Burnt Babies Decoration Made Out of Clay and Clothes

My mom keeps some of our baby clothes just as a memory. I realized that with this project we could give those clothes shape and keep them as sculptures. But also I realized tht they could work as a halloween decoration.

Step 1: Materials

You will need:

babies clothes
clay
newspaper (in case you need some support)
plastic bag (to cover)
thinner and matches
a piece of wood or simply a surface were you could work comfortably.

Step 2: The Structure: Made With "churros"

In order to hold tight the clothings, you'll need to construct a clay structure.

First you'll have to do some "churros":

You take a little bit of clay, and with both hands you'll start doing this form, kind of a long snail.
Then you're gonna place it on the surface you're working on, and with the palm of your hand you're going to continue shapping and stretching it, until it's width is about 3/4 inch or 2 centimeters.

Step 3: Starting the Structure

Think about the form of the clothes to start your clay structure. For this example I'm using a dress.

Start doing a circle with the "churros", the dress is going to fit over this circumference.

Don't cut the churro, continue piling it up in order to grow the structure.

Every 3 or 4 lines that you pile up, knead them on the outside and inside, this will prevent them from separating.

Step 4: Finish Your Structure

Always keep an eye to the clothes you're doing the structure, so you can follow it's shape and you don't get trouble fitting the clothes at the end. *If you see that the structure is getting weak or breaking, you can use some newspapers to help you give some stability. At the end you wi'll take them out, or just burn them.

Step 5: Doing the Slip

The slip is made with clay and water, and we're using it to register all the details from the clothes.

place some mud into a bucket, and try to smash it or squash it.
add some water and keep on smashing it with your hands.
keep on doing it until you get a consistency similar to mayonnaise.

Step 6: Fitting the Clothes Into the Structure

Once the slip is ready, you'll cover the structure with it. (this will help to rgister the deatils comming from the clothes).
Turn the clothes, so the seams are left on the outside, and the slip registers the face with the details that we want.
Then dip the clothes you're working with into the slip. Be generous and make sure that there's a lot of slip in every wrinkle.
Next place the clothes over the strcuture. Be very carefull so you don't break the structure.
Once the clothes has covered the structure, rub it with your fingers, with this action you'll register better all the details from your clothings.
When you finish, place a big bag or a piece of plastic arround your sculpture. The clay needs to dry slowly, so the bag will allow this process to get through. Wait 3 or 4 days to remove the bag, and let it dry completely for another day or two.

Step 7: Burn It

When it's completely dry, look for a safe place where you can set it on fire. I did it on the backyard, far from the grass and plants. I placed some pieces of metal over floor so it wouldn't get stained.

Use the thinner or another flamable liquid. Spread it over your sculpture.
Be carefull whith the fire. You can throw the lightened match, or you can use the help of a newspaper, rolling it and lighting the tip, this way you can light up the sculpture from a safer distance.
Repeat until the cloth disappears or until you like the effect of the burnt cloth.

*If you have a ceramic kiln you can fire it and you'll keep your sculpture forever. If not and you wanna keep it safe from water, you can protect it with a resistant water glue, be sure to apply it on the inside and the bottom too.

Step 8: That's It!

There you go!
You can have a creepy burned baby for your halloween decorations or jst treasure your babies clothings.

Also you can place a candle inside for a creepier look.

*If you don't like the burnt out look you can wash it. Also you can help yourself with a knife or a cutter to get rid from every piece of cloth left at the dry clay.