making mario mushrooms with pj

Mario Week came to be after I saw my youngest siblings making "Toads" or mushrooms out of Play-Doh (see them here). They were enjoying making these little guys so much that I thought I would like making Mario-themed items too...and I was right! I've been having a blast!

But back to those Toads. After all the work that went into making the originals, I suggested that they let them dry for long keeping. Mistake. They fell apart and cracked and there were disappointed kids around here. Round 2. More Play-Doh mushrooms were made, and this time they kept them in a jar while not in use. It works, but it's just not as fun.

Let's try round 3! I got my brother PJ to help me out and make a new version out of polymer clay to share with you! This version will last much longer, and because we used Sculpey Superflex (also called Bake & Flex), this feels almost like rubber. Fun! PJ did all the creating...I just took the pictures and will narrate the process for you.



Start with red and white clay. We used a pan that we have dedicated to clay. If you don't have a "clay pan" I'd recommend placing a piece of foil on the pan you'll be baking on.



Warm up the clay with your hands. Sculpey Superflex requires quite a bit of warming to get it soft. Ours was pretty old and very crumbly, but once we rolled it in our hands (and passed it around a bit!) it softened nicely.

Form the red clay into a ball then flatten it a little.



Break off a piece of the white clay so you have a ball that is smaller than the red ball.



Place the flattened red clay onto the white ball.



Wrap the red down around the white a little.



Form a tiny ball of white clay, then flatten it out. Rub the white dot onto the top of your Toad. Smooth it on and repeat with more spots. Ours has four spots around the edge and one on top.



Use a sculpting tool or toothpick to poke two little eyes into the front of the white base.



Place the Toad on your baking tray and bake according to the instructions on the package. This one took about 45 minutes at 275F.



After it was all baked, the red deepened and it looks just right! Because this clay stays a little softer, it's holding together really well where the colors join. But that's not always the case with regular polymer clay. If you don't use Superflex, be prepared that your different colors may need some glue once the piece is finished.

Hey...Thanks, PJ for sharing your mad mushroom-making skills!