» Craft at Home

Craft for Kids: Make Your Own Clay & Sculpt Away!

Cristina Córdova explores the human figure, and all of the expressions and emotion that can be found within. Using clay as her medium, she allows the material to guide her through the act of sculpting, finding the character as she moves through her process.

In this hands-on activity, make your own “clay” from materials in your pantry, and sculpt your own expressive features with this easy salt dough recipe. You can craft facial features, different parts of the human form, or an entire figure!

Watch the video from our IDENTITY episode below about Córdova’s life and work for inspiration, and see what expressive characters you can sculpt as you craft at home.

Treasure Hunt: Watch closely! Check off these visual clues as you find them in the video.

A woman among ferns
Trio of photos on a studio wall
A pool of sunken ships
Using vinegar as a tool
A mural featuring a flying animal

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Hands-on Activity: Make your own clay, and craft your own human sculptures

Materials:

2 cups flour
1 cup fine salt
2 tbsps. vegetable oil
¾ cup water
Food coloring, optional
Sculpting tools (toothpicks, popsicle sticks, rubber stamps, etc), optional
Acrylic paint, optional

How to:

1 – In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Use fine salt if possible, as courser types will lead to granular dough.

2 – Add the vegetable oil, then gradually mix in the water until you get a clay-like consistency. You may add another tablespoon or two of water if you need more.

DIY Clay Sculptures - Combine flour and salt. Craft in America — Combine flour and salt.

DIY Clay Sculptures - Add vegetable oil. Craft in America — Combine flour and salt.

3 – If using food coloring, separate the dough into portions and add a drop or two of color to each portion, mixing well.

[TIP: Food coloring may stain your hands while working with the clay.]

DIY Clay Sculptures - Separate in to portions. Craft in America — Separate in to portions

DIY Clay Sculptures - Add food coloring and mix well. Craft in America — Separate in to portions

4 – Once completely mixed, use the dough to sculpt your desired shapes or figures. You may craft a part of the body, a whole figure, or a variety of facial features with different expressions.

[TIP: Be careful not to make your sculptures too thick, or they may crack while baking.]

5 – Bake your finished sculptures in an oven set to 250º for one hour, making sure that they do not burn. Some sculptures may take more or less time, depending on how thick they are.

[TIP: For a golden look, you may brush egg yolk over your sculpted pieces before baking.]

DIY Clay Sculptures -Sculpt your desired shapes and bake at 250º for one hour. Craft in America — Sculpt your desired shapes and bake at 250º for one hour.

6 – Allow finished sculptures to cool completely, and decorate your sculptures with acrylic paint if you wish. Be creative and experiment with imagining a personality waiting to be crafted from clay!

DIY Clay Sculptures, Allow the sculptures to cool completely, then decorate as you wish.Craft in America — Allow the sculptures to cool completely, then decorate as you wish.

Happy Crafting!

Craft for Kids: Cardboard Animal Sculpture

Wendy Maruyama’s recent work, The WildLife Project, was inspired by the harm being done to African elephants. Informed by the issues and problems of poaching and its impact on wildlife, her wood sculptures of elephants bring new life to the animal. Each knot representing a desire to repair the damage done to these beautiful creatures, Maruyama connects ideals of conservation to the art of craft.

In this at-home activity, we will connect another aspect of conservation to craft: recycling! Watch the video clip from our IDENTITY episode below to learn all about Maruyama’s work, while keeping an eye out for the treasure hunt clues. Then, using recyclable materials like cardboard, create your own elephant sculpture with these simple steps!

Treasure Hunt: Watch closely! Check off these visual clues as you find them in the video.

Woman wearing a face shield
A dog shaking hands
A yellow rose
Maps as skin
A bird hitching a ride

Hands-on Activity: Make your own elephant sculpture!

Materials:

Scrap paper
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
Clean cardboard
Glue (optional)
Paint & paintbrushes (optional)

Craft at Home: Cardboard Elephant Sculpture

Craft at Home, Cardboard Elephant Sculpture, Gather your materials! — Craft at Home: Cardboard Elephant Sculpture

How to:

1 . Sketch out the basic shape of the elephant’s side view onto a piece of paper or directly onto the cardboard – do not include any limbs or large features. This is our base shape.

2 . Mark on the top of the base shape where the pieces for the head and body will be (Make at least 2 marks for the body). Draw a line at each mark across the base shape. Use a ruler to measure each line. Write those measurements down to help you remember!

3 . For each measurement, draw a circle with an equal diameter. You will have at least 3 circles: 2 for the body, 1 for the head.

4 . Draw ears on the smallest circle for the elephant’s head.

Sketch out the basic shape of the elephant’s side view onto a piece of paper or directly onto the cardboard - do not include any limbs or large features. This is our base shape. — Sketch out the basic shape of the elephant’s side view onto a piece of paper or directly onto the cardboard – do not include any limbs or large features. This is our base shape.

Mark on the top of the base shape where the pieces for the head and body will be (Make at least 2 marks for the body). Draw a line at each mark across the base shape. Use a ruler to measure each line. Write those measurements down to help you remember! — Sketch out the basic shape of the elephant’s side view onto a piece of paper or directly onto the cardboard – do not include any limbs or large features. This is our base shape.

5 . Draw the shape of a pair of legs for the elephant. You will make 2 of these pieces.

6 . Cut all of these shapes out of the clean cardboard. You will have:

The base shape
2 body circles
1 head (with ears!)
2 pairs of legs

Draw the shape of a pair of legs for the elephant. You will make 2 of these pieces.

Cut all of these shapes out of the clean cardboard. You will have: 2 body circles, 1 head (with ears!) — Draw the shape of a pair of legs for the elephant. You will make 2 of these pieces.

7 . Make a cut about halfway into the center of the body circles, the head, and each pair of legs. This is how the pieces will attach to the base shape.

8 . Make a cut for each piece into the base shape. Make these cuts equal in size to the cuts made in the pieces themselves. Cut the slits for the head and body pieces at the top of the base, with the legs attaching to the bottom.

Make a cut for each piece into the base shape. Make these cuts equal in size to the cuts made in the pieces themselves. Cut the slits for the head and body pieces at the top of the base, with the legs attaching to the bottom.

9 . Ready to assemble! Place each piece into its corresponding spot, using the cuts you have made to slide them onto the base shape and push them into place.

Ready to assemble! Place each piece into its corresponding spot, using the cuts you have made to slide them onto the base shape and push them into place.

10 . Ta da! You have made an elephant! Feel free to use glue to keep the pieces in place permanently, or have fun taking it apart and putting it back together again. You can also decorate the cardboard with scrap or wrapping paper, paint, or markers! If you do, make sure to let the cardboard dry completely before you connect the pieces again.

elephant cardboard project, Beware: Other animals may get jealous. — Ta da! You have made an elephant! Feel free to use glue to keep the pieces in place permanently, or have fun taking it apart and putting it back together again. You can also decorate the cardboard with scrap or wrapping paper, paint, or markers! If you do, make sure to let the cardboard dry completely before you connect the pieces again.

Experiment with making other animals using these same steps, but with different shapes. Get creative and happy crafting!

Craft for Kids: Book Arts!

Artist Felicia Rice‘s work explores how to draw the viewer into a story contained within the pages of a book. Artist books must be handled in order to be fully experienced, and can contain many different forms of media! This activity teaches us about one of the most versatile artist book styles – the accordion book.

Watch the video below to learn all about the incredible craft of book arts & Felicia’s work, while keeping an eye out for the treasure hunt clues. Then, get creative telling your own story with the activity below!

Treasure Hunt: Watch closely! Check off these visual clues as you find them in the video.

Leopard print in a book

Pink armchair

Purple ink

A doctor’s stethoscope

A face on a metal plate

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Hands-on Activity: Make your own accordion book!

Materials:

Blank paper – any type or size will do.

Scissors

Glue or tape

Any art supplies you have – crayons, pencils, markers, etc.

Cardstock or cardboard – cut out cereal boxes work too!

Decorative scrap or wrapping paper (optional)

Decorative materials – stickers, feathers, fabric, sequins, etc. (optional)

An example of an accordion book — Craft at Home: Accordion Book

Material needed — Craft at Home: Accordion Book

How to:

1 . Cut (or fold and tear) a piece of paper in half lengthwise to make two long, skinny rectangles.

2 . Fold each piece of paper in half widthwise.

3 . Fold the top flap in half again, with the bottom edge of the paper meeting the first top crease.

4 . Flip over the paper and do the same fold. Your paper should now look like a W.

Cut (or fold and tear) a piece of paper in half lengthwise to make two long, skinny rectangles.

Fold each piece of paper in half widthwise. — Cut (or fold and tear) a piece of paper in half lengthwise to make two long, skinny rectangles.

5 . Repeat this with the other rectangle of paper so that you have 2 Ws. (You can begin with more sheets of paper, and make more Ws for an even longer book!)

6 . Glue your Ws together to make an accordion (or use tape if you don’t have glue). If you are using a thick type of paper, you might want to use a heavy object like a book to press down on top of it for a few minutes.

Glue your Ws together to make an accordion (or use tape if you don’t have glue). If you are using a thick type of paper, you might want to use a heavy object like a book to press down on top of it for a few minutes. — Repeat this with the other rectangle of paper so that you have 2 Ws. (You can begin with more sheets of paper, and make more Ws for an even longer book!)

7 . To make your book cover, take two pieces of cardboard or cardstock (you can cut up cereal boxes too!) and cut them to the same size as the accordion.

8 . Take your decorative or scrap wrapping paper and cut two pieces a little larger than the cardboard, about an inch or two bigger on each side.

9 . Glue your cardboard in the center of the scrap or wrapping paper, decorative side out. Clip the corners of the paper, then fold and glue in the excess paper on the sides. Repeat for each cover.

10 . Glue the covers to each end of the accordion. You might need to press the book under something heavy again for a few minutes.

To make your book cover, take two pieces of cardboard or cardstock (you can cut up cereal boxes too!) and cut them to the same size as the accordion.

Take your decorative or scrap wrapping paper and cut two pieces a little larger than the cardboard, about an inch or two bigger on each side. — To make your book cover, take two pieces of cardboard or cardstock (you can cut up cereal boxes too!) and cut them to the same size as the accordion.

You’re all set! Now you can decorate your beautiful book however you decide! You can add decorations to your cover, like ribbon, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, or anything else you can think of. You can use the pages of the accordion to tell a story, create drawings, collect pictures…the possibilities are endless! Be as creative or as colorful as you want, and have fun!