So I saw these great mushroom ornaments on Martha Stewart and I decided to make my own out of paperclay. First you need an armature so the clay has something to mold to, and that way its not a solid clay lump which would take a long time to dry, and also use more clay. I used a Styrofoam ball that I cut in half and cut into the desired dome shape. I also used a wooden dowel for the base part that I cut to the desired length and inserted it into the Styrofoam and then covered the whole thing with paperclay.
I love using paperclay, you can apply it piece by piece in a thin layer, then when it dries I sand it smooth and apply more clay where needed. Before it dries I put in a small ring on top to hang the string by. After the ornament is dried and sanded smooth I can paint it. I love this part, it is where the ornament comes to life. I did several styles for these mushrooms, some all painted and some with glitter.
This one is a lot more sparkly in person than in this photo.
The white glitter on the bottom of this mushroom is a velvet glitter. It is more of a mat type glitter, so not as sparkly.
Of course I had to make some more birds. I used a Styrofoam egg shape then carved out the tail part. After the ornaments are all done I glaze them with a protective UV varnish which will help preserve them.
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