Christmas crafting with Creative Paperclay®!!

Hello everyone! I know it's been a little while since my last post but I have a husband who has had back surgery and for the past three weeks I've been the nurse and gopher around here. I finally made the time to work with my Creative Paperclay® though. Yay! My thoughts as I'm sure many others has turned to the Christmas Season. I saw a picture a week or so ago of a Santa that just really appealed to me, so I thought I would try to make my own version of that jolly old Elf! I started out with Creative Paperclay®, some styrofoam (a cone and a ball) and a piece of dowel. Something I didn't show in the original picture is some aluminum foil which I used for the base of the hat.

I took many pictures but had a hard time saving them and uploading them, this go round. But essentially what I did was attach the ball to the cone using the piece of dowel and some glue. I then rolled out my clay  and molded it around the cone and then the ball. This was the base to which I added the facial features. I molded a hat out of aluminum foil and glued it to the head and covered it with clay. After I added all the little details it looked like this:

I do need to add that I used glue under each piece of clay that I adhered to something beside itself. He's already looking cute isn't he? After I got him to this point and he had dried, all he required was painting and sealing. Voila', now here's a super cute Santa Claus!

    

I would love to hear what you think of my Santa!! I also welcome any questions that you might have.

Barbara

My Amazing Giveaway Winner!!

Hello all of my blogger friends!! For those of you who entered a comment on my giveaway, you know that you had to be a follower in order to win the giveaway. I'm very excited about the winner because she has been a follower of my blog for quite a long time and she's an amazing artist and crafter who has her own blog. She gives us new inspiration and crafts to try almost every day. So.......without further ado: Eileen Bergen you are the winner!!! Please send me your address so that I can send these wonderful goodies to you!


Barbara

A Very Bright Idea Using Amazing Mold Putty® !

 

I’m just really happy about this project today! Since I received my first kit of Amazing Mold Putty®, I’m continually looking for something to make a mold of and asking my husband if he can think of anything to make a mold out of. Well the other day my husband said “ You know how you’re always pulling the wrong chain on the ceiling fan? Wouldn’t it be neat to have a fan pull that looked like a light? Then you wouldn’t have a problem anymore.” I thought that was such a neat idea that the next time I had to run errands I purchased a couple of packages of Christmas lights in two sizes and made a couple of bulbs with chains for the ceiling fans! To start with :

  I collected my mold putty, the light bulbs, the chain and the resin.

 These two balls are approximately the same size, because you eyeball equal amounts of Part A and Part B of the putty and I roll it into a ball to compare. When you get your two parts rolled up you quickly knead them together. You have a minute here to do that. Once you have the putty kneaded together until it’s all yellow you work rather quickly to get the putty shaped around the object that you are molding. You have around three minutes to do this. Once the putty is around the piece you are molding it will set up rather quickly. When it is completely set up and it is a piece you have put the putty all around, you can cut a split in the side of the mold to pop your piece out that you have been molding:

                                   Easy Peasy!

Once this was complete, I wrapped tape around the mold to hold the split closed so that no resin would leak out and placed it inside a glass. I surrounded the mold with cotton balls to hold it upright without smashing it. I then mixed up some Amazing Casting Resin®:

Same thing here, equal parts of Part A and Part B which you must measure out exactly. (It comes with measuring cups and stirrers. You quickly stir the resin to mix it and pour it into your mold:

At this point you can either insert your chain before it sets up, or drill a small hole in the top after it sets up and glue the chain in. The casting resin sets up very quickly and you can watch the white bloom as it sets up. Once it set, I removed the tape and popped it right out of the mold.

This one looks lit doesn’t it? Anyway now all you might want to do is paint it and seal it and hang it on your ceiling fan. You’ll never have to worry about which chain pull is the light!! I hope this post shows you just how easy it is to make a mold and create something out of that mold.So easy to use and easy to find to purchase. I have personally checked and you can purchase these products at Michaels, Hobby Lobby or online through the Alumilite Corporation. Great stuff!

 

I wasn’t able to get my light bulbs painted before I had to take my husband to the hospital for back surgery. I thought we would be back home in time to do the painting but there were some complications and at this printing have not made it back home, six days later.

 

On another note: If you haven’t signed up for the great giveaway that I’m doing, look back a couple of posts and sign up while there’s still time.

I’m so happy to see new followers here on the blog! Maybe you will be the winner of the giveaway!

 

Barbara

 

Here’s some exciting links from the Artsy Bloggers Group!

 

Here’s some really great Artsy Bloggers links for you! I really think you need to check them all out!

 

Beading Arts

Polymer clay + greeting cards = a fun mixed media necklace!                                     http://www.beading-arts.com/2011/10/framed-polymer-clay-mixed-media.html

 

Creative Dreamer

June's starting a new tutorial... come join us in creating an art doll similar to the "Ode to Kate" doll!
http://acreativedreamer.blogspot.com/2011/10/so-couple-of-weeks-ago.html

 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter

Here’s how to use 3D clay accents to make your decoupage projects pop.
http://the-artful-crafter.blogspot.com/2011/06/use-3d-clay-accents-to-adorn-decoupage.html

 

Grocery Bag Paper Turkey Card

Cherie makes a homemade Thanksgiving card out of an old grocery bag.
http://cherieblogs.com/2010/11/16/paper-craft-turkey-card/

 

Mo(o)re Whimsies

Exciting Times and a Great Giveaway!
http://barbara-moorewhimsies.blogspot.com/2011/10/exciting-times-and-great-giveaway.html

Hope you all take the time to hop around ‘cause you might learn how to make something or you might win something! Woo Hoo!

Barbara

Exciting times and a Great Giveaway!

 

It’s really been awhile since I started blogging and my blog has changed a great deal in that amount of time. I started my blog as a place to share my crochet and make new friends. Well……..I still crochet but not as much. My blog name then changed to More Gourd Whimsies  and I started sharing my experiences with the Gourd Art that I created. I still create a lot of Gourd Art and have it in a couple of Art Galleries and plan to start selling it online. I also teach classes in Gourd Art every Saturday at the Gallery closest to me which is “Hill Country Art Gallery” and other places by appointment. Next stop……..Creative Paperclay® which I just love! I’ve used it for a really loooong time on various things and when I started Gourd Art I used it there too because it is air dry and it sticks easily to the gourd. I was chosen for the first ever design team for Creative Paperclay® and have served one six month stint on the team and have now been chosen for a second six month term. Yippee Skippy!! Now then to make things even better I was recently chosen for the Amazing Mold Putty® team!! Does it get any better than this?? The Amazing Mold Putty® is just that, AMAZING! I have had so much fun experimenting with this product AND the other product that I’ve received such as Amazing Clear Resin® and Amazing Casting Resin® FANTASTIC stuff!! Please keep an eye on both my blog and the Creative Paperclay® blog AND the Amazing Mold Putty® blog to see all of the amazing and creative things that everyone on the teams are coming up with.

I love to try new things and love creating in several different artistic mediums. I’m sure that over time you will start seeing me creating many different things and I hope you continue to follow me and ask your friends to follow also. I do notice new followers and I appreciate every follower that I have. Now to get on with the giveaway! Because my Blogeversary is here as is my birthday month of November. (I was born on the first) I’m going to have what I believe is a Great Giveaway! The lucky winner (who will be chosen at random) is going to receive:

1. A package of Creative Paperclay®

2. An Amazing Mold Putty Kit®

3. A Gourd Art piece that I’ve created.

4. A surprise

To be eligible to enter you must be a follower of my blog. Please don’t become a follower just for this giveaway, it’s not fair to everyone else. You must make a comment on this post. Entries will run from today 10-27-11 thru 11-15-11 at which time I will choose a name at random. So start commenting! You can comment once every day but it must be on this post. Good Luck!!

 

Barbara

Another Term on the Creative Paperclay ® Design Team and the Artsy Bloggers for this week!

 

Wow I’m just sooo excited to be writing this post and I’m so proud to announce that I’ve been chosen to be on the design team for Creative Paperclay® once again. I’m sure that those of you who have been following me for some time now, know that I love to work with Creative Paperclay®. When I use clay on my gourds to embellish them I can’t use a clay which has to be oven baked. I would probably have scorched or exploding gourds in the oven. lol So Creative Paperclay® is the right choice for me. However since I’ve been on the design team, I have been using Creative Paperclay® in many other ways and making a lot of exciting projects.  The design team for this term has grown and there are some amazingly talented people who will also be posting projects which incorporate Creative Paperclay® in their creations. You can go to the Creative Paperclay blog: http://creativepaperclay.blogspot.com to see all of the designers and you can go to www.creativepaperclay.com to order the clay. I hope all of our projects inspire you to try this wonderful product in your projects too!

 

Now our Artsy Bloggers links for this week are:

Beading Arts
Cyndi explains how to turn a cabochon into a simple bead embroidered pendant!
http://www.beading-arts.com/2011/10/silver-leaf-polymer-clay-cabochons-part_17.html

Creative Dreamer
A Gnome... and a free pattern for him too!
http://acreativedreamer.blogspot.com/2011/10/and-here-he-is.html

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Rather than stashing your mom’s jewelry away to tarnish and gather dust, combine some of your favorite pieces into a M.O.M.s (Memories of Mom) necklace.
http://the-artful-crafter.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-make-moms-necklace-in-memory-of.html

Finished Afghan
Cherie finishes her stained glass afghan.
http://cherieblogs.com/2011/10/19/finished-afghan/

Mo(o)re Gourd Whimsies
What's the new project with Creative Paperclay® ?
http://barbara-moorewhimsies.blogspot.com/2011/10/see-what-new-project-is-with-creative.html

(I do hope you will all check back in again this week to hear about my giveaway! Woot! I’ve got a blogeversary, 100 posts, and a birthday coming up and the giveaway’s going to be a good one!)

 

Barbara

See What The New Project is with Creative Paperclay® It’s a Cutie!!!

I don’t know what inspired me on this project other than the cover of the Cloth Paper Scissors magazine for July/Aug. I just loved it! Anyway I decided I wanted to try to make my own version of a doll with Creative Paperclay® These are the items that I used in my project except for paint, eyes,and glue.

To start with I trimmed a piece of styrofoam down with that nifty styrofoam cutter that you see in the back of the photo. The trimmed piece is in the front of the photo. I also used some green wire that I bought a long time ago that I retrieved from my stash to fashion two longer pieces for the legs and two for the arms. I connected the two styro pieces together with that short piece of dowel rod that you see along with some glue for stability. I then inserted the wire for the arms and legs along with a little more glue for stability. Once I had all of the body parts put together I covered them with the Creative Paperclay® and inserted the eyes. Here’s what the doll looked like when it was covered with clay, dried and ready to paint:

            

I also used a flower that I painted and glued on later after I finished painting my little doll up. Check out what she looked like after I got her all dolled up! hehe

              

                                   

So do you think that you could make your own dolly using Creative Paperclay®? I certainly think that you can! What do you think I should name her? Please leave a comment because I love hearing from you! Thanks for following to all of you new members!
Barbara

Guess what I'm up to Now!!!!

Recently I applied to join the Design Team for Amazing Mold Putty and Woo Hoo I made it!! I now get to play with and design different things with the amazing mold putty. I had never tried the amazing mold putty before now and I will say that I was a bit nervous to start with. I've got to say though, this stuff is fun!!! It's so easy to use and the instructions are simple. One of the amazing things about this product is the fact that it's food safe. Of course you shouldn't make anything else in the mold if you plan on using it for food stuff. Here's what I started with:

Here's the super simple part, all you do is mix equal parts of the stuff in each of these two bottles. You mix it up with your hands just like you were playing with clay, kind of smoosh it together until the colors are blended.(One minute) then you roll a ball to get all of the cracks out of the putty and flatten it a bit to get started with your mold. You then take the item that you want to use and press it into the mold putty. After about 20 minutes or so your mold will be set up and feel rubbery. All you have to do then is pop out the item you used to make your mold and voila' you have a mold! Your mold is flexible too which is nice to work with.

I used three Tim Holtz keys, a little plastic black cat I had and a butterfly button.

Once I had my molds made I used paperclay and filled them. I let the paperclay dry in the molds overnight and then just popped them out!

What do you think of this?

I still need to sand the edges of the paperclay and then paint all the pieces and use them for embellishments!

I also received some clear casting resin and regular casting resin. I made a mold from a small glass leaf and mixed up the clear resin and added some dye (which we were given also to go with the resin) which I had mixed to make an orange color but it is still drying. The resin was easy to mix also and wasn't hard to clean up. I hope that this tutorial makes you want to run out and buy yourself some Amazing Mold Putty and use your Creative Paperclay to make some Halloween decorations, embellishments, or whatever your mind can think of. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this stuff. You can click on the button on the right side of my screen to go to the Amazing Mold Putty site. And please click on the  +1 button.

Barbara

Creative Paperclay and my Ghoul

I’m rather pleased with the way my project for today turned out. I totally thought “outside the box” on this one. lol I started out with my Creative Paperclay and a cannonball gourd. Yep, that’s the name of this particular gourd. First I covered the whole gourd with paperclay and let that dry overnight. I then made and attached all of the ghoulish paperclay features and let them dry also. I don’t think I had this much fun with clay since I was in grade school!

The eyes are actually brads, which I just bent the posts down and pushed them right into the clay. I next attached the head to a spindle (remember me mentioning that I bought a whole box full of them quite awhile back?) and a purchased wood base. I also inserted a dowel rod through the spindle.

It’s really hard to show in a picture what the features really looked like ‘cause the clay is white. After attaching these parts together I decided to add ears and an eyeball in the back of the head. Once this was done and dried, I went to work with the paint and embellishments!!! Woo Hoo what fun!! I painted all the details spray sealed him and gave him a collar made out of “Recollections” 12X12 Cardstock. I cut strips of the cardstock, sewed them with needle and thread and glued them to the spindle. Looking good isn’t he?

Well……. he does look pretty good but you know me, I just had to add a little more. So I put another collar under the first one made out of tulle. I made it the same way as the first. Then I used some “Recollections” border and cut the skull border and hung it from the dowel rod and cut out the labels individually and glued them around the bottom of the spindle. Here are pictures of the finished ghoul:

I really had a lot of fun making this ghoulish guy! I guess he does look kind of scary ‘cause when the dog saw him he growled and then barked at him. LOL Why don’t you buy some Creative Paperclay and make yourself some Halloween fun! You can use any type of ball to cover with the paperclay. A styrofoam ball works great too.


Barbara

MORE Halloween Creative Paperclay Projects !

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary…….. I came up with some new Creative Paperclay ideas! I’m really having fun coming up with decorative things created from paperclay these days, but check out the gourds I’m using along with the clay:
  This is an egg gourd and yep, it’s shaped just like an egg!
  This is an egg gourd with part of a mini bottle gourd glued to it.
These two gourds were the beginning of my Creative Paperclay project. They were the “skeleton” so to speak for my clay to be applied on. I do get the gourds wet before I cover them and mold the clay to look like these pictures:
                              
To me, it’s just so much fun turning that little humble gourd and some clay into something that so neat for Halloween.  Oh, in case you are wondering the whiskers on the cat are actually horse hair. I had some to use on a different gourd project. Once the clay was dry (it did take about a day and a half) It was time to paint. FUN!
The painting of the Halloween cat and raven turned out super spooky neat I thought:
                                          

The raven’s eyes were silver glitter and it made them really show up. Now I have a couple more things to decorate for Halloween. What do you think of them? I also wanted to mention that even though I use gourds a lot, you can use styrofoam or anything similar.

I want to say “Hello” to my newest followers. I have noticed you, smile. We’re getting closer to having a giveaway, so stay tuned. Also on a very personal note, I know there are several of you who have been following my blog for quite some time and you also know Molly Wilson (Crocheting My Bested with My Worsted). Well I want to ask all of you to please pray for Molly. Many of you know that Molly has MS but that’s the least of her problems right now. Night before last Molly had a massive stroke and has suffered terrible brain damage. She thinks like a 2-4 year old right now. Please pray that she won’t suffer anymore. Molly is a very kind and loving person, who even when she was having physical problems would crochet for those less fortunate. She became a very dear friend of mine through blogland and is always so supportive and happy. Please pray for her.

Barbara

Creative Paperclay and my Ghoul

  
I’m rather pleased with the way my project for today turned out. I totally thought “outside the box” on this one. lol I started out with my Creative Paperclay and a cannonball gourd. Yep, that’s the name of this particular gourd. First I covered the whole gourd with paperclay and let that dry overnight. I then made and attached all of the ghoulish paperclay features and let them dry also. I don’t think I had this much fun with clay since I was in grade school!

        
                                
The eyes are actually brads, which I just bent the posts down and pushed them right into the clay. I next attached the head to a spindle (remember me mentioning that I bought a whole box full of them quite awhile back?) and a purchased wood base. I also inserted a dowel rod through the spindle.
                                     
It’s really hard to show in a picture what the features really looked like ‘cause the clay is white. After attaching these parts together I decided to add ears and an eyeball in the back of the head. Once this was done and dried, I went to work with the paint and embellishments!!! Woo Hoo what fun!! I painted all the details spray sealed him and gave him a collar made out of “Recollections” 12X12 Cardstock. I cut strips of the cardstock, sewed them with needle and thread and glued them to the spindle. Looking good isn’t he?
                                   
Well……. he does look pretty good but you know me, I just had to add a little more. So I put another collar under the first one made out of tulle. I made it the same way as the first. Then I used some “Recollections” border and cut the skull border and hung it from the dowel rod and cut out the labels individually and glued them around the bottom of the spindle. Here are pictures of the finished ghoul:
                                                                                                        
I really had a lot of fun making this ghoulish guy! I guess he does look kind of scary ‘cause when the dog saw him he growled and then barked at him. LOL Why don’t you buy some Creative Paperclay and make yourself some Halloween fun! You can use any type of ball to cover with the paperclay. A styrofoam ball works great too.


Barbara