Monday, December 16, 2013

Five Good Things

Have you ever played with paperclay? Maria and I had our first experience with PaperClay, by Creative, and we are utterly, craftily smitten. I like the expression "seriously fun." It's also easy to use, and highly addictive to play with. Our inspiration? Another great discovery on Pinterest, and a wonderful blog, too: Pixie Hill.

The first day we made our forms... the mushrooms, which can be learned from the tutorial at Pixie Hill, and then we added fir trees, and houses, and wee elves. The next day, when our creations were dry, we painted them with satin acrylic paints. I've had these tiny baskets since forever, and we used them to assemble our little forest scenes. The last touch was some moss, and sprinkles of glitter. Oh-yeah, we let our crafty flags fly!

If you are wondering about the patience and skill it takes to enjoy this activity... consider, Maria is nine, and she thought this was great fun. The clay is soft, and can be shaped with small tools. Being soft can make it a bit of a challenge too, because the clay tends to move and take impressions with the slightest pressure. Anything she didn't like, though, was easy to just roll-up and start over on. Painting takes a steady hand with such tiny forms, so we used our smallest brushes, and sometimes just the tip of a toothpick. Acrylics dry fast, and any mistakes can simply be painted over.

Maria had fun, and I had an absolute paperclay fiesta! I can hardly put the stuff down.

Somehow, I made it to church, and I fixed a really delicious dinner. I can't be sure if I got much else accomplished. But I am wholly satisfied, because, clearly, the world needs more teeny red capped mushrooms, and glittered moss.

I am forcing myself to step away... to think about the week ahead, and a certain list of chores and duties that must not be neglected! Help!

Wouldn't they look dear in a tree? But oh dear, not our tree!

Good Things...

1. Making dinner with friends, and sharing dinner with friends.

2. Having AAA... especially when stuck with a flat tire!

3. Bloggers who share ideas, tutorials, tips, recipes, and inspiration, for all kinds of activities!

4. Children's Christmas pageants.

5. Green eggs, and sweet, big, fat hens.

What's good with you?

10 comments:

Anna Banana said...

1. Migas.
2. Sweet potato black bean chili transformed into spicy soup with homemade vegetable broth.
3. Leftover tamales frozen to celebrate the longest night of the year.
4. Cranberry adult beverage birthday gift.
5. Did I mention Migas??

Tami @ Lemon Tree Tales said...

Paperclay is awesome! So far I've used it to make heels on a cloth doll's feet and to sculpt a head for a doll that is still in the UFO list.
On the good thing list...
1. New tow strap and hook for the car (works well to pull it out of stuck snow)
2. New friends at two different quilt guilds
3. Napping dogs and hubby
4. Projects crossed off the to-do list (yay!)
5. Being warm inside out of the cold wind.

Mama G @ bigcraftyblog.blogspot.com said...

Wow, just love these!

Maia said...

This stuff looks really neat! I've never heard of it before, but I'm going to have to check it out. 5 good things: above 0 weather, homeschool friends, an empty sink, a fridge full of food and kids.

Nichola said...

I adore them! How lovely your houses are :)

5 good things?

1. Bloggers who give credit and say nice things :)
2. Homemade cookies
3. Quiet mornings
4. Hot cups of tea
5. Warm socks for cold toes

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Well, don't just mention the migas... have me over, next time!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

I love how you are navigating your winter wonderland!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Simple. Fun. Do give it a try... and that tutorial really is tops.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Above zero? Oh-my. I love an empty sink, and full fridge, too!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Nichola! How sweet of you to drop by. Thank you, again, for being such a good teacher and inspiration.