Creative Paperclay Design Team!!!

I'm sooooo excited to be able to announce today that I have been chosen to be on the "Creative Paperclay Design Team" !!! Oh my goodness I'm just beside myself!! Woooo Hooooo!!! Now you can expect to see some posts on using the paperclay on projects twice a month from me, and also posts from the other team designers! You can see my posts here on my blog but you can also see All the designers posts on the Creative Paperclay Blog. I hope you watch my posts and tutorials and I also hope that you start following the Creative Paperclay Blog 'cause who knows what's going to start happening with this new blog! I can tell you for sure that Creative Paperclay is my clay of choice and has been for years! It's really awesome to use on gourds too as you will be able to see in times to come.

So remember to follow the new Creative Paperclay Blog and myself and try this wonderful clay for yourself!


Barbara

Just got the opportunity to post the links for the Artsy Bloggers group as I've been out of town for a few days, sorry about that 'cause I know that you can't wait to check out these terrific links to the blogs .

Beading Arts

Home and Garden Cafe

How To Create a Memory Journal

Creative Dreamer

Winner of the 100 followers giveaway!

Just as I promised, there was a drawing for the 100 follower giveaway here at the house this morning! We did things the old-fashioned way, I put the numbers and names in a hat and my hubby drew out the winning name and number. And the winner is: The number two comment by Terri Sproul who said.....love your work, hope I win. Glad you got over 100. I will post on my facebook page for you....smiles. Now wasn't that sweet? Here's what the giveaway looks like........

I took two pictures of the goodies that I have for the winner! Yes the trinket box is going, along with bits and bobs and a couple of egg gourds and a small apple gourd (all of which have already been cleaned) and whatever else I can think of to fill the box.  I thought a couple of small gourds might be just the thing to get someone interested in gourds. lol Congratulations Terri on winning!! This tutorial thing has been quite fun and I hope to do much more in the future.

Barbara

And now to see what all the other Artsy Bloggers have been up to this week:

Taz's Corner- Exciting News, The Altered Book Nook is Open!

Cherie Blogs - Peeptastic Centerpiece!

Moore(Gourd)Whimsies-100th Follower Giveaway Winner!

Mixed Media Artist - A shared trip of a trip to Guatemala

Made by Nicole- How to make graffiti backgrounds using materials you have on hand.

Flowers and Art- This week Kim experiments with Monoprinting

Eileen - The Artful Crafter - Learn to dye Easter eggs naturally. Not everything has to come from a kit or a mix.

Creative Dreamer - All those Altered Books June has been doing has left her with lots of pages she needs to do something with. Here's her first project...a Frame!

Kids Fun Reviewed - Chocolate covered Peanut Butter Easter Eggs. It's fun to make, fun to give these delicious handmade Easter eggs.

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:

Affirmations Page - Art Journal Background

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

Beading Arts

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!

Last Day for Giveaway!!

Hello my wonderful followers! Please don't forget that today is the last day for you to leave a comment and get your name entered into the drawing for a giveaway I'm having because I reached 100 followers!! I'm so happy 'cause I didn't just reach 100 but went past that amount. I hope that you will also read my Creative Paperclay post! I had so much fun creating with it. The ladies in my Gourd Art class have told me that they want to try the Creative Paperclay on gourds at one of our Saturday classes. Gotta practice myself before I try to teach someone else right?



Barbara

Weekly Thoughts and Goings On

How has everyone been doing this week? I've got to say that I'm very proud that I hit 100 followers and not only that but went past the 100 mark! I have also gotten several more followers through Networked Blogs! I want you all to know that you've definitely each been noticed by me.  Please don't forget the giveaway that's going on here on my blog. All you have to do is leave a comment  on my March 30th post and be a follower of my blog.

I've been very busy working on gourds this week. I'm trying to get a few pieces done for competition at the end of this month. Next week I plan on having a special blog along with a tutorial on Friday about making some special things with Creative Paperclay. I hope you will tune in to check it out.

This past Monday the hubby and I had to go to Springfield, MO to his endocrinologist appointment. (Diabetes doctor) While we were up there we went to Marshfield, MO to visit with some good friends Evelyn and Larry Hampton of Hampton's Greenhouse and Nursery. They have an amazing corn maze every year and they grow some terrfic pumpkins! Right now they've got all of their garden plants ready and waiting in their greenhouses. If you live anywhere near them you need to get your garden plants and flowers from them. Evelyn can definitely let you know exactly how to take care of them. You'll end up with some great vegetables, I guarantee it.

Next Friday will also be the last day to leave me a comment if you are a follower so don't let the date slip by.

Barbara

Alrighty then folks! It's time to check up on all the wonderful things going on with the Artsy Bloggers group, so here's your list of terrific bloggers, go check them out:

Taz's Corner - Free-Mixed Media Tips and Techniques! Art Journals and More...
Laura shares tips from her secret stash of techniques and tricks!

Made by Nicole
If Nothing Ever Changed, There'd Be No Butterflies - this mixed-media art piece was made using the bits of paper trash acquired during the weekend.

Eileen Bergen-The Artful Crafter
Eileen made a necklace and earring set made from shells gathered on vacation and shares the directions.

Egg Carton Easter Bunny Crafts
A quick and easy Easter for the kids (and it uses up those extra egg cartons).

The Creative Dreamer
June is sharing a recipe for Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles...yum!

Barbara Moore(gourd)Whimsies
Weekly thoughts and goings on.

Beading Arts
Cyndi has a copy of a wonderful new book "Endless Sparkle" that she is just dying to give away!

Canvas Paper House- Part 2
Second part of the canvas paper house that Cherie is making for her Aunt.