Autism still on The rise

Data and statistics says: About 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism  spectrum disorder (ASD).  in addition ASD is almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 42) than girls ( 1 in 189)  Although there has been research and testings they have not been able to figure out why autism is on the rise and what the cause may be.  Some have speculated that it is a mixture of genetics and environmental factors.  “Statistics also shows that ASD-commonly co-occurs with other developmental psychiatric, neurological, Chromosomal and genetic diagnoses. The Co-occurrence of one or more non ASD developmental diagnoses  is 83%.  The co-occurrence of one or more psychiatric diagnoses is 10 %.  Although many would love to know how to prevent autism or “cure” it, we have learned that it’s best to try and treat autism early.  Here are some early steps you can take when you suspect your child may have autism.

• Get them evaluated early  The earlier the better. it is easier to shape a child’s mind early than later in life.  Get your child tested and evaluated and also get a second and third opinion if need be.
• Get services This part can be very VERY difficult. ABA (applied behavioral analysis) has been proven to be the most effective treatment for autism. However, not only is there a shortage of therapist trained in ABA but also ABA services are very expensive. If it is not covered by your insurance you may find yourself stuck wondering what to do or where to go for help.  Not only that but these organizations that receive donations to help with autism mostly use the money for research instead of funding for ABA therapy.  Nevertheless you should do your research to try to find help for ABA services.
• Consider art therapy  We will touch more on our art therapy at a later date but art therapy has been proven to significantly help children with Autism and other disorders. Now that Stacie Laurell Crafts are switching our focus towards providing art therapy & art supplies to children and adults with autism we are dedicated to providing art therapy kits as well as literature, resources and vital information on Autism. It is important to know that many children have overcome Autism with therapy and help. It is possible! so never give up 🙂

Stacie Laurell Crafts

What’s so great about cold porcelain clay!?

I love polymer clay and i love cold porcelain clay. At first i was using only polymer clay then i started using cold porcelain then I started using both until I started to only use cold porcelain. Now if you speak with polymer clay lovers they will go crazy if you say cold porcelain is better than polymer clay. I can’t blame them for being so passionate about polymer clay. I mean it’s great you can mold it sculpt it bake it and then there you have it, a great new creation made by you.  But there are some draw backs to polymer clay. For example if you do not knead the clay properly your creations can break and crumble once it has been baked or “cured”.  Also some polymer clay brands get very stiff and hard over time making it very hard to soften and make pliable. I’ve had a few customers say that they stopped using polymer clay and switched to cold porcelain because polymer clay wasn’t good for their arthritis.  I have googled some ways to possibly soften polymer clay like heating it for a few seconds in the microwave or dipping it in boiling water but those methods didn’t work that well.  Another drawback to polymer clay is that if it burns in the oven the smell can be horrible and the burning to your eyes and throat can be a bit hellish.  Nevertheless there are people who just adore polymer clay and I must admit I still have a love for it too.

Now for Cold porcelain clay- Although cp clay has been gaining popularity many people still don’t know about this type of clay. Cold Porcelain clay is an air drying sculpting clay. So you don’t have to bake it to cure it you just let it air dry. When dried it has a smooth porcelain look to it. Once I had a customer purchase our clay and then demanded a refund because she said this isn’t porcelain clay because i tried to bake it and it didn’t turn into porcelain. Although a bit frustrated that she didn’t know that this was not actual porcelain I tried to explain to her that the reason why it is called cold porcelain is because of how it looks when dried and that it’s not actual porcelain. Anyways, Cold porcelain clay is also different from other air dry clay. Other air drying clay aren’t as durable. Some dries into a hard foam like material and some dry in a ceramic type material that is fragile but cold porcelain dries rock hard and so lots of sculpting artist and professionals prefer to use this type of clay.

For those who love both polymer clay and cold porcelain please not that our brand of cold porcelain clay can be mixed with polymer clay and baked! Because of our special formula our clay has the advantage over other cold porcelain clay on the market. I hope this was informative to you and if you want to check out our clay you can find Stacie Laurell Crafts on Etsy and Ebay

Thank you

Stacie Laurell Crafts

Sealers for Cold porcelain clay art

We always get the question “which sealer should we use for our clay”. There are many different sealers out there to choose from and many work great while others aren’t that great.  Here are a few tips to use when choosing a sealer for your crafting needs.

•  First make sure your sealer doesn’t yellow and fade over time.  Some brands of sealers and glosses yellow over time. I’ve found that the sculpey sealer yellows and gets sticky over time. I’m not sure why that is but it has happened several time. If you do like this particular sealer you must make sure to use a very think coat for better results.
• Some sealers can get cloudy- For some reason there are sealers out there that gets cloudy when used. To avoid this from happening it’s best to use a thin coat especially if the sealer or gloss is very thick. Apply a very thin amount and then dry. Then you can apply additional coats in between. Make sure each coat is fully dried before adding a second or third coat.
• Use water based sealers- water based sealers  are water proof. Why that is? i’m not sure exactly but that is that case. If you are looking for a water proof sealer check the ingredients to see if the sealer is water based. These water based sealers work great and last a very long time. They are usually thin and watery in consistency so you can and should add multiply coats to have your item protected and water proofed.
• Use a brush instead of spraying on- if you have a spray can sealer or bottle it’s best to spray the substance on a brush and brush it on to make sure you have an even coat. Spraying a sealer on tends to make the coats drip and coat unevenly. To seal most of your items it’s best to use a brush and apply multiply coats letting them dry in between..
• The two types of sealers we use often in our studio is Beacon & triple thick. Triple think however is VERY THICK and you must know how to use it properly for it to work well on your creations.  Another good brand is Americana. There are lots of other brands out there but these are the ones that we use the most. Also some people use floor polish for sealing. Floor polish works well however keep in mind that floor polish isn’t usually non toxic but if you don’t mind it works well. Just make sure to use in an open airy place and use gloves. I hope this was helpful to you and please visit our Etsy store or Ebay store to check out our Stacie Laurell Crafts clay products. To find us you can google our name Stacie Laurell Crafts 🙂  click here for etsy shop

Happy crafting

Stacie Laurell Crafts

Stacie Laurell Crafts to Launch new craft products for children with Autism

Stacie Laurell Crafts has come up with a new mission and purpose for our clay crafts. Coming soon we will be offering therapy clay kits for children with autism.  Clay and craft projects has been used in therapy such as occupational therapy and ABA for children with poor gross motor skills and other delays.  As an in home nanny for years and someone who has worked extensively with children with autism and other delays I have used Stacie Laurell Crafts clay with children and have seen remarkable results. Although I’ve always had a love to work with children, the desire to help children with special needs grew stronger when it finally hit close too close to home. When my nephew turned 15 months I already knew something was wrong.  All the signs that I had learned through school and professional experience were there.  Although my nephew is high functioning, he still needs  some therapy and services, and believe me services like occupational therapy and ABA can be very expensive!!! In fact many families simply can’t afford it.  Stacie Laurell Crafts wants to help. We are developing a Stacie Laurell Crafts Therapy Kit for children with autism and other delays.

It has been proven that arts n crafts designed specifically for Autistic children is a great form of therapy.  It is relaxing, soothing, therapeutic, encourages creativity & imagination as well as drastically improves fine gross motor skills. Although we will still sell our clay to the general public like artist, students, and everyday people we are in the process of providing art therapy products to children and families affected by autism.  We thank you for supporting Stacie Laurell Crafts thus far and look forward to helping children with autism.

Thank You

Stacie Laurell Crafts

Cold porcelain clay vs Fondant figurines

Many clay artist and bakers make cake topping figurines for cakes and parties but many of you may have noticed that sometimes these figurines  are sometimes made with fondant and sometimes cold porcelain clay.  Let’s visit the difference between the two. Fondant is a thick edible paste made of sugar and water and is often flavored or colored. Fondant is used for making candy and decorating cakes & cupcakes.  Cold porcelain clay is not edible but it is food safe and non toxic. Cold porcelain clay is made with natural non toxic ingredients such as corn starch oil and white glue to name a few.  Many artist use this clay for cake toppers. Although fondant is widely used it is made with sugar so it can and will mold and go bad over time.  Most people who order cake toppers don’t really want to eat them but rather keep them as a keepsake. Since cold porcelain clay last longer, many people opt for their cake topper to be made with cold porcelain clay. Your cake topper that is made with cold porcelain clay can be kept and displayed for years in your home.  Here are a few pictures of cake toppers made with cold porcelain clay by various artist.

If you would like to purchase some of our Stacie Laurell Crafts cold porcelain clay you can find us on ETSY click here

(the pics below were not made with our clay)

Regalos Di Benedetto

Regalos Di Benedetto

elda alvarado