Play Date Clay and Beads

Another play date with my gal pals to work on our beaded clay projects.  i brought this porcelain doll head with no specific plan - and it morphed into a dress form style shape. I used tin foil as a base and covered it with paper clay. I added some jewelry bits to create a tiara.  then added cheap post earrings around her bodice. 

 I filled in with strings of pearls.  Around her waist is a ribbon with beaded fringe and more jewelry findings and strung beads along the "hem".  I have her sitting in a sunny window to dry before i complete the beading.

Our hostess D worked on her bird with doll head, using some paper mache clay she mixed herself.  

it was pretty sticky - but she was able to smooth it out.  ultimately it will be covered with beads and other objects, in a steam punk style.

Z worked on a cute wooden fish she picked up on vacation in Mexico.  

She added glass bead gel as a base to inbed rows of rhinestones in clear and aqua blue.

S worked on her turtle.  First performing a turtle-head-ectomy and replacing it with a doll head.  then she started gluing on the beautiful gems and beads.  

She even creating a fringe effect with chain around the rim of her shell.

More Beaded Things and Some Dolls

My friends Z and K came over on Saturday for brunch and some crafting.  We wanted to continue making things with beads.   Our "main" play date had to be rescheduled for March.  Here are the pendants i made, with silver fimo clay, and some black glitter clay.  One is really cluttered, one is very orderly, one is whimsical, and one is kind of cool looking!  After baking only one bead fell off, but was easily reattached with a drop of glue.

  Here is a beautiful bird pendant Z made with polymer clay and an assortment of rhinstone chain, bugle beads, seed beads and a leaf charm. After baking she'll add some flowers or beads to the two rings on the branch.

 K was busy with some interesting doll projects (see below) - but tried to make a pendant with aqua clay and gold seed beads and a couple of charms.  She didn't like the "messy" look and was going to start over!  We all know what THAT feels like!

 This was a cool to make!  it started as a paper clay heart.  I took a few dozen cheap stud earrings (i have a pal who can get them for me) and created a paper weight. I just stabbed the earring posts into the semi hardened clay.  it will be a nice conversation piece on  my desk at work.

 My friend K was busy creating these adorable little dolls with bunny ears.  One of them was made with air dry paper clay. She used 2 part epoxy for the other (i am not sure which).

 For this doll, K added some pearl ex powder to the bunny ears.  

Once she got her home, she added a tattered lace dress, wings and some flowers.  So cute!

 This pretty damsel is going to become an art doll when she is complete.

bunny ears looked so fun - so i created these with paper clay on a little plastic kewpie doll.  She is drying in a hot sunny window as we speak.  I'll paint and add a dress and other adornments once she is safe to handle.

 I dried to make a bunny with some leftover fimo clay but it ended up looking like a deer!

A deer with a snail body??  oh whatever! covered with some beads and baked it looks pretty cool!  Stay tuned for beaded things part three in a couple of weeks!

Awesome Beaded Things

 So our friend D hosted another play date in SF this weekend.  We decided that our project should be based on K's fish - shown here.  K was inspired by the art of Betsy Youngquist.  Which is to say, a pretty ambitious project for a 4 hour play date!

 I started earlier in the week with a porcelain doll head, from my jar of doll parts.  Doesn't everyone have one?  anyway - it had to much of a torso attached, so I had to borrow Z's Dremel tool to remove it.  Not before a trip to Home Depot to purchase a diamond bit for $18.  ouch. But it was worth every cent!...it cut the porcelain like buttah!

 

Once the head was free of the excess, I stuffed the neck with tin foil and just sort of roughly built up a bird shape.  Then I covered it all with paper play.  SO easy to work with.

 Took three days to dry enough to take it to the next step.  The clay didn't have to be perfect as it would all be covered over with beads.

Oh look - a wee flock of birds!  Mine, K's future project, and D's red bird - still at this stage without its doll head. (sorry didn't get a pic of it later in the process)

 So here we are, surrounded by all manner of beads, and gemstones, and glitter and sequin, and random cast off jewelry.. ready to start.

 So I just dove right in!  I started with the silver findings around the neck and then  just kept adding rows and rows of bling. I used some extra tacky glue and applied it with a brush.

 Here is K working on her fish.  Very serious business with a lighted magnifying glass and stick pins to align bugle beads!

 here is Z working on her inlay heart pendant. 

 (she finds the doll heads a little creepy - they certainly can be!)

 Here's my bird starting to fill in.  I found the piece of woven and tasseled bead work in the bottom of a bag of stuff - and hey!  why not use it!

 I added some shell buttons to the tail to create a "feather" effect.

 A large gemstone on the back of the head created a focal point to work around.

 Here is Z's finished pendant.  She used black glitter polymer clay as a base - and inset the beads - beautiful!!

 Here is K's fish with its perfect rows of beads.

 K cut her doll's face in half to elongate it.  She is not quite finished.

 Here's me working on the bottom of my bird back home,

I used rows of thread-strung beads.  but it isn't easy.  I have a few bald spots still to fill in.

 Here is a side view.  I need to get more of the darker beads at Michaels this week to continue the field between the other elements.

 Here's a top view..

And voila!  my little flyer got some shades!!  She is just about ready to take flight!

Thanks K for the inspiration.  Thanks D for hosting. Thanks D and Z for the goodies.

Sorry S couldn't make it - we missed you!

And especially thanks again to Betsey Youngquist, without whose artwork inspiration none of this fun would have happened...thanks....!

Block Head Dolls Play Date

We spent saturday afternoon crafting art dolls out of blocks of wood.  Our inspiration came from some similar dolls i saw online on Teresa Mcfayden's whimsical blog HERE.  I read that she got the idea from Laura Robberts blog HERE.  You can see Laura's video and even sign up for a workshop to learn how to make your own.

You can start with any old wooden blocks or shapes. I had some 1 1/2 inch childs blocks so i used those.  I stacked three together using tacky glue and painted them with white gesso.  My friend Z gave me some Jenga blocks she bought at a garage sale.  Her husband cut some into thirds to make the heads.

 The process is kind of varied but for me followed this sequence.  Cover the blocks with paper.  Add tissue napkins with gell medium to add layers.  The faces were cut from vintage photos (copies) and Anthro catalogs.  Join head with wire, a dowel, or screw eyes.  Add small nails with beads for hair and arms. 

Many of the samples i saw online showed faces with underlying or overlying text.  Since image transfer is iffy, i decided to try a technique i learned about years ago but never tried until now.  Buy a small box of roller papers and the beauty supply store.  (you know the kind you use with a home permanent?)  Use a blank ink pad, like StazOn and stamp text on the thin paper.  Then glue it onto your face with gel medium.  It literally disappears!

 For this little Jenga doll i used paper beads we made HERE.  I always thought they were kind of icky and looked like larvae and never wanted to use them for anything.  For for legs on this quirky doll i think they are PERFECT!  She isn't quite finished.  Still needs more details - hair, hat, arms, whatever.  The "you will be taught to fly" quote was cut from a napkin.

 This gal has screw eyes to join her head to body and some wire legs wrapped with paper clay.  I will paint the clay as soon as it dries completely.

 Here is a work in progress from D.  Love the tacks used for hair on this expressive face. Like her use of small spools to hold the doll upright.  (mine will probably hang on a hook)

 D made her block doll reversable - here it has a complely different look and mood.

 K's work in progress features many metal elements including a clock face and some wooden spool legs.

K also worked on this architectural creature which will have copper tassels for limbs.

 Here is a doll from Z - in progress.  She chose the zebra print to echo the edginess of the biker chick face.  A studded collar was a perfect addition.  The image in the background is our inspiration from Teresa's blog.

 Z is also creating a doll with her grandaughter's face.  Love the cute dotted sparkly dress with the velvet trim belt.

 Another work in progress from K.  As you can see just about anything goes and those butterfly wings will be really impressive on this doll!

Another piece by K - where she is using larger wooden blocks and a wooden ball for the head.  Love the lace cap contrasted with the metal elements.

As you see just about anything goes and we had so much fun creating our block head dolls!

Another successful play date!