It started out as Christmas craft with the kids...
I found a ton of cute paper clay sculptures on Pinterest and decided it was a craft I would have to try. During down time on Christmas break I brought out the paper clay and gathered the girls around the table for some mother-daughter craft time. Greta didn't last long but Gigi and I stuck to it and decided to make steampunk inspired pendants... and a few birds.
We started by rolling and cutting out the clay into mostly squares. I had some adorable little "cookie" cutters in the shapes of squares and circles that I bought when I picked up the paper clay. I also had a bunch of steampunkish bits and pieces that Gigi and I found on a late night trip to Micheals Arts and Crafts, and when I say a bunch I mean more than I will ever use in a lifetime.
We made our basic clay pendants and arranged the steampunk pieces into the clay. After that was finished, we took a break for about... two weeks. In our defense, the clay had to dry and we all know that crafts dry better when they are left on the kitchen counter and forgotten. Just a note, very few of the steampunk embellishments stuck in the clay and most of them had to be glued to the pendants after they were painted.
Then one day while cleaning, I decided that was impossible to truly clean my kitchen unless I stopped what I was doing and painted the clay pendants. Isn't that how all crafty people clean? So, I transferred all the tiny little clay and metal pieces to my art studio and started smearing paint on them. I literally used my fingers and smeared them with watered down black craft paint and then started rubbing them with a dab of different colored metallic craft paint. I love the outcome.
When Gigi got home from school I had to have her remind me where the different steampunk pieces went on which clay pendant and then we glued them in place and enjoyed our accomplishment. We had a pile of pendants that we loved but didn't know what to do next.
A bolt of lightening struck and we decided to make a banner. So after the completed pendants relaxed on my desk in my art studio for another handful of days, I came up with an idea for a banner. It only took an afternoon to put together and now it proudly hangs in her room. All the pendants on the banner are the ones that Gigi designed. It is absolutely one of the coolest things we have made together.
We still have pendants left over for other projects. I have a purse that Gigi and I designed to show you next... which uses more of her steampunk pendants.
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