components dry in place.  Once dry they were glued down (any glue will work but my favorite is Aleene's "The Ultimate! tacky glue).

I hope you have enjoyed this functional art piece.  You have enough time to create one of your own for last minute gift giving!  Have a beautiful Valentine's Day with your significant other.  See you next month!

 ❤

Make a Voodoo Doll with Creative Paperclay®

Hello, my tutorial this month is kind of creepy but also fun. I think he is cute! Well, cute for a voodoo doll!

All levels of sculptors can make the doll. I made a video for you to follow along. Here is a list of supplies that you will need:

• Creative Paperclay®
• foil
• white glue
• acrylic paint - bone white, brown, white and black
• Americana Oak Gel Stain
• nails
• 4 jewelry eye pins
• 4 screw in peg eye pins
• 12" black string 
• hammer
• chopstick or dowel
• glue gun and glue stick
• paper towels
• paintbrushes, water etc.

Follow along in the video below:

Here are some more photos.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. You can share your creations with us on our Facebook page. We would love to see them! For more inspiration have a look around the blog. There are tutorials for many levels using Creative Paperclay®. You can also visit my blog www.papermachepatch.com.

You can find Creative Paperclay® online at Creative Paperclay Co and also at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Dickblick and Amazon. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzette

Blog: https://papermachepatch.com

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