GardenMama

.:Impressions In Clay ~ Giftmaking Tutorial:.

 

.: Some of the clay ornaments that were created today! :.

Inspired by a piece of pottery I had recently seen at my mother's home, I knew right away that I wanted to create a similar clean look of white pottery while using a different medium and my own designs.

.:By placing greenery on the clay and rolling over it with a rolling pin, an impression was created! :.

With Sculpey Clay (Ultra Light) as my medium, I began an evening full with creating! I chose to use a decorative piece of greenery in lieu of a natural green. It would make a deep impression into the clay and be re-usable throughout the process.
 
   .: Cutting shapes from the clay with small cookie cutters! :.

With the greenery placed on top of the clay,  I rolled over it with the rolling pin two to three times.  With a toothpick I then helped the green back out of the clay.  Next, I began cutting out shapes over the embossed clay with small cookie cutters.

.: Many of the finished clay pieces! :.

Once the ornament shapes were created, I used a toothpick to make circles in each new clay shape. Later I could thread hemp twine and beads through through the opening to create ornaments.

.: Clay ornaments hardening after spending some time in the oven :.

After cooking the ornaments in the oven, the clay is now hardened. 

  .:With hemp twine the ornaments are strung. Later wooden beads will be added:.
 

.: My daughter's lovely finished creation she plans to gift on Valentine's Day! :.

My children were very interested in the entire process and began creating their very own designs and creations.  Working alongside each other we drew inspiration from each other's process and finished works.
 

.: Many of these ornaments will be gifted on Valentine's Day! :.

These ornaments are lovely hanging in the window. I am imagining creating bookmarks and necklaces. These specific ornaments we created today are slated to be Valentine Gifts!

.: Creating Milkweed Babies ~ Tutorial :.

.: Two Milkweed Babies laying in their cozy beds! :.

The sunlight streamed through the crochet curtains catching my eye as they cast a gorgeous pattern across the braided wool rug where the new kitten lay curled up warming herself. She has already found the best patch of sunlight in the house.  We also lay curled up in handmade blankets on the couch, feeling the chill of this November morning. We linger a bit longer before heading out into the woods on this crisp November day!

While sitting cozily indoors I dreamt up a new craft I would create to place upon the nature table (and soon to adorn our Christmas tree with!)

.: Running along the fields in search of our old friend Milkweed! :.

Into the woods on this crisp November day we were on a hunt for treasures--Milkweed treasures to be exact! We hoped to meet with our friend Milkweed in the forest today in hopes that we would harvest some of the empty pods that inspire us so richly in our crafting!

.: Finding inspiration from this magical plant! :.

Running through the fields, we spotted many milkweed pods. We were reminded of the fun they have shared with us in days past, as we let each tiny seed baby float along ahead of us--awakened from their cozy beds.

.: A basketful of Milkweed pods harvested today for nature-inspired crafting! :.

We harvested as many pods as we could gather into our baskets and harvested as much inspiration as we could gather from this time together in the woods and in the fields among these magical plants!

 

.: Milkweed shaped seeds cut from brown wool felt :.

From wool felt we cut out our own tiny milkweed seeds in mimicry of those that we met in the fields today.

.: The pipe-cleaner creates the Milkweed's body and the wooden bead creates the head :.

Next we cut a pipe-cleaner and folded it in half, making sure it was the same length as the Milkweed pod that it will soon rest inside.

We placed some glue into the opening of a medium-sized wooden bead and pushed the pipe-cleaner through, making a Milkweed Baby head and body.

.: Wrapping the alpaca fiber around the pipe cleaner to wildcraft 'Milkweed Babies' :.

We then took some luxurious alpaca fiber and wrapped it around the pipe cleaner, making sure to leave the ends hanging in wisps to mirror the fibers of the milkweed.

.: Lining the pod with glue to secure the Milkweed Baby into her cozy bed :.

We lined the Milkweed 'bed' with glue and placed our milkweed baby into her cozy bed to make sure she would not float away but rather settle in for a long winter nap!

.: Glue each small seed across the fibers to create a nature-inspired look! :.

Next we glued the wool felt Milkweed seeds onto the alpaca fiber, creating a realistic look for our Milkweed Baby! 

.: Some of you may remember these Milkweed Pod ornaments I made last autumn! :.

.: I envision our Christmas tree holding many "Milkweed Babies" strung from green velvet ribbons from the pod's stem! :.