Fairy House Jar Tea Light

Paper Mache Clay: A New Adventure

Fairy House Jar Tea Light

Fairy House Jar Tea Light

I’ve been wanting to try a timeless technique of using an air dry paper mache clay (p’clay for short), not to be confused with the paper clay used by potters that requires kiln-firing. The downside to this clay is that water completely destroys it. However, there are many artists experimenting with homemade recipes to improve sturdiness and water resistance. Continue reading

YES, I made it myself: Constructing Molds

OJ House

The OJ House still curing.

At my last selling event, once again, someone asked: “Did you really make that yourself, by hand? Well, how did you do that?” Sometimes folks don’t believe that I DO actually create the papercrete items I sell, from the design, the molds, to the painting and finishing of each piece. This post will be a step-by-step breakdown of a custom miniature house to show the amount of work involved in just creating the molds.Continue reading

Crafting With Recycled Aluminum Cans

Windflower Collection

Windflower Collection

This is a continuation of an earlier post: Repurposing aluminum drink can to the max! I want to explain in more detail a few of the crafts I’ve made along with some tips for repurposing aluminum drink cans. Some crafts need specific equipment, others may be created with everyday household items. There are many YouTube videos, Instructables, and Internet crafting tutorials about how to deconstruct an aluminum drink can, so I won’t reinvent the wheel here. However, I do have a few suggestions that might make the chore a little easier.Continue reading

Crafting With Asphalt Shingles

Fairy Castle Cottage Roof

Fairy Castle Cottage sporting her new shingled roof.

Recycling leftover asphalt roof shingles has been an interesting experience for me. I had a small stack of repair shingles stashed away that were no longer needed and I wondered if could I use them for roofing the Fairy’s Castle Cottage. They worked out pretty well and I believe I’ve found another material to craft with!Continue reading

Experimenting With Cement Soaked Cloth

Draped Vase curing

Draped Vase shown while still curing. Papercrete was added later to the inside and outside of the base for better support and balance.

I’m having way too much fun with cement-soaked towels to work on anything else at the moment. I’ve made draped vases, miniature fairy houses, funky steampunk looking flowers, and have a few more ideas I want to try before I work this obsession out of my system. So, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned while experimenting.Continue reading