upcycled

Happy Pills – Upcycled Tin Case

by shellylarroyo

A friend of mine showed me these neat mint tins and my brain couldn’t stop thinking about how cool they were! They didn’t deserve to go to the dump… I came across another of my crazy ideas…I wonder if I can bake clay on that?! (This is an idea I have uttered soooo many times. *giggle*) And, Happy Pills — an upcycled tin case was made.

There is always a learning curve to adding clay to anything. I think for every three ideas I have, one works, one *sort of* works, and one definitely does not. I think a lot of this variation comes from not knowing exactly what the original item is made from and the chemistry that happens when polymers cure upon it. The satisfaction that comes when a product design works, is truly awesome. In the case of “Happy Pills,” I was pleasantly surprised!

***Step 1: Brainstorm. © Shelly Arroyo***

“I think for every three ideas I have, one works, one *sort of* works, and one definitely does not.”

**Step 2: Begin the Sculpt. © Shelly Arroyo**

**Step 3: Continue to Sculpt the Base***, © Shelly Arroyo.*

**Step 4: Cut Clay Details***, © Shelly Arroyo.*

**Step 5: Sculpt Clay Details***, © Shelly Arroyo.*

***Step 6: Finished Product, © Shelly Arroyo.***

PLEASE FOLLOW ME as I embark on a quest to enjoy, learn from, and raise my bamBEANos, in the best way this Mama Chickpea can. Art is my “balance” to life and I enjoy all the DIY therapy I can handle! To learn more about Mama Chickpea, click HERE.

To shop Mama Chickpea originals, click HERE.

All content and artwork © Shelly Arroyo, A.k.a. Mama Chickpea.

Blog, Polymer Clay

The Cutest Rooster

by shellylarroyo

***Rooster tail detail******, © Shelly Arroyo.***

It can be totally fulfilling to take a broken or trashed item and turn it into something amazing. In the case of this garage sale ceramic rooster, I saw past its hideous, and somewhat broken, exterior. He was free in a bin and I found the challenge of making him new again of the utmost excitement for my collection. He was the cutest rooster.

***Broken rooster,*** ***© Shelly Arroyo.***

I decided on the coloring I wanted for his base and started sculpting away. The key to clay-covered projects like this one, is finding an item that can bake at low temp, doesn’t set off fumes, does not shrink in the heat, and can support the clay being formed on top. Being that ceramics are often cured at very high temps, this made this freebie rooster a good candidate to illustrate on top of, while not wasting too much clay. The hollow insides of the existing rooster allowed for the rooster to stay lightweight, as well.