Mondoinundito trying out Activa products - making of the nightmare before christmas setting!

Hi everyone, it's been a while since my last post, but I'm back again, and this time I'll show you something that's definitely out from my comfort zone: a 3d setting inspired by Tim Burton's "Nightmare before Christmas". 

But let's go back to the beginning: Activa Products has sent me Hearty clay and Color Plus to try out. As you may know, I mainly work with polymer clay, so it's been really interesting to try something different and new, such as Air dry clay is to me.
(Check the video out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV-qe34_4qU )

What I can say about Hearty air dry clay is that it is extremely soft, fluffy and light. It is perfect to create any kind of sweets but, in my opinion, it is very good to create magical landscapes/settings too and that's exactly what I did. Take a look at this work in progress!

If you want to see part of the process, you can check my latest youtube video out. 

You find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV-qe34_4qU 

So, to make the smaller hills, the trees on the very background and the sky (yeah, the sky) I used the Hearty air dry clay:

The technique is really simple: grab the clay, add the acrylic color you like/need and mix everything until you get the uniform color you're looking for. If the clay becomes too dry in the process, just add water and it will return soft and smooth. The time it takes to dry may change according to the humidity you have in the room but for my experience, it was really hard to work with/apply changes after and hour and definitely dry after 5/6 hours.

Another thing I really appreciated is that this clay is super easy to texture, which means you can get multiple and different effects according to what you need. Last but not least, both clays I received from Activa Products are perfect to be colored with acrylics (which is exactly what I did here: there is a "background color" and then i made everything uniform by adding the colors I wanted to after the clay had dried.)

I used Color Plus air dry clay to make tiny details and the hill where Jack walks on. This type of clay is a little bit less soft than the Hearty one, so it's been way easier for me to make the tiny details (such as the pumpkins).

So yeah, if you're looking for an amazing and huge variety of clay products, I suggest checking Activa products website out, HERE. They also are on Instagram, if you prefer!

Well, I guess it's now for the moment. Let me know what you think about this project if you want or stop by and say hello here:

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Xmas fairies are coming to town!

Ebbene sì, il Natale è ormai alle porte, ma non crediate che si prepari da solo! Già, perchè ogni anno, sebbene voi non le vediate, tantissime fatine si danno da fare - molto più dei folletti, a dirla tutta v_v'' - per far sì che ogni 25 dicembre sia magico *^*

E allora perchè non mostrarvele queste fatine? Ognuna ha caratteristiche diverse che la rendono unica e letteralmente insostituibile.. ma basta perdere tempo, ora ve le presento!

(N.B. queste bamboline sono pezzi unici, cioè non potranno essere riproducibili su commissione. Saranno disponibili a partire da domani, 23 dicembre dalle 10.00 sul mio negozio a questo link: https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/mondoinundito)

Hello world! Xmas is coming to town and i absolutely have to show you the fairies behind this amazing day. They are even better than Santa's elves, even if people still don't know them very well. So let's get started! 

(IMPORTANT: They will be available tomorrow, 23rd of December at 10.00 Italian time. Even more important, each of these girls is a unique piece, which means that it won't be possible for you to request them as a custom order. You will find them here: https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/mondoinundito )

Tadaaaan ecco qui! Da sinistra a destra troviamo Lighty, Gifting, Stardust e Belly.

Lighty si occupa di far funzionare correttamente ogni lucina dei vostri alberi di Natale. Chissà se è passata da casa vostra e non ve ne siete accorti! Altezza 4,5 cm.

Altezza 4.5 cm

Prezzo: 17.50 euro

From left to right we have: Lighty, Gifting, Stardust and Belly. 

Lighty has to check the Xmas lights and being sure they work perfectly u_u Such an important job, isn't it?

Size: 4.5 cm

Price: 17.50 euro

Gifting invece è l'addetta al controllo qualità dei regali di Natale. Si occupa di controllare che ogni letterina corrisponda effettivamente al giocattolo richiesto e una volta dato l'ok, il pacchetto passerà direttamente nelle mani di Babbo Natale.

Altezza 4.5 cm

Prezzo: 17.50 euro

Gifting, instead, has to check the quality of any toy, gift and so on and also being sure that each one matches with the expectations of the children.

Size: 4.5 cm

Price: 17.50

Lei è Stardust, custode di tutta la carta da regalo a cui potreste pensare ( e infatti ha una piccola chiave sempre assicurata al cappellino così che nessun folletto dispettoso possa andare a fare danni v_v ).

Altezza 4.5 cm

Prezzo: 18.50

Then we have Stardust and she is both a fairy and Santa's assistant as well! She has to check the wrapping paper and let it being ready for xmas. The key attached to the hat is the only one that opens the "wrapping room".

Size: 4.5 cm

Price: 18.50

Infine abbiamo Belly, che invece, udite udite, è stata recentemente promossa a mastro Addobbo. Cosa significa? Che deve controllare ogni singolo alberello di Natale e ogni addobbo con cui questi vengono decorati. 

Altezza: 4.5 cm

Prezzo: 18.50 euro

Last but not least, we meet Belly. Her duty is checking any Xmas tree before they enter in their new homes and also being sure the decorations are in the right place.

Size: 4.5 cm

Price: 18.50

Spero che vi piacciano e in ogni caso vi auguro buon Natale <3

I really hope you like them, and I wish you a very merry Xmas and happy new year!