Showing posts with label alyssa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alyssa. Show all posts

Monday, August 22, 2011

inspiration monday


i can't think of anything more inspiring than to have my sweet little niece alyssa sitting by my side up in my studio.   everything looks great to her, and instead of wishing she'd done something differently, she welcomes "happy accidents".  alyssa is a pro with polymer clay, so this time we thought we'd switch it up a bit and open a package of paperclay that i've had in my stash for a while.  you don't need many supplies to have fun with paperclay......the only thing that's really required is water, because the clay dries out fairly quickly (mini mister spray bottles are very helpful!), along with some clay tools, and craft wire (this is optional, we used a little for finishing touches).



the first thing to do is look through your journals for some inspiration......



and then grab a piece of paperclay and start molding it into the shape you want.  it helps to give a little spritz of water now and then to keep your fingers clean, and the clay from drying out too much.  the water also helps smooth out the clay, and serves as "glue" when you add other small pieces like ears, legs, and who knows......maybe a hat!



alyssa made a bunny (with nails for the legs), and a piggie.....



and i made the birdie (wire for legs and tail)
 and the mousie  (nails for legs, and wire for the tail).



then let them dry completely.  drying time depends on the thickness of your piece......we let ours dry for about two days.  then it's time to paint your masterpiece.......



with some acrylic paint or watercolor.



once everything is dry,  introduce all your new paperclay
 cuties to each other during their photo shoot (as you can see, alyssa was quite busy).




and giggle a little over how much fun it is to be inspired by
all of that creative goodness right there inside of your journals!



{supplies:  paperclay, wood clay tools, mini mister bottles, acrylic paint, paint brushes,  20 and 24 gauge craft wire, wire cutters, small nails, scrapbook paper for birdie wings, embroidery floss for mousie hat trim}







Friday, August 19, 2011

busy hands


my 12-year-old niece alyssa has been visiting me this week.  she loves to swim, go to the book store, and read new books (she also loves the smell of new books.....).  but what she really loves when she comes to stay with me is to play in my studio.......



and i really love it when she's in my studio, too.  
it absolutely melts my heart to see those precious little artist hands busy at work.

we're finishing up some projects today......i'll show you what we've been up to on monday!
have a great weekend, bloggy sweeties!!




Friday, August 7, 2009

how to make a panda bear

here's how to make a panda bear out of polymer clay, according to my ten-year old niece, alyssa. first, take one very sweet, creative, and talented ten-year old with extremely kissable cheeks; add some polymer clay (okay, so i put the "sweet, creative and talented, kissable cheek" part in, but the rest of the directions are hers.....).


"roll the white clay into a ball to make a head. then roll two small black balls and smash to make ears. do the same for the eyes and nose. the mouth is a little tricky....make a very skinny snake and form it into a mouth shape. put all of these things onto the white head."


"now take a big black ball and form it into a panda bear looking body. make two back legs with the black clay and attach to back of body. make two white legs with two black feet and put onto front of body. stick the head onto the body by pressing pretty hard....you don't want the head to fall off! bake it in a toaster oven until it's done. you can set it on top of a block of turquoise polymer clay to make a nice picture if you want. and that's it....pretty easy!"

um, well, easy for a sweet, creative, talented, ten-year-old with extremely kissable cheeks, anyway (did i mention already that she's only ten years old?!! and, that i'm the proud aunt?!!).


Thursday, August 6, 2009

hearts in hands

my sweet ten-year-old niece is staying with me for a few days. she loves to laugh, swim, read....and play in my studio! and truth be known, i've learned a lot more from her the past couple of days than she's learned from me. watching her has reminded me of the importance of "play".....that there really are no mistakes.....that creating art means never having to say i'm sorry. and especially that it's okay to just have some plain ol' fun....and that's exactly what we've been doing (wait until you see what she made with polymer clay.....more on that tomorrow!)!
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