Young Bloggers

Summer has just begun, and with hours and days of free time, why not try something new? After all, summer is about having fun while accomplishing what you can’t during the school year. An exciting art form you can learn this summer is sculpting with polymer clay. Three years ago, I began using this type of clay to make many charms, from cupcakes to pigs to ice cream. Now you can do so, too! The first thing to do before you start is to invest in a solid brand of clay. I use Sculpey 3 because of its convenience. It has the perfect texture, doesn’t dry out, and bakes relatively quickly. I have also tried Sculpey Premo, but this brand isn’t as easy to mold, and it crumbles quickly. However, for experienced users who want the greater variety of colors, this may be perfect. There are many other brands available, so you can experiment and have fun with them! For tools, I’d suggest not to get anything too fancy. A simple plastic knife and clay roller are likely good enough. These may actually come with the clay that you purchase (I know they do with some of the Sculpey 3 sets), which makes life a lot easier! If not, just purchase a few of your favorites. As you decide what to make, watch tutorials to learn different techniques of molding clay, cutting it, mixing colors, etc. It’s great to learn a few tips and tricks to make your designs look professional. Another person’s perspective can really change your perception of a design, too! For example, I’d seen many photos of complicated clay dragons and was wary of making my own. However, after watching tutorials, I realized I needed to take things step by step and had the courage to create one. I also like to take inspiration from photos on the internet and change them up a little. In fact, it’s very fun to do so-as long as you don’t get carried away at looking at the pretty pictures for hours (what, no, I didn’t do that before… 😉 ). One tip I’d like to share is to pay attention to detail. If you’re sculpting with polymer clay, you’re likely working on a small scale. Try to work through each portion of your design carefully, and take your time. Polymer clay requires much patience, but is very rewarding! Also, a lot of the time my creations change as I sculpt, so don’t worry about sticking to one perfect idea you have in mind. It’s cool to see what you come up with as you go! Finally, don’t feel bad if your designs don’t turn out perfect. Mine never turn out exactly how I want, and that’s just part of the process! Pay attention to what you can improve on, practice new techniques to get better. Over time, you will (I promise).  Before we wrap up, I’ve included a few of my creations below for some inspiration. Happy sculpting! Congratulations, you’re all ready to get working with polymer clay! What will you create this summer? You can start off with something simple, like these skates.   Try mixing and matching colors to make some yummy cupcakes! You can even try out different ways to make frosting.   This was inspired by a tutorial for a wall hanging I found on Youtube, proving that you can collect inspiration from any type of video! This came out very different from the person’s wall hanging, but I love it nonetheless.   A Dragon!   I can’t forget the above dragon’s friend, now, can I?   A Disney princess- can you guess which one?

“The Orchard in my Village,” by Gao Di, age 12, China. From our September/October 1997 issue. Trees bring so many amazing benefits to our lives. Unfortunately, people often ignore the presence of these tall plants that help us live, learn and so much more. Here are only some of those amazing benefits of trees: 1. Trees Benefit our Health You probably already know that trees produce oxygen for us to breathe in the process of photosynthesis (which converts light energy to chemical energy). Without trees or other plants that perform photosynthesis, humans would not be able to survive on this planet. However, trees have much more to offer relating to health. First of all, they can provide shade on a sweltering hot day. Cities that have no shade from trees can have temperatures up to 12 ℉ higher than areas with many trees! Trees can contain oils that are used as medicines. As an example, the oil from a birch tree has “antiseptic properties,” so it can be used to fight infections and other diseases. Furthermore, research shows being around greenery and trees can calm you down and actually decrease your heart rate! 2. Trees Benefit the Environment In my last blog, I talked about global warming and how it is changing Earth for the worse. But did you know that trees actually reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (a polluting greenhouse gas) in the air? They absorb carbon dioxide in their trunks, and this helps slow global warming. Trees also are home to and provide food for a number of species. In fact, according to The Royal Parks: “One mature oak can be home to as many as 500 different species.” Plus, trees store pollutants from the soil to make it cleaner and help prevent soil erosion, because their roots hold the soil in place. 3. Trees Benefit Homes and Neighborhoods Everyone has probably played on a tree in their life at some point—to climb up the strong, steady branches, to race around its enormous trunk, or to just sit under it and enjoy the calmness of the leaves swaying in the wind. Trees play a big part in helping children develop curious minds and just have fun! Plus, trees planted near neighborhoods can help communities grow by creating a setting for activities like bird-watching, hiking, and even planting new trees. At my school, we got to plant 5 new trees on the campus. This provided a fun experience that helped me learn many new things while improving our school grounds! Another way that trees benefit homes and neighborhoods is that they can diminish city noise from highways or airports near your home almost as well as stone walls. As well as abating unwanted noise, trees also beautify homes and backyards. In fact, having trees on your property can increase its price by 5-15%!   I was really surprised at how trees help us so much in our everyday lifestyle. Unfortunately, the number of trees on Earth is slowly decreasing, and humans are the cause of that. Did you know that around 3.5–7 billion trees are cut down each year? Or that 100 trees are cut down every second in the rainforest? We need to be the ones to stop this horrible reality. After all, trees are one of the reasons we are alive today. Everyone, even kids, can make a difference by taking the initiative to protect them. Start by learning more about how you can help trees—just as they have helped us in countless ways.