paint cut paste

novi and i tried this new (to us) clay out called paperclay that i got from my boyfriend, dick blick. (i heart dick blick.)

i love the texture of this stuff! it’s non-toxic, smooth and easy to mold, and it air-dries within 1-3 days without getting all cracked and dried out. (you can also expedite the drying process of it by baking it.) we had fun playing with it and squishing it around for a while (and novi thought it smelled like glue… uh, has she been sniffing glue?)

novi wanted to make some animals out of the paperclay, naturally.

carving details into her cat's face

she asked me to make a dragon for her, and she created a cat and a small turtle.

we took a long weekend vacation, and when we returned, the clay was dry, of course. we had a good time painting it with tempera paints. (you can also use acrylic paint or markers to color the paint.)

after the three animals were painted, novi wanted to use the extra paint to paint each of their portraits!

i thought that was such a sweet idea… say cheese, animal friends!

we’re definitely going to do more sculpting with paperclay soon! (gosh, i wish i got paid for these reviews/endorsements! oh well… it’s all for art’s sake, right?)

after making so many wooden easter and springtime friends, novi really wanted to make more out of “clay.” since we don’t have a kiln over here, i busted out the model magic, and she got down to business.

novi made lots of eggs and a caterpillar. i also helped her make the 2 spring chickies you see above, and a bunny.

it took two days for the model magic eggs to dry (they’re dense, even though they’re lightweight.) when they were ready, we painted them with acrylics. we first had a lesson in what-happens-to-each-color-of-the-rainbow-when-mixed-with-white-paint? PASTELS FOR SPRING!

we had a little painting party…

we probably got more paint on our hands than the figures and eggs, but it was all good clean fun.

we loved decorating our home with our new little spring sculptures…

we are feeling springy over here this week… the trees are already pink and white with blossoms and it’s been in the mid to upper 60s this week. yesterday novi and i went for a long afternoon walk around our neighborhood, looking for treasures and for signs of spring.

we meandered through streets, ducked through bushes, gazed up at trees… we collected all sorts of nature’s gifts, like leaves, sticks, berries, acorns, seeds, flowers… the sweet friends the earth has put in our new california neighborhood. we are still acclimating to our new digs, and feeling our way through the scenery out here. the specimens we gathered were like evidence of our move; like clues to our new surroundings. we studied them.

getting personal with a palm tree

when the sun was setting and we made our way home, i remembered a cool project i’d just seen in a very cool book novi got for her birthday last month called nature’s art box. (i also recognized it from the artful parent blog as well.) the project was about making a clay fossil to preserve the textures and shapes of natural objects in sculpey.

bag of goodies

when we got home, we looked over each treasure while putting it into a bowl on our table. we talked about what it was and where we found it.

then, i busted out our trusty box of sculpey, and we went to work making and squishing little balls of the polymer clay.

then we pressed some of the objects into the clay to make textured discs. like little thumbprints from mother nature.

granted, scupley is not my most favorite clay to use with kids, as it can be toxic while baking. so, i made sure to do that part after novi was asleep on the other end of the house with kitchen windows open and her door closed. (next time, i may try my trusty model magic and see if that works…)

after the discs were baked, i put them onto a pretty plate that we often keep on our nature table or altar.

i wrote with a brown sharpie on the backs of them what the object was, the city, and the date. novi is enjoying examining them and guessing what made the print. they’re a good size for her to carry around and be proud of, too. it’d be nice to poke a hole in the top of some (or all) of the discs with a straw before baking to make pendants or ornaments out of them, too. i enjoy the white of them, but they may also be nice if painted (a light watercolor wash, perhaps) or glazed.

i loved doing this activity – mostly the walking, talking, and paying attention to so many intimate details. seeing the world through novi’s big, new eyes always keeps things fresh for me. i’d love to repeat this activity in different places, like on a beach vacation, almost like a 3-d photo album from a trip, without the photos.

okay, it’s not revolutionary to play with play-doh… but it is a staple of childhood. opening a canister of play-doh set my olfactory memory off on a trip to the 70s, squeezing dough hair through plastic heads in my play-doh hair factory. as an adult and a mom, i usually opt to make my own play dough with novi, but sometimes the neon colors and unmatched squishiness of play-doh is irresistible.

so when novi got play-doh AND dough tools for her birthday last week, i was psyched to have an excuse to use the stuff again! she can sit for HOURS (literally, it’s magic) and sing, play, create, chatter, rhyme. (in fact, she is playing with it right now as i type this beside her.)

my sister (novi’s aunt kim) gave novi a a set of dough tools that melissa and doug makes, and novi is loving these… 3 rolling pins, stamps, and a dough cutter. mix this with some good ol’ cookie cutters, kid-safe scissors, and some of her tiny toy figurines, and she’s off and running for an entire morning.

so i had to give a little nod to the creators of this modeling compound in all of its fluorescently pliable unnaturalness for the guilt-free momma-time it provides while productively stimulating kids’ minds, hands, and senses for decades.

one of novi’s little friends is totally into all things outer space. she adores planets and rocket ships, so this was the theme for her third birthday party. we decided to make her a gift that would be outta this world!

the solar system on a string!

novi and i started by making beads with sculpey modeling clay of different spherical sizes to represent each planet. (i added a ring to saturn.) we poked holes in them with a paper clip.

then we baked the sculpey in the oven while opening all of the windows. (as i read the box afterwards, i realized that this stuff is kinda toxic while baking and probably isn’t the greatest material for younger kids. novi colored by a window across the house while it baked.)

once the beads were hardened, we painted the planets all different colors, (and realized that at their most basic hue, many the planets almost follow ROY G BIV!) also, we opted to include pluto in the line-up for old times sake…

carefully painting the beads

after the beads were dry, we strung them onto a soft black cord (like outer space!) and made it into a very cool birthday necklace!

in a ring around the sun

one day last month, novi and i were playing with salt dough and cookie cutters. she ended up cutting out lots of heart shapes.

when she was finished playing, i baked the hearts she had made, in anticipation of valentine’s day.

heart warming

i wasn’t sure if we’d send them out as valentine ornaments for her friends or make a mobile or garland. regardless, i knew they’d be fun to decorate with paint, so she painted away.

once the backgrounds were dry, novi decorated them with polka dots and other designs.

then we strung them together on a red ribbon, knotting each one along the strand.

they ended up making a really cute valentine garland for our house! a shorter strand would be cute on the hearth.

happy heart season!