Spooky Skulls on the cheap

It’s that time of year again; time for all things spooky and ghoulish! In honor of the scariest month of the year I have decided to share my technique for creating several Skulls from just one. Here is a list of supplies you will need.

Plastic skull (I get mine at a dollar store)

Aluminum foil

Masking tape

News paper or old phone book

PVA glue (school glue)

Water

Craft Knife

Cotton balls

Silicone caulk (I get mine at Wal-Mart for 2 dollars)

An old paint brush

Acrylic paints

Paper pulp

Recipe for paper pulp: soak torn pieces of newspaper in hot water. Let stand for 30 minutes to an hour. Add wet paper to a blender and pulse until it takes on a consistency of oatmeal. Squeeze out excess water then Add pva glue and dry wall compound (joint compound). Measurements depends on amount of paper used, Mix well. 

Step one:  tear off a piece of foil large enough to cover your skull. Begin by gently pushing the foil into any recessed areas of the skull completely covers the skull. 

Step two: cover the foiled skull with masking tape. Be sure to get every nook and cranny covered. 

Step three: mix you papier-mâché mix (a 50/50 mix of water and pva glue) add a layer of papier-mâché on the skull. Let dry and repeat three more times. 

Step four: use your craft knife to cut around the skull (essentially in half)  I can’t stress this enough, GENTLY remove the plastic skull. 

Step five: use masking tape to join the two skull halves together. Add two more layers of papier-mâché and let dry.

Step six: spread paper pulp all over the skull creating details like teeth, brows, eyes or whatever your heart desires. 

Step seven: squeeze out a small amount of silicone caulk on a disposable plate; using an old brush add the caulk and the cotton balls to the skull.  This makes a nice rotting skin look.

Step eight: paint your rotting skull with acrylic paints or use a gel wood stain (pictured here)

And you’re done! You can now make several skulls that cost next to nothing to make. 

Welcome October

The leaves are changing and crisp cold mornings are upon us. Welcome October! I welcome the apple crisps and pumpkin spice the warm knit blankets that feel so nice; Welcome October!

I have been busy creating some spooky Pumpkins to sell at the Great Pumpkin Festival here in my town of Putnam CT. I will also have some available in my Etsy shop www.Claraism.etsy.com. I also accept custom orders, so feel free to email me with a request. 

Please note that these pumpkins maybe similar to one another but none are exactly alike. They are one of kind pieces. They are made to order and require one to two weeks from creation to shipping. 

They are made using traditional paper Mache techniques with paper pulp added for strength as well as a layer of dry lock for protection, then hand painted. These pumpkins are designed to be used with LED candles or flame-less candles. (After all they are made of paper)

Let me know what you think of them.

Day 24 of 30 Days Of Art

I was in the mood to use water color pencils.

Mr. Tom Waits

and Ms. Marie

Day 23 of 30 Days of Art

Day 22 of 30 Days of Art

Day 21 of 30 Days of art

Day 20 of 30 Days of Art

Day 19 of 30 Days of art

Day 18 of 30 Days of art

Day17 of 30 Days of art

Day 16 of 30 days of art

It’s been a hell week for me but I did manage to paint and create but just couldn’t get to the computer so this will be a very short post or rather 7 short posts. Hope you enjoy them.

Day 15 of 30 Days of Art!

my advice for today's post, is to live in the now; love and live in the moment of being. don't be burdened with time and give great praise to self awareness.

Today's painting is wonderful layers of acrylic paint and stamps, with simple word of FLY take that as you wish.

Today's ATC is made up of a base of acrylic paint, cute stickers and a mix of fine glitter and mica powders, lovely isn't it? Don't we all "fish we may and Fish we might?"

Day 14 of 30 Days of art

well, my tummy still hurts so I can't eat sweets but I can paint them as big as I want.

Today's painting is a pulled art piece, meaning I played with the layers of paint until I saw an object...probably my subconscious telling me That I really want a huge cupcake and it'll make me feel better ...lol maybe ...maybe not.

Today's ATC is pieces of painted paper cut and decoupage on to an ATC blank. added some bling and walla pretty art on a small scale.

Day 13 of 30 Days

even when I'm sick I want to play with paint...I think I'm coming down with a bug I feel sick.

but here are today's entry.

the painting is an abstract Creation from a feeling of love when your around . It's for my husband who always makes me feel better.


and today's ATC is green with happy thoughts of life always rejoice in the wonders of life.

Day 12 of 30 Days of Art!

Today I played with texture from dryer sheets to sand and Styrofoam. Abstract Art is very liberating and I find it the most enjoyable, probable because there are so many layers and emotion that goes into a piece.

this painting is a combination of frustration and retrospect. I used some sand texture gel medium and a block of Styrofoam to apply some of the layers. I truly love how this came out.

today's ATC is layers with glimmer mists and paint as well as dryer sheets for added texture.

Day 11 of 30 Days of Art!

one of my favorite things to do is use magazines images and paint them some-what differently.

today's painting is about love and how when you are "in it" you shine.

today's ATC is about looking deeper in yourself and imagine the possibilities.

Day 10 of 30 Days of Art!

can you believe I've been doing this for 10 Days!? well, it doesn't feel like it and that's great because it's a long time till I reach 100!

today's painting is another mix of painting and journaling. I love the background! layers of paint and stamps.

today's ATC is simple but pretty. some nice layered paper and a butterfly stamp traced over with twine. and 3 very sparkly rhinestones.

Day 9 of 30 Days of ART

I'm enjoying my daily jaunt into the depths of my imagination. it's comforting to know that after a long day I get to play and get messy.

this painting started out as an ordinary painting but then turned into a journal page. love when the unexpected happens.

today's ATC is pretty cool I must admit, I created a paper clay heart wrapped it in twine coated it with rub n buff and added some word beads. so much fun!

Day 8 0f 30 Days of Art

I made it a week and I'm still going strong! I'm looking forward to tomorrow I may actually get done early.
so here is the painting, a mixed media lovely with a great message.

this ATC has a paper flower made from pre-painted paper that I had laying around. sometimes I will spend a couple of hours just smearing, scraping, splattering and flicking paint on paper just to have it on hand for just these moments...you never know when you'll need an awesome paper flower!
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Day 7 of 30 Days of Art

today, I created this collage of this Strange yet lovely woman.

she is painted using acrylics over several layers of paint and paper. she holds the quote as to show balance because in life you must balance the good with the bad.

this ATC is one of my favorites, it is a 3D type of artwork that I recently became a fan of; hope you like it.

Day Six Of 30 Days of Art!

boy, am I tired! I had a very stressful day. yet nothing I had to go through today could compare to my daughter who lost her four-legged baby today. Ginger was her name and she had been sick for a very Long time so my daughter didn't want to see her suffer any longer and now she is at peace. and playing with the best yarn ever!

the painting is of Ginger

 I love you Ginger baby...

ATC number six (day six)

Day 5 of 30 days of Art

Day 5 of 30 Days of art Yay!
so, I tend to play with random crap that most people throw away and today Is no different. I used meat trays; the stuff your super market wraps the meat in.

I cut off the sides so I could have a flat surface to work on. then I took a dull pencil and drew out my design; here I chose an Owl, isn't he sweet? after I finished drawing the owl and was happy with the design (you only get as many go's as you have trays) Luckily one was enough. then I added the paints quickly so to keep it from drying. place your paper over it and use a brayer or a cup and roll out the print.

..print as many as you'd like the design never changes but you can change the colors as often as you like. this works great on T-shirts too!

Today's ATC is a collage of random goodness I gathered. the background is designer paper from Tim Holtz and so is the film strip ribbon ...just love all of his stuff!