Easy Paper Mache Recipes

The things you can make with paper mache are only limited by your imagination.

As paper mache dries, it hardens over the mold you have made. You can make puppet heads, Christmas ornaments, piñatas, dolls, dollhouses, boxes, sculptures or bowls. The final dried product can be painted, decoupaged or decorated however you please.

Make a form from wire, wadded newspaper, stuffed paper bags, or balloons. For a flat piece, such as a dollhouse or box, you can use a piece of cardboard. Tear newspaper into strips. Narrower strips work best for a rounded mold and larger strips are good for flat or rectangular shapes.

Choose one of the following recipes to make the paste. Dip strips into paste, coating completely, squeezing out excess paste with your fingers. Use the strips to cover your pre-made form. If you overlap the strips, your finished product will look smoother. Allow each layer to dry before adding another layer. Cover your form with at least 2 layers.

Dryer Lint "Paper Mache"

3 cups dryer lint
2/3 cup flour
2 cups water

Mix water and lint, slowly add flour, mix well. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mix holds together forming peaks. Pour out onto several layers of newspaper to cool. Use mix over a base such as a box, balloon or bottle, spreading mix like paper mache. Dry 4-5 days.

Paper Mache recipe

1/3 white glue
1/3 cup water
Newspaper

Mix glue and water. Tear newspaper into 1 by 4- to 6-inch strips. Brush the glue on, then put a paper strip. Smooth strip with fingers. Continue on laying down 3 to 4 layers of strips. Let dry for 2 to 3 days.

Paper Mache Paste

1/2 cup flour
2 cups cold water
2 cups boiling water
3 tbsp. sugar
Newspapers

Mix together the flour and cold water in a bowl. Add boiling water to this mixture, and return to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. The mixture will thicken as it cools. In humid climates, try powdered non-porous wall paper adhesive mixed with water.

Great Gift Idea
Birthdays Gift Basket for Kids: Jump rope, Play Dough, Silly Putty, yo-yo, balloons, bubbles, books, favorite DVD and/or CD, puzzles, stickers, crayons, markers, paste and glue, sidewalk chalk

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