Craft - Tutorial - Gourd Angel with Clay arms N feet

Ella's gourd angel copyright, 2007 by desertbrat :

Need:
1 gourd (size is up to you)
*beads of choice for halo and wings.
*wire (I used 20 gauge)
*glue (I used Resistol 850, a white glue that dries translucent)
*polymer clay (I used Kato brand translucent and Sculpey IIII pale pink)
*Sealer (I used Anitas Water Clean-Up Polyurethane Semi-Gloss Varnish)
*Wood Filler (I used Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler)
*Wood stain (I used Min Wax Wood Finish, Golden Oak color)
*rubber gloves to handle the gourd, till you get it bleached and clean
*mask to wear, till you get the gourd bleached and clean
*bleach
*white vinegar

Wearing the rubber gloves and mask, I wanted to make sure I killed any mold that might be on the outside of the gourd, so I submerged it in strong bleach water for a few seconds, then scrubbed it lightly with an sos pad. You never want to scrub hard, cause it can leave marks on the gourd shell. I rinsed it good in clear water.

I've read that white vinegar is even better to kill mold. Personally, I can't imagine anything being stronger than bleach, but just to be on the safe side, I also submerged the gourd into white vinegar and rinsed again in clear water. (^:

1. The placement of the wings depended on where the arms would be, so I needed to make the arms first.

-I mixed a very small amount of pale pink clay with the translucent clay till I had the skin-color I wanted and then rolled logs of it, squeezed the logs slightly where the wrists should be and mashed the ends into a paddle shape.

-2. Using a craft knife, I cut slits in the paddle-shape to make fingers.

-3. I then spread the fingers apart, so I could get hold of each one and gently twist it back and forth, till it became round. I did this very, very gently. (I'm sorry my photo is blurry .. I didn't realize it was, till I started putting the tutorial together.) If you look carefully, you can see I've rounded two of the fingers.

-4. After shaping the fingers, I cut the thumb and little finger shorter than the three middle fingers and reshaped them again. Next, I gently pressed the arms onto the gourd till they "stuck" securely enough to stay on the gourd.

-5. Using the non-sharp side of a craft knife blade, I made slight impressions for nails and knuckles. Get your clay as smooth as you possibly can, but don't worry if it's not perfect, because after they are baked in the oven, you use the fine side of an emery board and gently sand the rougher places.

-6. The legs and feet came next. I rolled out logs of clay, squeezed them a bit at the "ankle", and turned up the ends, and flattened the "feet" area, just a bit.

-7. Cut the toe area at an angle.

-8. Using a craft knife, cut slits for toes.

gourd angel pg.1 || gourd angel pg.2 || gourd angel pg.3

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