I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date ... ! Just before Christmas, we were invited to put our creativity to the test and take part in the Cass Art Challenge. We were supposed to get our first blogpost up in the New Year but, what with driving down to Brittany and back up to Hastings to visit both sets of grandparents, catching up with the cousins and then getting ready for Sophie's school trip to Italy (they left at 6.30 this morning - on a Sunday *groan* !), I haven't had a chance to plonk my bum down and get the crafting goodies out !
I must admit, my first thought when we were invited to take part was ... have they got the right blogger ?! We love crafting activities here at The Madhouse and the kids are always very inventive and enthusiastic, but I wouldn't say that we have much artistic talent between us ! However, looking at some of the quotes on the tote bag containing our mystery package of goodies, I discovered these words which made me feel much better : Art Makes Children Powerful.
Reading on about the Cass Art manifesto, I was further reassured : "ART IS FREEDOM. Cass Art believes in art. We know the freedom and creative pleasure it brings. So we want everyone to realise they can do it - and afford it." They say that they are on a mission - to fill every town with artists, and encourage everyone to realise their creative talents by providing the world’s top quality materials at the guaranteed best prices. OK, we're definitely up for the challenge - bring it on !
Time to discover what was in the bag. It was very exciting because, as one of the UK's biggest art stores (with 11 stores across the UK and an online store), they stock over 10,000 product lines, covering everything from paints and pencils to crafts kits, colouring books, fabric dye, Decopatch and papercrafts. In this first pack of goodies, we discovered Das Modelling Clay, an air-drying clay that is moist and ready to use straight from the foil pack. Once you've finished modelling, you simply leave it to air-dry to a hard, durable, matt finish, then you can sand, paint or drill it, as well as paint it with acrylic colours.
Along with a block of white modelling clay, we received a professional rolling pin (with three different sized removable rings to allow you to roll your clay out perfectly smoothly to three different thicknesses), some varnish and some DAS Idea Mix in red and blue.
This can be kneaded into the clay to create a uniform colour or a funky marbled effect. We experimented with both and loved the results.
So, do you want to see what we made ? Well, you'll have to come back tomorrow and I'll reveal all !
Disclosure : We received a mystery pack of art supplies in order to take part in the Cass Art Challenge. For more information about the brand, head over to www.cassart.co.uk.
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