Las Gemelas - Connected for Life  - Conjoined Twins

SUPPLIES: 

2 -7" Kidrobot Munnyworld Munny Vinyl Doll Blanks

Creative Paperclay® 

Masking Tape

Craft Knife

Gesso (I used Black Golden brand. )

Acrylic Paint (I used Liquitex and Golden. )

Paint Brushes (Gesso can be hard on brushes.  Use cheap foam brushes.) 

Sandpaper (I use 320-420 grits)

Dust Mask or Bandana – use this when sanding

Sculpting Tools are optional.  I use manicurists tools and knitting needles.  My friend Christi Friesen also makes some great tools. 

Rolling Pin or Glass Jar

Shop Rag – To smooth over clay.  

Krylon Crystal Clear Gloss Sealer

I used almost a full package of Creative Paperclay® for this project.  

I used 2 - 

7" Kidrobot Munnyworld Munny Vinyl Doll Blanks 

 (How cool would it be to use the 18" blanks?  I might have to do that next time!)

I really enjoy working with these blank dolls and Creative Paperclay®.  No need to build an armature and the Creative Paperclay® dries so quickly when it is used in such thin layers.  

The first step is getting rid of some of the extra body parts.  I used a craft knife to remove the ears, tails and one leg from one doll blank.  I also took off the arms.  I have been told that I mutilate them more than most.  The arms and ears are just too clunky for my tastes.  Also, in this case, the ears were sticking out in a way that prevented the figures to be conjoined. 

***TIP: If the vinyl is too hard to cut through, use a heat gun to warm it a bit.  It will cut like butter with a little heat. 

Next use masking tape to position your twins in a natural looking conjoined position.  The heads are kinda big so you probably need to tilt at least one of them to get them together.

Here is the back view of the taped together twins.  the tape needs to hold them together securely.  You do not want to have any give or movement when you are sculpting.  

Next tape over any openings where you cut parts off; ears, leg, and tails, arm can be left open as place holders for sculpted arms.  

Roll our pieces of Creative Paperclay®.  About 1/8 of an inch is a good thickness to work with.  It will allow for maximum coverage and quick drying,

Smooth the clay out using a rolling tool.  I like using a size 15 aluminium knitting needle.  It is one of my favorite sculpting tools.

Once you cover the entire piece use a pencil to mark off the placement of facial features and hoodie.  I like my features low and widespread for a child-like, puppy dog look.  

Centerline - Eyeline - Nose Line - Mouth Line - and Eye Placement

No need to be too fussy.  Thee are just general guidelines.

Next you will add facial features, arms, and any other desired details.  I created the face tutorial here: Sooshie Sea Star

After adding details, allow the piece to dry completely.  Lightly sand off any blemishes and fill any cracks.  Allow it to dry again.  

***TIP: The bottoms of the feet don't always dry because they are on the bottom without air circulation.  Lay the dried piece on it's side for a few hours.  Be sure to sand them down so that it stands up right.

Paint your conjoined twins with acrylic paints.  I used Golden acrylics.  If you need some tips on painting on Creative Paperclay® with acrylic paints please go to my YouTube channel for an 8 part, hour and a half, tutorial on painting a Creative Paperclay®bust with acrylic paints.

Last but not least, after they dry have a photo shoot.  Play with filters.  I think these 2 look great in black and white.  What do you think?  Please share some images with me.

Here they are ready to party with all of their little monster friends! 

If you decide to make your own please be sure to share a few photos with me!

I hope that you have enjoyed this project as much as I have!  I'll be back with more "What's On My Workbench Wednesday" fun on the first Wednesday of each month.

Come back for more cool ideas and projects!  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 then, stay cool and don’t forget the sun screen!  

Fin - The End

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                                              YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/babylalamermaid1

Creative Paperclay® Calavera Art

Time to get ready for the holidays starting with Halloween and Day of the Dead. I started by rolling out Creative Paperclay® on a masonite panel then laying a stencil over it and brayering it so the pattern would show well. Then a cast skull was glued to it with soft gel. The edges were then trimmed and smoothed with a small amount of water on my fingers then allowed to dry.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Soft Gel Gloss
Black and buff acrylic paint
Jewelry parts
Fake Flower

Black paint was applied to the surface and allowed to dry before a wash of buff paint was applied. This was followed by gluing jewelry parts and fake flower pedals down.

This would look great on the top of an ofrenda.

If you are going to create an ofrenda for Day of the Dead, here is the 3 level layout. This can all be miniaturized by creating the different ofrenda elements with the paper clay such as fruit, sweets and bottles. Be careful though. One year I made faux chocolates for a heart shape box using the clay and my husband tried to eat one.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Giving a New Face to an Old Piece of Art

Oh, my. I have so many art remnants from teaching, writing art books and experimenting. Periodically I go through them to either experiment more or to give them a new life. Man Oh Man, It's raining men, started as a piece from one of my books, Alternative Art Surfaces.

SUPPLIES

Piece of old art
Creative Paperclay®
Stamps
Stencil
Cast objects
Acrylic paint

I applied a wash of gesso over the surface to back down the image. This helped me to reclaim it and give start a new narrative. My work is all about the story.

After braying a sheet of Creative Paperclay® onto my surface, I stamped, stenciled and added cast objects. The flower was a dry cast Creative Paperclay® object while the others were damp when applied to the surface. I smooth out areas with a little water on my fingers. I wanted the escutcheon to be partially buried in the clay to give the feeling of age.

  Once it has dried, I coated it with a layer of polymer medium matte to seal the clay before painting. I finished it by lightly applying foil to the piece.

Reclaim an old piece of art that you have lying around your art space and enjoy the process of starting again.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Simplicity of Nature in Clay

I like to have a personal touch on any gift that I give. One easy way to create personalized hang tags with Creative Paperclay® using nature as my stamp. These were given to a friend who has a passion for anything blue. I used these as hang tags but they could be converted to wrap around a napkin or hang from a window/

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Blue acrylic paint
Raffia
Leaves & flowers
Brayer

I started with two wads of clay that I had flatten. I placed the flower and pine needles on top of the clay then brayered them flat.

This is how they looked when I pulled the flower and needles off the clay.

I placed a glass over the clay making the circle cutout and then made little holes for the raffia.

After removing the clay outside of the round shape, I smoothed the edges of the circle shape with a little water on my fingers.

I like simple things that have multiple uses. Plus this is a kid's perfect project.

Dream in Color.

Darlene Oliva McElroy

Change Your Mind Tips

Sometimes we change our mind. Maybe it is the concept behind the piece of art, we couldn't execute the vision we saw in our mind or ???? With Creative Paperclay®, it is easy to remove the clay if our project doesn't work out. In this case, I had added a fennec (Saharan) fox on my art piece but changed my concept for the piece. I needed to remove it so I could continue on with my painting.

SUPPLIES

Dried Creative Paperclay®
Water
Paper Towels
Metal Palette Knife/Scraper

I covered the clay with very wet paper towels and leave on until the clay softened.

Then I scrapped it off. If some of the clay is still hard just reapply the wet paper towels again.

When all the clay is removed, I can continue to work on the piece. The playing never stops.

Dream in Color.

Making an Aged Frame with Delight®

I love the marshmellowy feel of Delight®. It is perfect for the series of frames for some old tintypes to give as gifts. Delight is light when dry and takes texture well.

SUPPLIES

Delight®
Textures
Micaceous Oxide paint
Salt



Cut off strips of Delight® and push down on them to roughly form the shape of a frame.

I used rubber stamps, a latex mold and embossed wall paper to add textures to the Delight®.

After it was trimmed into a rough square shape I added some of the cut off pieces to the fron plus some cast flowers. Then I stamped it with alphabet stamps.

I finished the frame shape by painting a wash of micaceous oxide acrylic paint. While the paint was still wet, I salted it to give it a aged look. Now to find the right tintype for the window. At this point, I can still make the window larger if needed to fit the image.

Play with art and dream in color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Sometimes we change our mind. Maybe it is the concept behind the piece of art, we couldn't execute the vision we saw in our mind or ???? With Creative Paperclay®, it is easy to remove the clay if our project doesn't work out. In this case, I had added a fennec (Saharan) fox on my art piece but changed my concept for the piece. I needed to remove it so I could continue on with my painting.

SUPPLIES

Dried Creative Paperclay®
Water
Paper Towels
Metal Palette Knife/Scraper

I covered the clay with very wet paper towels and leave on until the clay softened.

Then I scrapped it off. If some of the clay is still hard just reapply the wet paper towels again.

When all the clay is removed, I can continue to work on the piece. The playing never stops.

Dream in Color.

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Texture, Texture, Everywhere

It doesn't matter where I am. I am always looking for things I can cast or use for stamps. I make marks of all kinds on squares or tiles of Creative Paperclay®. When they dry, I will try different surface techniques on them.  I found this textured roller at a local flea market. Yes, I drawers full of stamps and texture plates but this is more of an adventure for me.

SUPPLIES

Found Objects
Creative Paperclay®

On a hike I found a volcanic rock with great texture. I love the natural texture it gives to the clay.

I had a bag of gold crumbles that I decided to play with. I tried mixing it in the clay and it disappeared. So the best way is to roll out your clay and sprinkled it on the clay. The final step was to brayer it into the clay. There is so much more to explore with this but that is for a later date.
















I have drawers full of lace. I thought this would turn out differently but I do love the contemporary stamp it made. This is why we are the "mad scientist artist". I push a product to its limits and I make new discoveries all the time.

Mark making is important to me as an artist. These are rough marks made in the clay with an African porcupine quill. I can change the look just by wetting my fingers and smoothing out the marks.

I decided to use my alphabet stamps in no particular order to make a pattern. I was not trying to make words just a design. This is something that I can see using quite a bit.

I decided to raid my coin jar for a circle design in the clay. Fun.

Experiment. Be crazy. Dream in color.

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Catching a FlyAway Heart

I love using Creative Paperclay® to make a statement in my paintings. I am also fascinated by the lover's eye artwork that was popular in the late 1700's. Eye miniatures are believed to have originated when the Prince of Wales (later George IV) felt the need to send the widow Maria Fitzherbert a token of his love. This gesture and the romance that went with it was frowned upon by the court, so a miniaturist was employed to paint only the eye and thereby preserve anonymity and decorum. This theme allowed me to create a very decorated piece.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Acrylic paint
A painted base
Glass eye

 I started by applying clay to my substrate. I rolled it flat with a brayer before adding the texture with a rubber stamp and trimming the shape. I went back in with a clay shaper to add texture to the flames.

When the clay was semi-dry, I added the glass eye in a decorative shape after smoothing it with water.





















Once dry, I coated it with matte medium and painted it with acrylic paints.

Do you have someone to send a lover's eye to?

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy