Crafting Cute: Polymer Clay the Kawaii Way

So...much...cuteness!

Dani Banani offers this book full of Kawaii-inspired polymer clay creations. (Did you know Kawaii means cute in Japanese?). I'm a newbie at polymer clay, but these instructions are aimed at beginners (experts will enjoy the ideas and probably have their own special twists to add!). It would be easy to get overwhelmed with a book like this, but step-by-step instructions and photos help you along to the finished project. The most difficult part...deciding which project to try first!

I have seen so many videos on Instagram of people making these adorable clay figures and this is the perfect book to get you started. It has tons of great ideas and is explained so clearly with great, easy to follow pictures. I cant wait to try some of these projects out for myself!

Oh my gosh, the crafts in this book are darling and so much fun to do with kids! My daughters enjoy making fun things like this and it’s a great way to spend some quality time with them.

So I need some clay stat!!! This has the best ideas to make for gifts and just for fun. I love Kawaii and never would have thought about using clay to make stuff at home. I need this book at home!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is cuteness overload and I absolutely love it! There are so many different things to make with polyma clay and the instructions are easy to follow and set out clearly. I really need to go shopping and get all the equipment I need for making these absolutely adorable animals.
My daughter is excited about this book and really wants to make some too.
This book would make a fantastic gift for an art or craft lover or even for your kids for christmas.
Thank you so much for such an amazing book.

This book is so fun!!! Every project is simple and adorable. The instructions are easy to follow and this would be a fantastic gift for artistic young girls. I plan to get a few as gifts for the young artists in my life. Absolutely loved this one. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I decided to review "Crafting Cute" because my daughter likes to make things out of clay. I loved this book! Every project is adorable and the directions look very easy to follow. Almost every item in there made me want to make it and I have never even made anything out of clay!

Crafting Cute: Polymer Clay the Kawaii Way is a tutorial and project guide for polymer clay by Danielle Clark (Dani Banani). Due out 26th Nov 2019 from Quarto on their Rock Point imprint, it's 144 pages and will be available in paperback format.

The book includes an artist's statement and introduction - her writing is upbeat, accessible, and positive. The intro (which includes a pretty good tutorial covering tools and materials) represents about 9% of the content.

There is a pictorial table of contents with a clear photographic gallery of all of the projects followed by the tutorials. All of the tutorials are well illustrated with numerous clear step-by-step photographs and accompanying instructions. Alternatives and variations on the basic models are given in a sidebar under the main instructions. The tutorials include a header box with time estimates, materials in a bullet style list, along with tools. The tools and materials used in the tutorials are easily sourced from a moderately well stocked crafts store (probably at Wal-Mart and similar big box stores as well).

All the projects are simply adorable. There are figurines, charms, and elements which can be combined into larger pieces such as a fairy garden (which made me squee like a 6 year old). All of them have a boatload of whimsy and humor.

This would make a superlative gift for a crafty friend, a school/classroom/library selection, as well as the basis for kids crafting class (supervised, especially the baking parts).

Five stars. Wonderfully cute. I sincerely hope there are more tutorial books in future.

I thought this book was so useful, so well presented and designed, it skips the usual million pages of what you need (yes essentials covered but essentials !)full of great ideas that you will actually want to make and great to gift. This is colourful and written well, with plain English and no complex instructions. Great guide.

This book is full of the cutest craft ideas to make using Polymer Clay. The instructions are easy to follow, with clear pictures to help your art works turn out as well as Danielle's do. You do need to have a fair amount of supplies in both clay colours and modelling equipment, but each item tells you what you will need so you can slowly build your collection as you make each desired item. I also love that there is variation in the items - ranging from small jewellery items through to medium and larger size creations.

This book is perfect for a beginner and gets more challenging as your skills build. I made some of these with my almost 5 year old daughter, making it a fabulous activity for the two of us to enjoy together. A great gift option for a craft lover or someone wanting to explore a new medium.

After 2 pages (ONLY TWO PAGES PEOPLE, THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE) of materials. She gets right into the cute making of a pineapple charm. She tells you the dimensions and which exact colour to use to get the same effect as her and gives you a little box of possible alternatives for your charms e.g. make two to use as earrings, change the colours and the facial expression.

Each of the creations is very kawaii and look really simple to make. She has given a great deal of thought into which photographs to use so that each page looks simple, effective and just plain adorable.

I am definitely making the ‘when pigs fly’ mobile. And maybe the cactus charms. And the jellyfish planter. They are all so damn CUTE!!!!

If you've never worked with polymer clay before, this is a decent introduction. The figures are simple and the step by step instructions are clear.

This book is adorable! I like that it has projects included besides the usual necklace or earring ideas, that seem relatively easy to take on. I don't know if I would personally use polymer clay to make a soap dish, but a pin holder, candle holder, or air plant holder seem incredibly practical. I have some moderate skill with clay, but most of the projects felt within my capabilities, and not too hard. Some projects like the octopus jewellery holder seemed a bit more complicated, and maybe something I would aspire to. Overall, the book does deliver the cuteness it promises, and at a difficulty level I think is manageable.

I absolutely loved this ARC! I even went out and bought the book and clay. I also asked our library to purchase. Great illustrations and way to start a new hobby. Definitely recommend for those looking for something new to do during the winter.

This book is called Crafting Cute for a reason, that is exactly as it name implies, it is simply clear, step-by-step instructions to the cutest models to create using polymer clay. Whilst I've dabbled with modelling before, I've not done so for many years, but this book reminded me why I need to be doing so more often.

Many thanks to Netgalley and TBC for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

These are some of the most adorable things to create. I haven't done any polymer clay crafts in a long time but this has definitely inspired me.

Are you having a last minute Christmas panic about what to give someone? This book has lots of lovely ideas of things to make!

There's plant pots, ornaments, little cute things and jewellery holder, all with great instructions!

If you want to get an idea of what you can make, and what the instructions look like, have a look on Amazon, as they show you inside the book!

I've always been envious of people who can make these things in such small scale, but having seen how this is done, I feel like it might not be so out of reach!

Crafting Cute was published on 26th November 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quatro Publishing (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Crafting Cute by Danielle Clark (Dani Banani) is such a fun introduction to the world of Kawaii and polymer clay. The instructions are clear and the equipment is easy to obtain. Also, alongside the steps are super cute images to help inspire your designs.

This book’s focus is really all about crafting cute clay figurines, so there is not much as far as a table of contents goes. The author gives a brief introduction about herself and how she got her start working with clay. Also, Dani describes a few tools to obtain for creating the figurines, and suggests to grow a collection as you go along.

Kawaii, as Dani explains, is perfect to start learning how to craft with clay, as the cute images are simple in their lines and curves. She gives advice on how to work with polymer clay as well in clear, concise language with lots of visuals. There are instructions for many of the items you can find in her Etsy shop, such as charms, figurines, and earrings.

I started off with a simple book charm to get my feet wet before tackling some of the more difficult projects. It is so therapeutic and fun to make these little figurines, and I can see myself making more of them. I really appreciate the author’s descriptions of how to work with the clay to activate it and the tips to ensure success.

Crafting Cute is a wonderful book to learn the basics of working with polymer clay. It is a perfect guide for preteens, as well as adults. Definitely a great gift for the crafter on your list.

Dani Banani's book is bright, it's colorful, and it's full of gorgeous photos that will inspire clay crafters make adorable kawaii figures. She provides a list of favorite tools and tricks to make beginners grow into masterful clay artists. Some ideas seem more advanced than others, but there are plenty of designs to choose from to begin at any level of experience. #netgalley

This book has tons of adorable kawaii polymer clay projects that are suitable for even complete beginners to attempt sculpting. There are 50 projects in total with clear step by step instructions to make the cutest anthropomorphic food, little animals, for models, gifts, decorations and jewellery and anything else you want to make them into.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In this colourful book we see many ways in which we can make simple fun animal clay creatures suitable for young and old we can all create them with the handy to follow picture guides and with a few simple tools too.



If you're looking for a cute simple and cheap hobby this may be the one for you to check out!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Great break down of tools and materials.
Easy to follow step-by-step directions to create each project.
Also a good explanation of the Kawaii style.