My First Paper Teddy Clay

Hello! Today's post is going to be about how i make my first teddy bear using paper clay. Do you know what paper clay is? Paper clay is clay that is made of paper(also known as fiberclay). It is a non-toxic material that can be sculpted, molded or shaped, and air dries (no baking!) to a hard finish that can be carved, or sanded - perfect for artists and crafters of all kinds! For more info on paperclay you can click here.

Tips on how to work with paper clay:



. Working Surface - Place plastic wrap (pieces cut from trash bags work well) over your work surface to prevent sticking. If you're working on a waterproof surface, moisten the area beneath the plastic to anchor it to the table. Waxed paper may also be used, but it doesn't hold up as well. You may also want to keep a small container of water on hand for thinning and smoothing Paperclay®.


2. Rolling it out - Put the Paperclay® on one end of the plastic wrap. Fold the other end of the plastic over to cover the Paperclay®. Then use a rolling pin to roll out to the desired thickness.


3. Imprinting - After rolling out Paperclay®, remove the top layer of the plastic and lay lace or any other textured fabric directly on top of the Paperclay® and roll again to get the unique textures and patterns.


4. Covering Objects - To cover or embellish an object with Paperclay®, wet it with a small amount of water before applying the Paperclay®. Paperclay® sticks well to most surfaces, but if you have a problem, you can always use white glue.


5. Using molds - The method used to release Paperclay® from molds depends on the type of mold used. When using plastic molds there are several methods for release:
Leave Paperclay® in mold overnight, it will dry and shrink slightly so it will come out of the mold easily the next day.
Cover the mold with a very thin coat of liquid soap.
Sprinkle talcum powder in the mold.
Spray the mold with a mold release (Armor All® works great!).
Cover the mold with a piece of nylon and then press in the Paperclay®.
When using plaster molds use talcum powder or the nylon method to remove Paperclay® from the mold immediately or it may stick to and damage the mold.


6. Drying Paperclay® - Small items will generally dry in a day or so depending on room temperature and humidity. Larger projects may take a few days to completely dry. If you're in a hurry, you may put your unpainted projects in a 250 degree oven for 30 minutes or until dry.


7. Sanding, carving, etc. - After Paperclay® dries, it can be sanded and carved like wood. You can also build on to a completely dry Paperclay® object by just applying fresh Paperclay® (see #4).


8. Painting - Once Paperclay® is dried, it can be painted with any type of paint. After painting, spray with a clear acrylic spray sealer if desired. Paperclay® may also be colored by kneading water base paint into it before shaping.


9. Storage - After you have opened a package keep the unused portion in an air tight bag. If it should happen to dry out slightly while you're working or it's in the bag, simply knead in a few drops of water to restore its pliability.



Aiyer! STOP pasting words from other people's site la! I should type this post using my own words. But I am afraid that I don't sound professional enough if I were to use own words. Never mind, the reader can understand what I say. *self-convincing.....*



Now let me show you my completed Paper Teddy Clay!!!



Must say nice ah......please!



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Jeng....jeng....jeng.....

Cute or not?

OK or not? You must be wondering,huh?! Happy Birthday?! Yes, I make it for my mom's birthday.

Now I will relate to you my whole experience using paper clay. This is my first time using paper clay. I have never use other clay before except dough.

Let's start from why am I so free to make teddy bear when I should be spending time revising my books. Is because is mom's birthday. I do not know what I should get her. If I were to buy something for her, it will be pointless because the money I use belongs to her. I am not good enough to cook a nice meal for her. However, when it comes to art and craft is a different story. I can use my magic hand to make wonderful things. Fuiyoh,magic hand! No doubt I am a very rough person and clumsy as well but I can really work on fine details. No matter how detail is a artwork I manage to do it. When it comes to art, I will never find it too boring and time consuming or too much work. I can spent hours and hours on art. Note that mostly the hours are spent on very fine and little detail. I love anything that is miniature. I am also able to transform something that is ugly to something nice. Making a craft for mom is the best idea, plus she likes everything that is cute.

For the teddy bear I use this paper clay that I bought from Popular Book Store for Rm15.80.

Paper clay is usually white. There are also coloured paper clay but is rare and expensive. You can always color a paperclay yourself. Just add color onto a wet clay and knid it. Continue adding color till the whole clay becomes your desired color. As for me, I mould my tedddy first then paint it when it is partially dry(quite dry). You should actually paint it when it is completely dry because is easier to paint. However, I am a bit impatient because it will take time for it to dries completely. Hence, I need to add more paint on it .

Let's get started....

Before Teddy Bear is completed he looks like that......

What?! Why are you showing us a already scuplted teddy bear? I thought you should show us how you mould it. Sigh, actually I never thought of blogging about this teddy, but since I have not updated my blog for some time, this will be a good topic to post about. Hence, I only manage to snap pics of half- completed teddy. I got the instruction from http://www.paperclay.com/.

The Original Design

It was design by Stacey Morgan. Actually I bought my paperclay about three years ago. I have always wanted to make this teddy. I also intend to use to paperclay to make miniature figurine. However, I am just too lazy and can't find any reasons to make it. Moreover, I have so much of things to do. Thus, the paperclay remain in my drawer untouched. I only cut a bit of the wrapper to get a taste of how paper clay feels like.

I follow this instuction to make the teddy...

How-To:
Body - Form a brown ball into a teardrop.( Ok, at first it was easy, I really thought making this teddy is just so easy. I form a teardrop. I make the tummy bigger, bigger tummy looks cuter!)

Head - Add a dab of glue to the toothpick in the top of his neck. Press a brown egg shape onto the toothpick. (Yeah,just form a quail egg shape,the head is that shape. Break a toothpick into half and push it on the top of body and press your completed head onto the toothpick)Roll two small brown balls, and using the end of a paintbrush, press onto each side of his head. (Is not exactly a ball shape, is actually two small teardrop shape. After that use the end of a brush and press onto the teardrop to create the hollow part of the ear)

Arms- Each arm is a long teardrop shape that is flattened slightly. Attach at the top of the body. One arm is bent around to the front, and the other arm is placed behind him, as if he is leaning on it.(Hmm...sounds easy hor? I tell is not easy at all. Either the hand is too small,too big, too rough, looks unnatural, I take so long just to make the arm. Is actually making a teardrop with the length of 4 cm. To join the hand to the body, break a lead from your mechancal pencil and poke it into the body and then join the arm to the body by pressing the arm onto the lead. Next use your brush and dap it with water. Make sure your brush is really wet. Dap the arm and the body with water. Water act as a glue for paperclay. You don't need glue actually. Besides that, water is also use to smoothen the surface of the clay. You can also dab your finger with water and smoothen any part of the clay.)

Legs - Form a long teardrop, flatten the end and bend up to form the foot – make two(Yeah,rite... again I thought it was easy. It is just like the arm. The leg is either too big or too small. Spent so much time just to make sure it looks natural.). Attach to each side of the body. Add a small brown ball to the back for his tail. Break a toothpick in half and insert it into the top of the bear’s body leaving half exposed.

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Face - Each eye is a white teardrop with a black bead placed in the center of each. The nose is a dark maroon clay ball added right under the eyes. (Yes, make two small teardrop and flatten them. Make the nose. I make the nose bigger. Bigger nose is cuter looks cuter for the bear. Attach the eye to the nose. Then use a lead and push onto the center of the face. Push the nose onto the lead.)Use a needle tool or toothpick to indent the smile. Add a small pink teardrop to the mouth for the tongue.( I draw on the face using pencil before indenting the smile. This is to make sure that you know the face looks right.)

Just use mechanical pencil to indent the stich effect on the body.

Bow - Flatten a ¼” rope of red clay to make the tails of the bow. Use a pair of scissors to cut the ‘V’ shape at the end of each triangle. The bow is simply made from two triangles. Put a point from each side in the center and press on with the needle tool. Roll a small red ball and place in the center. After he has dried, pink or red blush/chalk can be added to his cheeks. (The bow is easy . Just flatten the clay and cut out a ribbon shape. Then attach a black string on the back of the bow. I use the string from those unwanted mobile phone hanger.)

Note: It always better to leave a sculpted clay to dry a bit before continuing...

The painting part- You need fine brushes. I use those chinese calligraphy brush and small brush. Get a medium size brush to paint the body. Is better to use acrylic paint. I did not use acrylic paint, because I don't have and is also expensive. I just use Buncho Poster Color.

The body color is Vandyke Brown+Yellow Ochre. The nose is Purple+Vermillion(more purple).

The tongue is Pink+Vermillion

The eyes is of course White!

The bow is Pink+Vermillion+Purple.

After the bow has dried, tie it around teddy's neck. Leave the teddy to dry. Dont keep touching your teddy unless you want to refine the detail. And also when paper clay dries, there will be small crack. So, before you paint, make sure there is no crack, that is why is better to paint when your teddy is quite dry. To fill the crack, you can dab the crack with water and use your nails to scrap the clay around to cover the crack. You can also use another clay and rub on the crack to cover it.

Use wet black ink pen to draw the iris

Finally, is completed......

Front View

Right View

Back View

Left View

I have did others craft and drawing also. However, most of my work is no longer with me. Mostly,people have taken it. Hence, I don't have my own portfolio. Now, do you want to try making your own paperclay project? Try it, and have fun. ;-)

Am I Cute?