How to Create a Prop Umbrella

Hello everyone! My name is Cinnamon Willis and today's tutorial is going to show you how I made this prop umbrella. I've been wanting to make an umbrella for my dolls for a while especially with all this rain we've been getting this April. I have been trying to decide which would be the best way to go about it, so I thought I'd try out this method where I put the clay over some tulle and let it dry. The steps that I went with are listed below:


Supplies:

• Creative Paperclay®
• Thick wire 16 gauge
• Pliers
• Masking tape
• Sand paper
• Your choice of Acrylic paint
• Sealer, Varnish

First I started out with some wire about 16 gauge and made this armature for the umbrella.

I took the masking tape that I had and wrapped each piece of wire individually so that they could be re-positioned later.

After wrapping the frame thoroughly with masking tape, I carefully stretched some tulle across to cover all sides of the umbrella. After the tulle is stretched tight, I took some thread and secured the tulle at the bottom of each spoke.

To begin covering this piece, I took two pieces of clay and sandwiched the tulle with them from the top and underneath. Use a drop of water to make the pieces softer if you need to. Work from the middle outwards towards the sides. Make sure that you have the piece in the shape that you want it to be, monitor it and reshape it while it dries since the clay shrinks a little. This step is crucial as the clay will warp the piece if you don't keep an eye on it while it dries.

Add the clay in thin layers allowing it to dry in between applications. Sand the piece to get it smooth if you would like. I didn't do too much sanding to smooth out this piece so it is still rough in a few places. I have to stop myself from sanding since that is the step that I usually obsess over, but by all means, sand your heart out if you please!

I used some chalk art paint that I had from Plaid's Folk art collection. I liked the Tiffany blue color so I decided to go with it to give the umbrella a bit of Je Ne Sais Quoi. Here's how I used it in the photos below with a doll that I've previously made.

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! Click here to go to my Etsy shop if you are interested in purchasing the doll modeling the umbrella!