My four year old made this basket to hold her easter goodies.
Materials:
balloon
newspaper
ONE OF: white glue, mod podge OR paper mache paste (1 part
flour to 4 parts water... boil about 3 minutes stirring constantly, add 2 ice cubes and
let cool)-- See our "How
to Mache" section
poster or tempra paint
paintbrush
Instructions:
Prepare your paper mache paste right away so it has time to cool (if using the boil
method). I like boiled paste as it's smoother and takes a lot less flour (the REDUCE
part of the three R's!).
Blow up a balloon.
Tear strips of newspaper about 1 " wide and as long as you want.
Dip in the paper mache paste, but then remove excess paste (I run it through my fingers
to do this)
Cover HALF the balloon in no more than 4 layers of paper mache (I always tell the kids no
more than 2 as they always put on too much *grin*). If you put on more than 4 it
will likely mold before it dries.
Put two strips over the uncovered half of the balloon to serve as
the handle.
Scrunch newspaper up and line a bowl with it. Set the egg in that to dry.
Let dry COMPLETELY.
Apply a second layer of mache. This time covering the opening. The more
layers you add, the sturdier it will be. We applied a second layer, but we only did
two layers, not 4 this time.
OPTIONAL: we always use scrap white computer paper or toilet paper (don't laugh)
for the final layer of all of our paper mache projects.
It takes less paint to cover.
I find newspaper needs two coats of paint, whereas the white paper only needs
one.
Toilet paper gives a rough texture which is nice for a change
Paint the whole thing a base color or a couple of different colors (we used
dark pink and purple and mixed the red, blue and white together
ourselves) Kaitlyn LOVES mixing her own paint.
