Alice Inspired Pin Cushion for Mom

 Good Morning!

If you have a Mom who likes to sew then this cute teacup pin cushion gift will be a real winner!

It doesn't matter how old you are, mom will always cherish something handmade by you. She still has a shoebox full of magnificent drawings you created in elementary school .... am I right?

Here is what you will need

Creative Paperclay®
Sandpaper
Sandits®
Styrofoam ball
Poly fiberfill
Fabric
Plastic flowerpot
Baking spray
Sewing pins
Needle and thread
Americana Muti-surface paint®
Mod Podge®
 E6000 glue

Let's get started

Making the cup
1. Lightly spray a plastic flower pot with baking spray so that your paperclay will not stick.
2. Roll out a sheet of paperclay and drape over the flower pot.
3. Trim off excess.
4. Smooth out paperclay using water on your fingertips
5. Cut a strip of paperclay and roll it to form a solid tube. (This will be for your handle)
6. When dry smooth out the cup more (if needed) using a fine grit sandpaper. The handle had a lot of  curves. I found it was easier to finish using Sandits®.
7. Paint your pieces and decorate to your liking.
8. Attach the handle to the cup using E6000 glue.
9. Mod Podge the entire piece to seal.

Making the pin cushion 
1.Cut a square piece of fabric large enough to wrap around your ball.
2.Wrap some fiberfill around the styrofoam ball.
3.Wrap your fabric around the ball to hold the fiberfill on pinning in place.
4. Take a needle and thread and stitch together at the bottom of the ball gathering excess as you go.
5. Remove the pins.
6. Glue the finished fabric covered ball into the cup using E6000 glue.

Top view of the finished pin cushion

Thanks for following along with the creation of my quirky Alice in Wonderland inspired pin cushion.

Happy creating!
Shari

I have been creating art for as long as I can remember. I studied graphic design in Portland, Oregon before moving to Denton, Texas and putting all my focus on creating mixed media art. In addition to being on the Creative Paperclay design team, I am a contributor for the Robin's Nest Design Team, an article writer for Mixed Media Art, and a blogger for DecoArt.

I strongly believe in giving back. I volunteer at Scrap Denton Creative Reuse Center where I teach workshops, art camps, and perform art demos. I am very passionate about mixed media art and enjoy helping and watching others discover their creativity.

Follow more of my creative journey on My Altered Life's blog and My Altered Life on FB

Heart In Hand For Mom by Diane

Hello creative friends!
 It's great to be back this month to share a fun and easy project with you.
This would be great for a Mothers day gift and can be tailored to your Mother's specific style and colors.

Heart In Hand Picture...

Getting started, you will need to gather a few supplies;
Creative Paperclay®. to purchase click here or go to any Hobby Lobby or Michaels store.
Basic sculpting tools.
paintbrush.
Hot glue or E6000.
Saran wrap.
Sharp knife or toothpick.
Scissors.
Your desired paint colors.
Your desired heavy cardstock.
A piece of paper for a template.
An old doily (optional)
styrofoam.
Frame
and Composimold ( if you want to make several molds of hands). to purchase Composimold go here.
Baby powder if using a mold.

This step is optional:
Because I wanted to use this frame for many projects, I decided to create a mold using ComposiMold.

Using a sharp knife, I cut out a piece of Styrofoam and placed it snuggly in the center of my frame.

I created my mold according to the directions on the ComposiMold product. However, in using the ComposiMold several times with other projects, I have found that using your mold release generously gives excellent results. For one of my tutorials using ComposiMold, where I go more in depth visit here.

After I created my mold, I made a cast using Creative Paperclay®. ( keep in mind, you will want to dust your mold with baby powder before you push your clay into the mold ).

Allow the clay to set about 10-15 minutes before removing from the mold.
Then, off to the oven at 200 degrees, turning over if needed to prevent curling or bending.
Bake until dry.

While the frame is in the oven,
Make a hand template and cut it out. I drew this hand, but it would also be so cute to use the outline of a childs hand.
 Roll out your clay on a piece of saran wrap to about 1/4-1/2" thick. place your template onto the clay and cut out with a sharp knife or toothpick.

With a wet paintbrush smooth and round out your edges.

With a toothpick create the fingernail on the thumb, and the cuff. then set aside.

Roll out more clay and cut out a heart using your toothpick or you can use a cookie cutter if desired. It can be as small or large as you like, you can judge by looking at the hand you just made.

Using a toothpick, I did a quick free hand design on the heart, then smoothed a bit with water.
Then, off to the oven for the hand and heart.. 200 degrees until done, turning if needed.

After the pieces were dry and cooled, I painted them using acrylic craft paint, then sealed each of them with a mod podge sealer.

Putting it all together, I created the back by making an oval backing using heavy card-stock, then cut and attached my desired colored card-stock to the heavy card-stock. I then cut the doily to fit and glued it onto the colored card-stock, then attached the hand and heart.

As you can see this quick and fun project can be done in so many fun and cute ways, this is just a basic design and tutorial that I've made, but your creativity and colors will make it your own.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Diane
Dianie Mac Designs