Clay Nest and Eggs

Clay Nest and Eggs on Hands On Crafts for Kids 1410-2 - CelluClay

Paper mache' is the perfect medium for creating a unique little nest like the one I have here. Let's take a look at what you going to need to make one. You'll need some: Celluclay Instant Paper Mache', acrylic paint, some twine, paint brushes, a small bowl covered in plastic wrap, a measuring device, some scissors and some twigs. So, to get started we're going to actually make a tiny little nest. And, these twigs, you want to choose twigs that are pretty flexible. You can see I can bend these really easy. And, these are just some of a shrub. But, you can ah… maybe you have some grapevine in your backyard that you can coil around real easy like I have here. Then you are going to tie it with these pieces of twine. This is where it's really awesome to have a friend that can help you. I'm just gonna pull that snug. And, repeat to make a knot. You want to do this in different spots or as many as you need to make your ring like this. Once you get your ring set up you can go ahead and mix up your paper mache'. I want to show you something. I've got some little eggs that I rolled here. You can see that this instant paper machine comes in 2 different colors. You've got white or grey. So you can decide what color you want. This is what it looks like when it comes out of the package. All you are going to do is mix it according to the manufacturer's instructions. I'm just going to add a little bit a water … slowly. And, really you can add… water… if you add water slowly, you can you mix it to the consistency that you want. If you're sculpting the eggs or making this nest, you want it to be a little bit drier. But, if you wanna slathered on a flat surface or something like that you can make it a little bit runnier. So, it’s up to you. We're gonna go with a thicker version and I got something I've been mixing up right here. You may want some plastic gloves to do this... this next part. So, I've got my little bowl here and all you’re gonna do is drop your wreath down in the bowl. And, then you’re gonna start patting some of the paper mache' material to the inside of the bowl. You wanna keep normally I would be using my bare hands to do this but, I wanna show you how to paint something’s too. And, I don't want you to have to look at my messy hands while I'm painting. So, you want to keep your fingers pretty wet. So, I'll dip my plastic gloves in water. But, you can see how that just helps me release the clay down into the bowl. So, you would just keep pressing pieces down into your bowl until you have the entire thing covered. And, you can leave a little bit of the nest peeking around the edge that's what makes it look really neat. And, leave it to set up like overnight. When you, um… which will dry this inside area. Then the next day you want to remove it, flip it over and let that outside area dry. You can also go ahead and roll some eggs with this leftover clay to go inside your nest. So, let's do a little bit a painting. I've got my colors here. You can ... I'm gonna paint this one like a traditional nest but, you can paint yours you know in --um-- other colors if you want. You can make it a funky purple nest if you like. And, I just dip my brush in water and you're gonna make your paint kind of runny, because this clay is so porous that it's kinda neat to see the texture everywhere. And, you'll just keep painting. You might want to add a little bit a brown. And, I'm using a really flat brush so you can add some lines around to give it that stick like effect if you want. Or, you can just paint it solid. And, then you might want to flip it over and paint the other side. And, this is where your running paint mixture really comes in handy. Let’s add... -- yeah there we go-- So, I'm adding a lot of water. And, then you can just kinda brush over your twigs. You could wipe some that away with your finger. And, then you’re just gonna keep going until you've painted your entire nest. This is... getting down in these areas is where extra water is the key. And, you just kinda let ‘em… let all that paint and color seep into the cracks. And, then if you want you can paint some of your eggs a blue color. The ones that I brought with me today are actually like a robin's egg blue. But, once you get your coating of blue paint over, then you can speckle it with some dark brown if you want. Just sponge it on and leave it to dry. And, that's how you make a sweet little bird nest.