It is all in the Details

Storytelling is a very important aspect of my art as a narrative mixed media artist. Creative Paperclay® helps me tell my stories by being able to cast objects or create stamped shapes. Although I paint the clay, I really love the beauty of it in the raw stage.

SUPPLIES

Art surface
Creative Paperclay®
Acrylic Paints
Molds
Stamps
Foil & Adhesive optional

One wing symbolizes in search of completion. I think we spend our life searching to fill in our stories. Next comes the painting of my clay areas. I start by coating them with polymer medium when they have dried. On the body I applied a gold rub over the blue. The wing was painted then I applied holographic foil to it using adhesive size. That it what the white areas are on the crown.

Next step was to cast more objects. Once they are dry I will clean them up with either my dremel or SandIts then paint them.

Dream in Color

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Ed Hardy Inspired Coffee Mug created with Paperclay

Good Morning!

Today's Creative Paperclay ® mug project was inspired by the artistry of Ed Hardy.

Supplies

Creative Paperclay®
Rubber stamp
Clay cutting tools
Clay roller
Sanding tools
Dishwasher safe decoupage
Chalk board paint
Metallic red acrylic paint
White acrylic paint 
Painters tape
E-6000 glue
White coffee mug
Alcohol
Cotton balls
Silver acrylic marker
Black acrylic marker

Directions 

1. Clean off the coffee mug with a cotton ball dipped in alcohol. Let it dry.
2. Apply painters tape to the top 1/2 inch of the mug.
3. Paint the mug and handle with chalk paint. Remove the tape and let dry.

4. Roll out a clay sheet then push the rubber stamp into the clay.

 

 5. Cut around the impression.

6. Lay the clay piece over the mug and put in a 175 degree oven for 45 min or until clay turns white and is dry.

7. When cool take the clay off the mug.
8. Sand and then wipe your clay piece down to remove any clay dust.
9. Paint the clay piece and let dry.

9. Seal the all sides of the clay with dishwasher safe decoupage.
10. Glue the clay piece on the mug.

I hope this tutorial inspired you to create yourself a coffee mug embellishment.

Happy Creating,
Shari

Art Dice - Inspirational and Educational

I am lucky enough to be my youngest grandson's art teacher (I may have mentioned this one or two times before ☺) While researching project ideas for his lessons, I was inspired to create these art dice from the book "Tinkerlab - A Hands on Guide for Little Inventors" by Rachelle Doorley.   As she explains in the book "Art dice games are a creative way to jump-start drawing.  Every toss of the dice becomes an opportunity to explore and expand art vocabulary, drawing skills, color recognition, and shape identification."  Of course I don't see any reason they have to be just for kids, I think they can also be a way to practice or try something new in creating my own drawings as well - throwing one or all of them - could be a great way to try a limited palette or try a new style.

Or, you can make dice for any game you choose -  Some suggestions for other types are at the end of this post.

To make the dice you will need:

Creative Paperclay® modeling material

sanding block with coarse or medium grit sandpaper

file or emery board

cardboard

craft knife

ruler

pencil

paints

varnish

plan or pattern - the themes for these dice are:

• Shapes- square, circle, oval, heart, rectangle & triangle)
• Lines - vertical, diagonal, zigzag, wavy, spiral, and dots
• Colors - blue, red, green, yellow, purple, orange

My dice are 1" square, so the instructions will be for those proportions.  If you want larger or smaller dice adjust accordingly.

Begin with a 1/8" thick, flat, dry sheet of clay (for my instructions on how to make a flat sheet click here)

Measure and mark the grids for your die or dice.  If desired, carve a design or indentation into each side.

Cut the squares apart.  Measure and mark cardboard - for each die you will need two 2" square pieces of cardboard with a one inch square cut out of the center

Using the sanding block, sand each side of each square towards the center at any angle greater than 45° (this goes pretty quickly with coarse grit sandpaper, so make sure you don't sand too much off the edge!)  Go as close to the edge of the square as you can though, without losing the edge.

Now test fit four of the squares into your cardboard square form as shown -

If they all fit, wet the connecting sides of each square and place in the form.  Add the second square of cardboard over the first.

Now re-wet an inside corner and apply a roll of clay

Press the clay firmly into the corners to join the pieces, and repeat with remaining corners.  Pull the second piece of cardboard up to the top of the clay square and set it aside to dry.

When the clay is dry, remove the cardboard forms, clean off any stray bits of clay and file the inside corners at an angle (if needed).

Now test fit the top and bottom squares.  You will most likely have to file the edges of these down a bit and increase the angle of the interior of the square to get them to fit within the cardboard forms again.  When you've finished adjusting the top and bottom pieces, make a mixture of clay and water to the consistency of thick paste.  Wet the top rim of the square and the edges of the piece you are adding.  Place a heavy layer of your paste mixture along the inside of the cube then place the top section on and press firmly.  Repeat with bottom piece, then place the entire cube back into the cardboard form to hold the cube together securely while it dries.

When all is dry, remove from the form and sand any rough spots or clean up as necessary.  Paint as desired.

To play with the dice, throw one or all three, then draw a picture using the elements shown on the dice.  It's up to you and the other people you are playing with as to how strict you want to be with the elements - just suggestions? or perhaps you want to play with a timer and each person HAS to use all three of the elements in his or her drawing.  

Blue, Triangle, Diagonal Lines, Go!

Some other suggestions for creative dice making:

• Animal dice - each person would have to act like that animal, make a noise like them, or say a fact.
• Story dice - make dice with different pictures pasted on them and the players have to make up a story about what comes up - or, paste pictures of family and friends on the die or dice and then their photo comes up they have to tell a story (about themselves, or, make something up)
• Monster dice - one or two dice with the names of body parts - eyes, legs, antennae, teeth, etc. one with numbers, and one with colors.  Players make a picture of a monster with whatever they roll, for example, green monster with 6 eyes.

The possibilities are limitless!  The author of "Tinkerlab" suggests textures, emotions, movements, etc.

Thanks for joining me here again!  As always, play, experiment, and have fun!

Tori

Find me on Facebook, or peruse & ponder pics with me on Pinterest

Fortune Cookies in Clay

I wanted to make fortune cookie place holders for a New Years dinner party but this would work all year round.  I had fun making the faux cookies and writing the fortunes. For the fortunes I just typed them out on my computer then printed and cut them.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Texture Plate
Brayer
Wax Paper
Fortunes
Acrylic paint

I started by rolling out a ball of the clay between two sheets of wax paper using my hands first to squish it down then the brayer.

Next I laid a texture plate over it and brayered it to add texturev

I cut the circle shape with the lid from one of my art products. Using wet fingers, I smoothed out the edges.

I folded it over then grabbed two ends to fold in to make the cookie shape. When it dried, I painted it and added the fortune. It was fun and the dinner guests loved it.

Dream in Color

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Shari's Creative PaperclayTip of the Month - January 2017

Hi!

Welcome to my Creative Paperclay® tip of the month for January. Can you believe it's 2017 already?!?

When finishing my paperclay pieces, I absolutely love my Sandits® tools. They are great for getting into those places that sandpaper just cant touch. They come in a several shapes and grit. They are one of my "go to" tools for paperclay.

Recently I was sanding a piece and came to an area that I could not reach with any of my tools. Nothing would get to the area I needed to have finished. Then I thought of a great idea. I got out my fingernail files. It worked!

Fingernail files come in several different grits, you can cut them to any shape you need, they bend easily to get into those hard to reach spots, and they are very inexpensive.

I hope this little tip might help the next time you are working with Creative Paperclay®.

Happy Creating!

Shari

January First Friday Fan Day

Need some inspiration for your next Creative Paperclay® project? Check out what folks are making with Creative Paperclay™.

	Heart House Necklace Contemporary Woodland Animals Painted Hearts
	Clay Owls (not just for Christmas!!) Mermaids Snowman
	Paperclay Embellishment

HELP US FIND YOU!!

1. Use the hashtag #CreativePaperclay on all your social networks.
2. When using Facebook, be sure the your posts and images using the #Creative Paperclay hashtag are set to public, otherwise we won't be able to find you.
3. Share your projects on the Creative PaperClay® Facebook page.

I'm always trolling the web, looking for great Creative Paperclay® projects. If you find something, post it on our Facebook page.

GOT QUESTIONS???

Find the answers to your paperclay questions. See what other folks are creating. Stop by our Facebook group and say, "Hi!" Creative Paperclay Q&A

Carole

Tori's Tip - Simple Relief Carving

Happy New Year, friends! 

Later this month I will be showing you how to create a set of "art dice".  I have chosen to do a relief carving in the center of each side of my dice, and although it isn't necessary to do this to complete the project, I'm sharing the how-to for my monthly tip.

This type of carving, done on dry clay, can be used for many different types of projects, including page embellishments, boxes, etc.

Bonus tip - I've included a diagram for making your own sculpting/scraping tool :)

Thanks for joining me here again!  As always, play, experiment, and have fun!

Tori

Find me on Facebook, or peruse & ponder pics with me on Pinterest