General Chat

Hi all - just been doing some papier macheeing with neighbours 10yr old - l made more mess than she did - l got it all over me, the floor,the pens,scissors, everywhere!!!:o( We're covering planters,done 2 layers.Tomorrow will add bits and pieces, string, wire,shell,then more paper etc - then paint it, or she might like an angel to stick on then add the details etc after or even a butterfly!!!! Jude

those were the days, everyone did it at school , can remember doing plaster of paris as well on yogurt pots and sticking on shells, so cheap .and such fun getting stuck in with the kids brings back memories sandra

My 5 year old son decided he wanted an easter egg as his easter bonnet for the school Easter Parade. We made one by blowing up a balloon, and covering it with layers of torn strips of newspaper dipped in a mix of 5 parts water and 1 part PVA glue. I don't know if that's the right way to do papier mache but I can vouch for the fact that 3 layers like this gave a very good strong Easter egg shape. We then popped the balloon, cut a circle out of the egg so we could slot it onto the crown of a cut-down second hand straw hat from Oxfam. A couple of coats of metallic paint and a bit of red ribbon later and it looked fantastic. It's so strong I think we'll be bringing it out in years to come. We dropped it off the top of a wardrobe and there wasn't even a dent!!! Angela

Terri - yeh, or flour and water, thats what we used today,or the white glue they use in school and water(not too runny though!!!):o) If you want to cover say a plate and you want to have the shell,then cover the plate in thick vaseline first:o)

Angela - sounds great,have'nt used a balloon in ages,but have used wire and mesh to make dolls,mesh is great,you can (not the thick type of course) place round say a model cat and squeeze it to the shape,then carefully lift it off and cover with 2-3 layers of machee. You can also make papier machee pulp and use it like dough:o)

Jude Yours is obviously the "real" papier mache technique. Last time I did that I was about 8 years old in a friend's house. We got it all over the table, the floor, the chairs, the walls - not much went into the very droopy dinosaur I was supposed to be creating. Memories of that occasion - for which we were never forgiven as the friend's parents had just completedly redecorated - led to the more modest torn paper strip in a small bowl of water/pva glue in the kitchen that I introduced my son to. Angela

Angela - today we used the strips of paper,made quite a mess (me that is),great fun. Jude

oh I gotta have a go at this, sounds great fun.

Hiya Terri - go for it,it is!! l'm working with students tomorrow doing the same thing - lol