Creative Challenge with Makin's Clay

I was so happy to be included in this latest challenge with an easy, fun product. Always up for a challenge and a chance to work with interesting mediums.  Makin's Clay is not new to me, I have used it, when it first became available several years ago.  I've dabbled with polymer clays before, though not an expert and other air-dry clays out there that are fun to work with.

With this opportunity I was able to familiarize myself once again with this medium. We needed to use at least 75% of the product in our project.  I feel that I used everything in some way that I received for this challenge.

A small sketchbook that was laying around was reused and this list of products from Makin's:
Makin's - Neon Green
Makin's - Natural
Makin's - Earth Tone Assortment
Makin's - Texture Sheet Set D
Makin's - Push Mold Leaves
Makin's - Clay Cutters Bulb Ornament
Makin's - Roller and Cutter Set

The clay was rolled, textured, cut, molded, die-cut, painted, stained, dry brushed and glued.

For creating my project here are steps I took with the products:
Two of the clays were rolled out to the size needed for the background of the cover and the frame, then each piece was textured differently with the texture plates.  To change the basic color without blending clays or adding paint, I brushed the neon green clay with a dark green acrylic paint and then wiped off to highlight the "wood" texture and darken the clay slightly.  For the frame edges, natural clay was textured with the "scales" plate and antiqued with Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Stain and wiped to tint the clay.  Ranger's Perfect Pearls "Perfect Gold" was brushed over these pieces to add some depth.  Using the "Leaves" push mold and the green clay from the earth tone assortment, several leaves were formed.  Flower petals were made using another color from the assortment and "bulb ornament" clay cutters.  The lightest "flesh" color, from the assortment, was rolled out to a thin layer and dried and then die-cut into shapes to make smaller flowers.  I used different colors of Perfect Pearls to highlight all the the pieces and give them a slight shimmer.  To finish my album, all pieces were glued in place with Beacon Adhesives 3-in-1 glue.  Beads were glued in place for centers of the flowers with Beacon's Gem Tac.  Torn scraps of fabric and variegated ribbon were tied to the wire coil of the album.  A photo or a printed verse can be slipped into the frame.

There is a new blog dedicated to just the Makin's line - here is a LINK for you to check out.  Follow through to check out the twelve other creative ideas other designers who also participated in this challenge. Use the button in the sidebar at the top right for the Designer Craft Connection to follow through to the other projects.  It's so amazing to see what and how other designers  come up with and how they use the same product.

There are small amounts of clay that went unused that I'm looking forward to some experiments with.  Need to try adding paint to it, mixing colors and blending colors.  It's clean, easy, air-dry, kid-friendly and designer approved!

Makin's Clay is offering a price package valued at just over $111.00, with products including clay, tools and a Memory Frame Kit.  To enter, leave a comment on the Makin's Clay Blog, telling us which project you liked best on the blog hop.  The winner will be randomly drawn from all entries on or about October 24th.  The winner will be announced on the Makin's Clay blog, so please check back on Thursday, October 25th to find out the winner.

 The holidays are coming and it's always nice to make some little gift or holiday decoration.

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