Caterpillar's Mushroom by Rachel Whetzel

Hello! It's Rachel Whetzel. Today, I'm sharing the process of creating a base for a future Art Doll I have plans to make. I have made a lot of Alice in Wonderland themed dolls. I've made Alice, in various ways, I've made the Queen of Hearts, and the Cheshire Cat. I've made the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter, and I've always wanted to make the Caterpillar. The thing is, the mushroom has always gotten the better of me. Until now.

In my tip earlier this month, I shared a bit about creating the bones of a structure, and how to help make it strong. I also utilized items I had on hand, and some I had thrifted.

I also went on line, and did some research on the Amanita muscaria mushroom, and used pictures like the one below for reference and inspiration.

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Amanita-muscaria.htm

WHAT YOU'LL NEED to make your own Caterpillar's Mushroom:

• Something to form the bones of your piece. I used a large wooden candle holder, and an old plant tray
• Newspaper
• Tape
• Creative Paperclay®
• Paints. I used Krylon spray for the red, and acrylic craft paints for the rest
• Knife or something straight to press into wet clay
• Sandpaper

To get started, I further filled out my base using news paper and tape as I have shown you HERE and HERE. Then I got to work covering the whole piece in clay.

Once the whole piece was dry, I filled in any cracks, and then added another layer of clay to the underside of the mushroom. Once I had that layer of clay added, I used a Dough scraper to put lines in the clay to form the gills of the mushroom.

I used water to smooth out the edges of the gills. When I was finished, they looked like this:

Then I added the edge to the mushroom, and when the edge was finished, I pulled the gills to the VERY underside of the top.

Once I had the general shape and feel I wanted, I let my piece dry overnight, and sanded it. When I had sanded the piece into well, I wiped it down with a wet washcloth, and spray painted the top of the piece with red spray paint.

As you can see, I also sanded the wooden candle base that has become the mushroom stem in order to prepare it for paint. Then I cleaned up the overspray of my red paint, and put stripes on the stem to add a whimsical touch to the piece. While the stripes dried, I added spots to the top of the mushroom.

Once all my paints had dried, I used some Valspar antiquing paint to add depth to the gills of the mushroom, and onto the stem as well!

I may end up muting the antiquing paint with a bit of white paint later, but for now, I like the way it turned out!! I can't wait to create the Caterpillar and his Hookah and place them on this cutie.
Leave me a comment and let me know! I would love for you to visit me at my "house" too!! Thank you so much for reading!! ~rachel

Repurposing a Busted up Bust

Hello! It's Rachel Whetzel here. While I was on the Amazing Mold Putty design team, I created some decorations for my sister's wedding. When the wedding was over, she mentioned wishing she had a neat way to display her birdcage veil. That is when the idea for this bust was born.

SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED:

• A junked out old styrofoam head/bust.
• Old book pages.
• Creative Paperclay® modeling material
• Glue (I used Elmer's)
• Craft Paints in brown, black and red (I used Folk Art)

I started my project with a junked out old styrofoam head I bought at a thrift store forever ago. It was very much worse for wear, but that won't matter for this project!

To create interest in the piece, and to make it more feminine, I used Creative Paperclay® to add hair and very slight facial features to the bust. I also changed the shape of the base by adding "shoulders" to the bottom.

Once the clay was dry, I didn't even bother sanding. (which for me is rare, because sandpaper and I LOVE us some Creative Paperclay®) Next, I glued torn bits of book pages over the whole piece. I use my fingers to apply the paper and glue. I have the most control this way, and I can work the paper most easily over the contours of the bust. To keep your fingers from sticking, keep the glue wet, and apply it liberally over the top of everything as you go.

The next step was to paint the bust. I used a wet rag, and some brown craft paint to "stain" the piece, and kept the hair area in thicker paint.

Once that was done, I added more dimension by shading the hairline with black paint, and adding just a TOUCH of red to her cheeks. I don't have my sister's veil, but she'll be able to add it similarly to the brooch I placed on the bust for the "final" picture. Now, my sister will be able to display a piece of her wedding in her house! I personally think she'd look adorable on a stack of old books inside a glass bell tower.

If you create something inspired by my project, please leave a comment with a link here, so I can come and visit to see! I would love for you to visit me at my "house" too!! Thank you so much for reading!! 

~rachel