Clay Tree Luminaries

These are perfect for Christmas and also wintertime decorating.  Place a tea light candle underneath for some gorgeous mood lighting on the upcoming frosty nights.  I recommend battery operated lights.

All you need is:

Creative Paperclay or Delight

Acrylic paint - green (Or whatever color you want your trees to be!)

Knife

Rolling pin

String

Pencil sheet of paper

Drinking straw or other circular hole cutter

Wrap the string around the pencil and hold it tightly then hold the other end of the string in you other hand at one corner of the paper.  Draw a half circle on the paper to create a tree template (The longer the string the larger the tree).

Take about 1/2 of a package of Delight and using your rolling pin (You can substitute a drinking glass if you don’t have a craft rolling pin) flatten out the clay.  

Once the clay is flattened as thick as you would like your tree to be use your tree template and knife to cut it out.  (note if you use Delight it does seem to really like sticking to paper so don’t press down hard on your template when cutting it out or else you will get clay stuck on your paper).  

After cutting the tree out use a straw or other cutter to cut out holes in the tree for the light to shine through.  I created more holes lower and less higher.  Be careful how close to the sides you put holes since you will need to blend the sides to create the final 3D freestanding tree shape.

Now lets make our molds into cones by rolling and taping them (and putting wax or other nonstick paper on them if you are using Delight).  Next using the cones as a base create a cone with the clay and press down to seal the trees in their 3D shape.  Now is also a great time to make any needed adjustments so that the trees will sit flat on their bases.

Let them dry out for a day or two!  

Now grab your paint and paint them!  Don’t forget to get in the holes so you don’t see the white shining through.

Once the paint is dry it is time to try lighting them up and enjoying the magic!

I would love to see all your trees!  Comment your photos below.

Cheers until next time!

Kelly Martin

www.Instagram.com/PaperHibiscus

www.PaperHibiscus.etsy.com 

How to Make a Puzzle Portrait

Hello everyone! My name is Cinnamon Willis and I am going to show you how I created this puzzle. I chose to create another piece with Alphie the Robot from one of my childhood toys. He is a reoccurring theme in some of my lighter work, but you can paint whatever you'd like for this project!

Supplies:

• Creative Paperclay®
• Wax paper or plastic wrap
• Plastic knife or Kemper straight needle
• Exacto knife
• Acrylic paint
• Sanding paper

Start by flattening out your clay. I flattened out the clay by hand but you can use a rolling pin or something similar to get it more uniform.

The next few steps need to be done while the clay is still moist! Cut the ends off of your puzzle to create a rectangle or whatever shape you decide on your puzzle being. I am using a Kemper straight needle but you can use anything you have in  your home such a a plastic knife or even a bobby pin!

I googled jigsaw puzzles online to make sure that I was creating the correct pattern for my puzzle. A bobby pin or Kemper needle would suffice for creating these shapes. Make sure that you dig deep enough when you are creating the lines on these pieces. It can be a bit difficult to separate the pieces after the clay dries without breaking them. Set the piece aside to dry.

After the puzzle dries, you may need to go back and weed out the pieces with an exacto knife. This is what it looked like after drying.

I am cleaning up some of the edges that needed to be better separated. Take your time on this part so that you don't cut into the side of the puzzle that shouldn't be cut.

This is what the pieces looked like after trimming them out.

Take your sanding paper and smooth out the rough edges. I am using a 400 grit paper here.

When you are happy with the amount of smoothness that you get from sanding, plot out your sketch with pencil to prepare to paint. Put the pieces really close together to get the best drawing that you possibly can

Start painting your pieces with acrylic paint. Make sure to paint the top as well as the sides of the puzzle. It makes a big difference when you look at the piece from the top. The white edges will distract from the picture.

Here's to another piece added to my Alphie collection!

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, catch updates on 

my Instagram page and here is a link to my shop!

A Creative Paperclay® Christmas

 Hello, 

Welcome to another blog post. I can't believe that it is the holiday season again. I have been so busy that I didn't realize it was December! Instead of making another ornament, I have put together a list of past tutorials that I have done using Creative Paperclay® or Delight Clay™.  I am sure you can find something to get you in the holiday spirit.

 

A Church for Your Christmas Village

Christmas Cookie Cutter Ornaments

A Vintage Snowman Ornament

A Santa Ornament 

Creative Paperclay® Christmas Trees

And finally, here is a bonus video -  a full tutorial on my YouTube channel.

I hope I have inspired you to get started on your Christmas decorations. Have a wonderful holiday season and I will see you in the new year. 

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 Paper Mache Patch.

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

Happy Crafting!

Suzette

Blog/website: https://www.papermachepatch.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papermachepatch/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/suzettehussey/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PaperMachePatch

Skillshare: https://skl.sh/2QyIn93