Tutorial : Olaf Clay Figurine

Missing my blue green hair.

Hi Everyone! Today is all about Olaf! I've recently posted my tutorial on my "Jack Sparrow Clay Figurine" and couldn't miss out dear little Olaf! 
"Oh, I don't know why, but I've always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot..." - OlafI took an estimated 3hours plus to make Olaf, and spent most of the time fixing his head. (The rest of Olaf's body is pretty easy to make) It's not easy to get the exact 'Olaf head shape' I want and I actually remade the head trice before I thought it's time to move on.

 Here's my little Olaf! I didn't realize till people commented, that my nails were pretty matching.

I did that with acrylic paint for Christmas and just didn't bother to remove it.

Here's what you need :

1) Clay (White, Black, Brown, Orange)

2) Thin Wires

3) Wire Cutter

4) Tools (optional)

5) A good dose of patience

6) White glue/bake and bond

 So, I started out with Olaf's body first. They were really easy - just two blobs of clay, one bigger than the other. For the top blob, roll it into a ball and gently tap it to make it flat on 2 ends. As for the bottom blob, gently press the SIDES of top part till it's 'slimmer' and has that slight triangular shape. Place thin wires to estimate where his hands will be. You can place it anyhow you want.

The head can be a little tricky. You got to make it like a diamond shape, but rounded at the ends. The bottom part (Olaf's mouth onwards) should be longer than Olaf's nose to forehead. When you got that, I used my  ball tip tool to 'draw' Olaf's smile. You can use a blunt end of a toothpick to do so if you do not have the right tools. Press the bottom part of the mouth a little so that the upper lip juts out. It's not that easy, I remade the head trice because of Olaf's smile. Don't be discouraged!

Shape a tiny piece of clay into a rectangle. This would be Olaf's adorable tooth. Tuck it under his upper lip which you made by drawing his smile. Use white glue or bake and bond if you need to. 

 The nose is a tiny triangle with lines slit across, and the eyes are fairly simple. 2 black dots of clay smaller than 2 already small white dots of clay.

Roll 2 balls of clay for his feet. Again, like the bottom part of his belly, make it slightly triangular. You can use a wire to attach them properly if needed.

Poke 3 wires on Olaf's head to estimate where it'll be. Then continue with his hands.

 Condition your clay well. If it's still hardy, this part may not work out.
Place the clay in between your thumb and your index finger, then, push a wire through it while rolling your thumb and index finger. The clay should be covering the thin wire. Remove excess clay by repeating the same thing holding it slightly tighter. For the ends where his finger sticks out, leave the clay SLIGHTLY (really just slightly) more and use a scissors to cut. Tap the sides with your hands or any tool so the cut doesn't seem so obvious.

Olaf's hair is exactly the same thing, but if you'd like to bend it like how I did, bend it first OR bend it after you applied the clay and it hardens slightly. If the clay is too soft when you bend, the whole thing will just come off. Use scissors again to help cut the tiny bits sticking out (sewing scissors are very tiny and could help better than normal scissors if available). 

Finally, add on his buttons! The 3 tiny balls of clay buttons doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, Olaf looks cuter with imperfect buttons!

 Olaf's on HIGH demand.
Well, who can help it? He's just too adorable!

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Noah's Ark in El Shaddai Refugee Centre

Hey everyone!
Much much much earlier this year in January, a group of people went to the El Shaddai Refugee Centre to have a library makeover! (I actually had this post in my draft for about a month plus already but my computer had problems with the internet and I forgot to post after.. Opps!)

Anyways, here's how their library looked like... *jeng jeng jengggg*

Space was really really limited. haha! 
The team had to move all these out before we could apply new paint to the walls and add in new furnitures..

We did some Ikea shopping, sorted the stuff and got back here another day to do the painting.
The painting progress (less words, more pictures) :

Lovely dove! One of my favourites.

Adele drew and painted this lovely giraffe! She did all the shadings for our cartoon animals here.
Superbly awesome painter!

So far so good?

Adorable little ducklings snuggling up together!

Walah!!! One side of the wall completed! I think it looks really really nice!

 The other side of the wall with Eeyore at the background!

The door was repainted white as well.

New Billy Bookshelves from Ikea.

The guys repainted the metal shelf white.

And everything's done! Now the children at the El Shaddai Refugee Centre will have a wonderful library to visit! Woohoo!

Teddy Bear Pancakes

I recently went over to a friend's place to make pancakes!

And here's my special teddy cakes!

 In the making.

 Handsome isn't he?

 He became a She

 That's all! I think she looks more like a koala now.. must be the huge nose.

Tutorial : Jack Sparrow Clay Figurine

Ha-Haha-Hahaha! I know, I know.. you're probably bored of looking at tigers on my instagram/fb/etc... but I can't help it. I think they're superb! Moving on!


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Many of you have seen my Jack Sparrow clay figurine on my instagram
Now, I'm going to show you how it was made! For more crafty journeys, follow Craftysupermom on instagram, or checkout the hashtag #boxofhobbies (also on fb here)

What is needed :
1) Clay (Cream, white, brown, pink, assorted 'red/green/yellow/etc')
2) Metal wire (optional)
3) Blade/cutter

I think that's about it. Let's get started!
First of all, I rolled my cream clay into a round shape for Jack's head. Then, I took a creamy white colour (you can mix them yourself) to make the body. Leave some for the arms later on.

 Check that the proportions are alright.

 Make two long brown clay 'logs' for the legs and attach it with the body. You may use glue or bake & bond which you can get from craft shops. Use metal wires to secure them if needed. I used it for the head.

 Roll out a thin piece of brown clay for Jack Sparrow's vest. Smoothen the front and back before pinching the sides off. When that is done, use your finger or any round tool to smoothen the sides.

 Jack Sparrow needs his boots and belt! You can mix any shade you want. I made them slightly lighter than the pants. Roll out round balls for Jack Sparrow's feet (boots) and add another thin layer of brown clay to cover up his boots and the bottom end of his pants. If you have a reference of his photo, that'll be great!

As for the belt, it's just a long roll of brown clay pressed down. Don't secure it completely just yet. Leave a slight opening for his 'scarf ?'

 

 Roll out small strips of white and pink/reddish clay. Tear them then roll them longer, tear again and roll again till u get something like the above. DO NOT twist them. Flatten it and cut out 2 small piece. Cut up the bottom a little and attach one piece beneath his belt. Press it in, attach glue if you have to. Then, do the same to the second piece. Twist and play with the shape. Then, attach it to the top. Try to push it into the belt a little to make it seem like it's continuous. (might be a little tricky).

 When all goes well, add a little glue to fix it in place. Add another belt across his waist.
Add a buckle if you wish for it to seem more complicated. Captain Jack Sparrow carries a whole bunch of stuff all the time. You can add more than the above if you want to.

 Make balls of cream clay for the hand and attach the head to see if the proportions are alright.

 It's time to make the hair! Captain Jack has long thick locks of hair. So, roll out thicker pieces of dark brown/black clay. Fill up his whole head. (Note that you should make his hair pieces in different lengths)

 Add a red bandana. Roll out a flat piece, fix it on and cut the extra.
You can make a pirate hat for your Captain Jack too if you feel adventurous to try it out. Add more hair on top of the bandana sides to cover up any ugly parts (cheating!)

You can then roll out colourful 'beads' and attach them with metal wires to Jack's hair. Add mustache and beard with tinsy winsy little beads. Paint his eyes with acrylic paint (or clay would work fine too) and walahhhh! Here's Captain Jack Sparrow !

I think he's pretty handsome. Don't you think so?