Delightful Little Monsters - by Tori West

My youngest grandson loves monsters - he loves to draw them, make up stories about them, etc.  I am lucky enough to be his art teacher via Skype, so I decided we should try making our own.  We used Delight™ Air Dry Modeling Compound, materials found around the house, and lots of silliness and imagination to come up with our creations.

Tools and materials for monster making:

-  Delight™Air Dry Modeling Compound
-  newspaper, or other scrap paper
-  scraps of cardboard and/or card stock
-  white glue
-  rocks that have been washed - size is up to you.  The ones we used were about 1" to 1 1/2"
-  decorative glass filler material pieces
(flat on bottom and rounded on top,
available from most hobby stores
in the floral department)
-  scissors
-  hole punch & black construction paper
-  chenille stems
-  masking tape
- acrylic paints/paintbrushes
- your favorite sculpting tools
-  Creative Paperclay® modeling material for teeth if you choose to give your monster some teeth
- optional - work board or surface you can leave the monster attached to while you are working on it

To begin the monster, decide how many legs you'd like it to have then select some suitable rocks for the feet.  Wrap 2 chenille stems around the rocks and twist them together to form the legs.  If you want longer legs, twist in more chenille stems as you go.

Next make a body shape from crumpled newspaper and wrap with a layer of paper.  Tape that together, then spread the top of the stems on the legs apart just enough to be able to put the body shape on top.  Tape your assembly together.  

If you want arms and hands for your monster, push some twisted 

chenille stems into the body and then glue or tape some cardboard cut-out hand shapes to the ends.

Glue on a layer of newspaper strips to strengthen the body and secure it to the legs and arms.  If your monster is large, you may want to add two layers of glue/newspaper over top.

While the glue is drying you might want to sculpt some teeth.  Creative Paperclay® is a better choice for this since it is harder and can hold it's shape better.  Not having a specific plan in mind (because that is the most fun way to make monsters) I just sculpted a bunch of teeth - some pointy, some flat, various sizes, etc.

When the glue on the monster body is dry, begin covering the monster with Delight™ starting with the bottom of the feet and working upwards.  Use small pieces of clay and work your way up a little bit at a time.  I stuck my monster down on a work board so I don't have to keep picking him up and having the legs dangle while I'm working on it.  If you have trouble getting the clay to stick when you come to the body section, add a thin layer of glue and let that get tacky before adding more clay.  Again, it is helpful to add small bits at a time rather than trying to cover large areas at once.

Add the teeth and eyes to your sculpture, but set the teeth in lightly so they can be removed when it's time to paint the monster.  The eyes are made by placing a black punched construction paper circle on the clay and then adding the glass filler bead over it.

Before painting, remove the teeth and place in order on a strip of tape.
I also numbered them and marked a "T" or "B" on the backs (for top or bottom row)
just in case they came loose from the tape.
***He looks a little worried about his teeth*** 

Paint as desired and replace teeth!

I'd love for you to join me for more projects & art adventures on my personal blog

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My Eye Is On You Valentine, By Diane

Hello Creative friends! 
Diane here with a fun Valentine project . This is a project that is "KID FRIENDLY" ages 4 and up, with a little help and guidance from an adult.
And what could be more fun for a kid to make, then a ONE EYED MONSTER!

Let's get started, shall we?

 SUPPLIES:  Here in the pic are the main supplies. There are a few supplies I don't have pictured and I will list them as well.

1.Cookie Cutters (Sesame Street) I purchased mine on eBay but any monster like cookie cutter will do. You can even use just a plain circle cookie cutter, in the end it will still be a cute "One Eyed Monster".
2. Paper straws- available at Walmart or any craft store.
3. Delight modeling Material. I chose this clay over Creative Paperclay® because it's light, and since it will be in children s little hands, it's less likely to break if dropped. You can purchase Delight Modeling Material here.
4. Googly eyes- I purchased mine at the $ Store.
5. A small heart cookie cutter or stamp - I also purchased my heart stamps at the $ Store.
6. Craft Paint. Purple and Pink.- at any Walmart or craft store.
7. Black Sharpie.- at any Walmart or craft store.

SUPPLIES not pictured: 
1. child scissors
2. glue dots
3. Card-stock scraps
4. Wax paper
5. Rolling pin
6. Hot glue gun for the adult.
7. Wet Rag for wiping your hands.
8. Foil wrapped Chocolate Hearts

Step 1-  Lay a piece of wax paper down as your work surface.With adult help add some paint to the Delight. Let those little hands mix it up. Then shape into a ball and flatten slightly. kids love this step.

Step 2-  Clean the tiny hands off with the wet rag .Lay a piece of wax paper over your colored ball of Delight and begin to roll it out. You will want it to be a minimum of 1/4" thick. Remove wax paper and cut out your Monster shapes.

 Step 3- Using your heart stamp or cookie cutter, lightly make an indentation for cheeks, as shown in pic above.
Now you can let your little Monsters dry thoroughly. Turning them every so often will keep them from curling.

Step 4- This step may require help from an adult if a child is making them.  Monsters are imperfect little creatures and squiggly wiggly mouths and cheeks are always super awesome, especially when a kid creates it.
Create the facial details by dry brushing or painting the outside edge of your Monsters face purple.Then with the same purple paint, create a smile going from one point of the heart to the other point of the heart as in above pic. Then, paint in your hearts with pink paint. Lastly, go back over your mouth you previously created with purple paint, but this time use your sharpie.This just defines the mouth.

 Step 5- Hooray for the "EYEBALL"!  Put a glue dot in the center and press an eyeball on that monster.

 Step 6-  An adult can hot glue the straws to the back of the Monster. Leave about 3/4" of your straw at the top of the Monsters head. This will create his hair . Now, make 3 cuts and slightly bend down. Your Monster now has hair.

Step 7-  For the Bow-tie, I took 2 candy hearts, points together and traced around, leaving about an 1/8" edge, this gave me a bow-tie template. I  traced as many as I needed onto card-stock and cut them out. This is where the kids scissors come in handy and kids love to cut things out.
Lastly,  dry brush the edge of the cut out bow-ties using your purple paint.

 Step 8- Take another piece of your scrap card-stock, preferably a different color and cut out strips 4 and  1/4" long and 3/4" wide. Then with your sharpie you can write your message. My "EYE" is on you Valentine. You can also print these on your computer if desired.

Step 9- Using your glue dots, add your wrapped candy hearts.

Step 10-  An adult can hot glue the tag to the straw, then the candy bow-tie.

YOUR DONE!  Now you have some sweet Valentines for all the Lil' Monsters that bring you joy .

Thanks so much for stopping by the Creative Paperclay® Blog today. I encourage you to visit often, as there is always a fun new project or tip from our Design team.
And in case you haven't heard, The Creative Paperclay® Blog is having a Blog Hop Link Party February 8th Mark your calendars!
There will be fun projects from the Designs Team and I believe there will be a drawing or two.
And as always, your welcome to visit me at my place.
Happy creating,
~Diane