Friday, April 15, 2011

Check out these super duper Creative Paperclay Projects and Tutorials with Gourds!!!

I hope that you all read these tutorials with a forgiving mind as this is the first time that I've EVER posted a tutorial!! But here we go:

In my first gourd and paperclay tutorial I will be making a mask. Indian mask?, Egyptian mask? African mask? lol You tell me, but I will say it was fun. To start with you have to get a gourd that you think will work for a mask. I picked this "Martin" gourd. See how moldy they are to start with?After you scrub all that moldy stuff off of them you also have to clean the insides out by scraping ( a lot ). You should really wear a mask anytime you are dealing with gourd dust as you can develop respiratory problems if you don't. It doesn't bother all people but it really does some. Better to be safe than sorry I say. Then I cut the gourd in half and used one half for the mask. See how clean the inside and outside are? .....................................................
The next step was to cut out my eyes and mouth and play with the paperclay until I came up with these neat embellishments. LOL How do you like the lips??

The paperclay was the fun part. In this case I fashioned the eyebrows, nose and lips freehand. I apply the paperclay to my gourds by simply making sure that my gourd is WET where I want the clay to go and make sure that the back of the paperclay is WET also. Easy Peasy, just stick one to the other!!!! I've never had any of the paperclay come loose because as the clay drys (let it dry for a day or two depending upon how thick the clay is) it bonds to the gourd. If a part should ever come loose, I recommend using E6000 or something similar to reattach it.  Once my lovely mask was dry, I used dye on the face and ink on the paperclay to give it color........................................
The eyes were pieces of gourd that I glued to the inside and used glitter glue on for color.

Doesn't he still look a little bare?? Well after the color dried, I sealed the mask with a water based polyurethane sealer and then drilled holes in which I put feathers and ....... yep, you guessed it an old pair of hoop earrings with some little feathers glued to it.                                       Now then isn't this guy good looking or what??????


 My next tutorial is on a very small gourd which I made into a trinket box. I know a lady who has been wanting Victorian so I thought I would try to come up with something.  The first process is the same as for the mask in that you clean the outside of your gourd, cut out your top and clean out the inside. I then started out with this........................................
Now this container was very "thin" so the gourd shell needed some reinforcing. Normally I would use a mixture of glue and paint on the inside but I wanted to try something different. Instead I decoupaged a piece of flowered scrapbook paper with
"Collage Pauge" instant decoupage which is a water-resistant glue, sealer and finish all in one! When that was finished and dry, I started to work on the outside and in this project I used clay molds to create some flowers, leaves, and a face which I attached to the gourd while they were still damp. I used the same technique to attach the paperclay, wet to wet and let it dry overnight. Here's what it looked like after the paperclay molds were applied..........................................
Starting to look good isn't it??? Once dry, I used paints to color the flowers, leaves and face that were made from Paperclay,  PLUS I used a paint on the outside of the gourd itself. Then I took that stem off that I had been using to hold while painting and added a little glass stone for a knob and some extra little something around the face and voila' it's done????? Oops not until I get a base for it to set on and here it is!!





Well now what do you think? I was very happy with the results of both projects and of course I love to work with Creative Paperclay!!! If you have any questions on the projects that I've just posted please don't hesitate to ask a question.
Barbara

To make things even more interesting and fun this weekend why don't you check out what all the other members of the Artsy Bloggers group have been up to:

Check out this easy journal background! Taz's Corner!

The final chapter of Cyndi's e-book is now available! "Fibers, Fabrics, and Beads" challenges you to integrate all the fiber arts that you already love with your bead embroidery!



A Creative Dreamer
Just a reminder that the visual journal June created all through is going to given away to one lucky follower! But you have to hurry... the give away ends at midnight on Saturday!


Moore (Gourd) Whimsies
Last Day for the Giveaway!

Make a Fish Cake
If you have a fisherman in the family they'll love this fun cake idea!


Made by Nicole
Nicole shares a mixed-media art piece that is filled love for family and friends.


The Artful Crafter - Eileen Bergen
Make these darling lamb place card holders for Easter or any special spring dinner. So cute!

Homemade Mirrors with Poetry
It's National Poetry Month! In honor of that, Cherie is showing off a mirror she made using lines from one of her poems.


Kim = Flowers and Art
Kim loves dollhouses! Come see a miniature chandelier she altered to give it more style!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful tutorials thank you for sharing them! I especially love the trinket box, gorgeous!

Kim said...

Barbara- I love them both!!! I have some gourds hanging in my craft room from my garden and I never thought of making a mask with them. I really want to try this now! Beautiful work and your tutorial is perfect :)

Proxxon Tools said...

amazing projects...

glor said...

This was wonderful! I love them both and especially the trinket box. Adding this to what I have to try and do. I just love these. You are talented in what you make and in the instructions too. Thank you.

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

The earrings are a hoot!

I love the little trinket box. I have one bought in the Caribbean 20 or 30 years ago.

Gourd crafts seemingly last forever!

Thank you for the tips on paper clay.

Deneen said...

Very cool. I have to find some gourds around here and try this out. Thanks for posting the links and the tutorial. I plan to pick up some Creative Paperclay to play a bit and see what I can come up with, sans gourds.

Doris Sturm said...

How generous of you to share your skills on here - I've never heard of a Martin gourd and probably wouldn't even find one around here... to me it almost looks like an Asian pear.

MarissArt Dollmaker said...

Hello Barbara! I love, love, love your projects here. I have always wondered about using gourds in my artwork...and now I know where I can go to learn about gourds! I can't wait to see more of your work! :) Many Blessings, Marissa