Watercolor Clay Turtles

How we did it:
Materials List
- clay
- salt
- watercolor paint
- water
- paintbrushes
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We hadn't played with clay in a few months (which is a really long time for us!), so we were thrilled to have a brand new bucket of natural clay to get our hands into.
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We dug right into the clay and started molding our turtles. We're very fond of turtles around here, but a fun addition or variation to this project would be dinosaurs or lizards.
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Soon Maddie and I had molded the creatures to our satisfaction. (Isn't it nice that with clay, you can start over again easily if it's not quite turning out right?)
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We wet the turtles so that the sculptures were covered in a layer of water, then we drip-dropped our paints...
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...and watched it just take off! So many oohs and aahs!
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There! "It's just right!" Maddie says. So we sprinkled on salt, and watched the paint change a bit more, while it was still wet. We left our creations dry overnight.
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This morning we admired them greatly, and Madeleine thought hers could use some final touches with a bit of carving.... if the clay is dry, just dip whatever you're using for marking in a bit of water--it will soften the clay to make it workable again. (The beauty of this natural clay is that it can be reused if wetted, even after it's been completely dried.)
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Now he's done, and ready for anything. "Whatcha doin', Babe?" I asked Maddie.
"Well, that's his bowl, and these are lettuce!" Ah-ha. Her turtle friend's ready for breakfast too, I guess!