Today’s basic lesson is all about Paper Mache.
We are going to use a Paper Mache medium that only requires water. It handles a lot like clay but it does not need firing and it is non-toxic too. So there are so many things you can do with it and it is very easy to use. I have taken a half of block which is a half a pound and I am going to mix it with 16 ounces of water. It is better to use warm water. It works really well to mix it in a zip locked bag, so I just placed that inside add my water and I am going to knead it.
It is really important to knead it very, very well so that all of the mixture is mixed. You can add a little bit more water if you need to make it more moist or add a little bit more of the medium to make it dryer. It is so versatile, there are so many things that you can do with it.
I have one that all mixed here and I am going to lay it out on my work surface. That is very important in preparing your work surface. If you can see here I have laid a plastic garbage bag down and taped it down to my counter top just to keep it nice and clean. And I am going to lay out this piece.
Now if you want to roll it, it is great to put a piece of plastic wrap on top so it does not move and it rolls really easier, kind of almost top is like a cookie dough. You can mold it, you can shape it and I’m going to show you some of the different things and once it is dry it can be sanded. It can be nailed but it makes a very light weight surface to work with. Now if you find that it is stinking in either surfaces like this you can add a little bit of liquid detergent. If you had like one drop of liquid detergent to it, it will not stick to the hands as much. Now, you can see I am wearing gloves, you do not need to it is totally non toxic. I am just doing that because we have other projects to do today. So now, once it is all roll down there are so many different things you can do so let us look at a few.
The first one is rolling, once it is all roll down you can use a cookie cutter or a plastic shaped to cut out any kind of shape you would like. And then let it dry and finish it.
You can also mold it; you can make, you have seen this is used for volcanoes and three D maps and things for school projects. It is also great in a mold just put a little bit of liquid detergent in it and you will get a perfect mold every time and then that can be painted.
Another thing that you can do is to make rounded objects. While it is wet, you mold it around something like this balloon then pop the balloon when you are done and pop it out and you get a three D object. Now if you are covering another three D object not a balloon like you are going to pop like a ball or a jar then cover it with wax paper or aluminum foils so that it does not mark the surface.
Another thing that you can do with it, is as great as a jewelry. You can make any kind of pendant or bead. Make sure you put a stick through them before it dries so that you have a hold string. Another great thing is to wrap wax-paper around the glass jar, around about the size of your wrist and make a bangle bracelet. Just make sure and take it off before it dries completely and then you can also even imbed stones or glitter or gems in it before it dries or you can add those out after by adding glue.
It is so easy because it accepts glue, any kind of white glue or add tapes or other mediums on top of it. Another great thing to do is paint it, acrylic paint and poster paint work best and you can get this wonderful vibrant colors.
It can also be sculpted, look at this rose you can do such intricate pieces and you can even braid it. Another thing is finishing it by using a texture plate or a rubber stamp designs, stamping in the leaf, or using texture or anything else like lace. You can press in and get a design like what we did on this booklet. Do not forget when you are done to seal it either with the clear sealer or a varnish so that you get a nice-gloss-finish. And of course you make 3D objects. This is actually Styrofoam, all of the pieces were molded and any kind of embellishment can be stock in wet or dry, it molds to itself and you can add pieces afterwards.
These are also some great ideas for other projects you can make with Paper Mache. It is such a fun medium.
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