Polymer Clay Figurines (Shopkins, Harry Potter and Avatar)

Kids move a mile in minute with their interests. They latch on to whatever interests them and focus on it until something else comes along to supersede it.

That was the Shopkins craze at school. These popular tiny rubber collectible characters were based on items like food, cosmetics, accessories and all things shopping. That's fine and dandy but I knew it wouldn't last with my kids. It did make for a fun creative exercise for us all by designing our own shopkins and then creating them in polymer clay. The kids gave me sketches and I did my best to make them a reality. They even created names and character traits for them.

They did not have the longevity that the real rubber shopkins have and did not stand up to their playing quite as well. Several smaller pieces broke while being played with.

Alas, it was a fun exercise, and it got me working again with polymer clay, something I hadn't done since last year during their Avatar : The Last Airbender craze. Other polymer clay items I have made for my kids imagination play have included Harry Potter, the Spice Girls and No Face from Spirited Away.

It is a great material to work with and perfect for creating figurines for imaginary play  especially when the characters don't have a line of toys. Not every kid likes Star Wars and Barbie.

---