Friday, December 25, 2020

How to Make A Spring Base Sculpture

 



Hello and happy Holidays everyone! Cinnamon here and I am 
going to show you how I created this spring base sculpture. I chose to 
leave the piece as is but you could easily use the spring to put a skirt over 
it for the doll to appear to be standing on it's own, or use this to turn your 
doll into a tree topper. This can can come in handy in many different ways! 
The tools that I used are listed below.

Supplies: 
Creative Paperclay®
Masking tape
Pliers
16 gauge steel wire
Thin wire roughly 20-22 gauge
Cardstock paper or cardboard
Sand paper
Wooden Skewers
E6000 Craft Glue
Acrylic paint (optional)
Sealer, Varnish





Begin by getting your piece of cardstock and skewer prepared.
Cut the paper or cardboard down to the size that you would like to 
make your torso. Get your skewer and poke it through the middle
Make sure that it sits in the middle of where the shoulders are going
 to be. Get your masking tape and secure the paper to the skewer.





Start adding your paperclay to the torso. Get a second skewer and 
plot out where your holes are going to be for you to run the wire 
through after the piece dries. You would want to make these tunnels
before the clay sets and one should be in the middle where the waist 
would be and at the top where the shoulders are. The best way is to 
build up the torso around the second skewer
 and carefully slide it out before it dries.





This is the first rough layer of clay. Keep in mind that whatever weight
 you add to the front of the piece would have to be matched in the back 
as well for it to stay in balance on the spring. The holes are on the side
on the top and in the middle of the torso which is not easily seen here.
Set this aside and allow it to dry which would roughly be 24 hours.





Using another skewer for sizing purposes, begin creating the head for this
piece. I used a small piece of tissue paper so that the head is lightweight. 
It is important for the head to not be top heavy so that the piece
 can be in good balance with the body. Take a small piece of 
masking tape to wrap it around the tissue to secure it in place. 
Put the clay on top of the piece of paper while it is on the skewer. 
You will want to keep the front and the back of equal in the amount they 
protrude so that one side won't be heavier then the other. This is important 
to maintain the center of balance for the piece. Set the head aside to dry.


 
 


When the head and the body are dry, try fitting the head on the skewer 
of the body to make sure that it fits the way that you would like it to. If  
it looks good, take your e6000 glue and glue it on to the skewer. Set it 
aside to dry overnight.





Take your piece after the glue dries and cover up where the head
and the neck meets with the clay. This would be the time to build
up other pieces of your sculpture that you would like to fix.





Start working on the features of the face. I usually start working on the top
lip, let it begin to dry a bit and the begin working on the lower lip. 





I decided to sculpt the eyes closed. Make sure to try to keep
a sense of symmetry with the placing of the eyes. 





Scraping off the bottom of the lid to keep it to the same size as the
other one. Set the piece aside to dry again.





Use sandpaper to smooth down your piece. if you wish, this would be
the best time to paint your piece and seal it with varnish. I choose to leave it.





You should start out with at least 3 feet of wire, the longer the better. 
You can always cut off the wire that you don't need at the end. 
Take your wire and make a tight fold at the end so that 
there aren't any sharp parts sticking out. 





Start coiling up the wire in circles like a spring. Start with larger circles at
the bottom and get gradually smaller as you work your way up. You may 
need pliers to help you along the way, smooth out bends and try to 
shape the wire in a smooth circular pattern.





When you feel that your spring is at a good height, begin to run the top 
part of the wire through the tunnels that you made on the torso and the 
shoulders of the doll in the beginning of the tutorial. Run the wire from
the middle and make a loop up to the top as shown above. 




This is the hard part, getting your piece to be in balance. You will need to 
keep adjusting the coil of your spring to get the piece to sit right in the 
center of it. This part took me about an hour to get right, keep working 
on it until you get to a place that you are happy. 

This piece should be balanced in weight on the front and the back 
to make this work. If you are adding hair, keep it to a minimal so
 that the majority of the weight isn't in the back of the piece!





I added a little bit of reinforcement to the bottom of the piece with a 
thin piece of wire. Forcing the coil to keep it's shape and height at the 
bottom adds a ton of stability, this will help if you are having an issue 
getting the piece to stand up straight on it's own.




Here is the finished piece!


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 

See more of my work at Melandolly.com, catch updates on 
my Instagram page and here is a link to my shop!




Friday, December 11, 2020

Paddy O'Malley the Christmas Mouse

 

Paddy O'Malley the Christmas Mouse


Some projects are worth repeating especially when my latest video isn't working.

It's Second Friday and time for another tutorial.  Sharing some tips and tricks.  

Paddy O'Malley the Christmas Mouse is ready to make an appearance this Christmas.  He loves to help out with the decorations.  





SUPPLY LIST:
Creative Paperclay®
Paper Mache' box or wood box for drum
Acrylics paints
assorted paint brushes
basic clay tools  
tinsel
small ornaments
18 gauge wire
tin foil
masking tape
glue
small wooden skewers 
small bowl of water
2" and 4" foam ball
fine grit sandpaper

Follow this link for a video of the sculpting process and well as the still pictures below with text.  




I started by painting the box to look like a drum and decided where I wanted the mouse to stand and poked a couple of holes in the top to secure the legs.  The larger ball is the body, with 2 wooded skewers as the legs.  

18 gauge wire passed through the body where you would imagine shoulders to be.  Another skewer placed where the neck would be and the smaller foam ball placed on top as the head.  Adjust to where you like it.  


I work on the body and head separately in the beginning.   Here I have covered the body in  Creative Paperclay® and while it drys I'm working on the eye sockets of the head.  just pressing a ball tool in the foam or use your thumbs.  

making small loops for ears and pressing them into the foam.  Kinda Mickey Mouse ears.   Cover with masking tape and then clay.  


I cover foam with masking tape because there is less cracking of the clay as it dries.  I find the foam absorbs the moisture quickly and causes the clay to have more cracks, thus more repair work to do.  

Start adding clay to the bottom of the skewer and add little fun toes.  


Roll out some clay and start to construct a santa like coat.  I made three separate pieces.  One across the back and one for the right and left side of the jacket front.  At the bottom I used a straight tool to add texture.  Making is look like fur lining.  




While the jacket dries I move on the the head.  This takes some time and everyone will have a different look.  Just have fun with it.  

Adding that tin foil to the arm wire.  This adds strength and gives the clay something to hang on to.  Pose the arms the way you like.  I knew I wanted him holding the garland, so I made sure I had the arms arranged in a way that it looked natural.  


Cover the arms with clay, add texture and seams.  


Finally he will need a nice fur collar.  So add a snake of clay to circle the neck area and add the texture.  

Add a hat if you want. I created a tin foil hat and covered int he same fashion as the jacket adding the fur around the base.  

And you're done!   Let him dry before sanding and painting.  Spruce up the drum by adding your design.  

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  You can see other things I create by visiting my various social media sites and my Etsy store and website.  If you have questions you can always shoot me an email.  


Contact: Susiewhc@gmail.com
Facebook and Instagram search @artbysusiek
https://artbysusiek.com Here you can sign up for my Creative Breakfast Club
www.artbysusiek.etsy.com
https://www.pinterest.com/susiewhc/

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Creative PaperClay Ugly Christmas Sweater
By Linda Hess




Do you want to make an easy, peasy lemon squeezy ornament or package tie?  Then this is the project for you!  

Materials:
Creative PaperClay
acrylic roller
some kind of texture (shown: rubber stamp) Other options: scrubbie sponge, dotting tool, fabric, sandpaper...use your imagination
Ugly Sweater cutter (I found mine at Walmart)
Funwire
ornament top with hanger (repurposed from a broken ornament)
paper towel
water
plastic wrap or Ziploc baggie
Optional: cooling rack, school glue or tacky glue


Step 1: Open the package of Creative PaperClay and pull off a bit.  Wrap the rest of the package tightly in plastic wrap or in a Ziploc baggie.  Make sure to press all of the air out or you will be sorry!  Use the acrylic roller to flatten the clay on your work surface to about 1/8" thick.  Impress the entire surface with the texture.  


Step 2: Turn the clay sheet over and cut out one sweater.  Remove the excess clay and squeeze into a ball.  Dampen the paper towel with water, squeezing out excess.  Pull a bit off the ball of clay and wrap the remained in the damp paper towel to keep it moist.


Step 3: Roll a long snake on your work surface.  If the clay develops cracks, dip your fingers into some water before rolling.



Step 4: Fold the snake in half.  Then twist.  


Repeat, rolling the snake and then twisting.  If you want to create the knitted sweater design be sure to roll the folded snake in opposite directions (twist away from you, twist towards you).  Alternating the twist will create the illusion that you knitted the clay (Shhh, keep it a secret).


Please note: if the clay cracks as you twist, dip your finger into water and rub on the cracked area.  This should "mend" the crack.  


Step 5: Begin lining up twists on the cutout sweater.  I recommend dipping your finger into water and rubbing it on the cutout sweater before adding each twist.  


See the loop at the top?  That is from the repurposed ornament hanger.  Place it on the sweater cutout and then place the twists on top of it.  Notice the neck of the sweater?  After a twist is placed, slightly flatten the clay to help attach the layers.


Continue adding twists until the sweater cutout is covered.


Step 6: Use the cutter to recut the sweater.  Pull away excess clay and place it into the damp paper towel.



Almost done!  Now for a few fine-tuning details.  What is an Ugly Sweater without its decorations?  Remember the top of the broken ornament?  Flatten the metal part to create a shimmery snowflake.  It can be attached with tacky glue or a small wire poked through the center holes.


Add a couple of wires or some other trim to the neck of the sweater.


Finally, roll a few thin snakes from the leftover clay (remember the damp paper towel?) and place them around the neck, along the sleeve cuffs, and along the bottom of the sweater.  Just as before, a little water with act as glue to help the adhesion.


Do you want to see the back??


That's it, all done!  I place my ornaments on a cooling rack to dry since this allows the air to circulate the piece and assure even drying.  Leave it along for 24-48 hours.  If any of the pieces are loose or come off, a bit of school glue or tacky glue will be the perfect fix.