Paper Mache for Beginners

The first step in any craft project is to gather your supplies.

There are three different ways of making Paper Mache 'paste', and so I have decided to give honorable mention to those as well, but the materials all three have in common is water, a balloon, a mixing bowl, spoon and strips of newspaper. (Something from a thrift store would make your wife happy)

The way I was taught as a kid to make Paper Mache was with 2 cups of white (I prefer Elmer's) glue to 1 cup of boiling water. Mix the two until the glue is more of an even paste.

My wife's recipe was a little more complex than mine. Her parents used ½ cup flower, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 cups cold water, and 2 cups boiling water, again, mixing until a paste forms.

Having done a little bit of research, you can also use wallpaper paste and water 1/3 ratio. Experimenting, I like this method the best, and it is still very cheap!

Cut several newspapers worth of 1 - 2 inch strips of newspaper (after covering your worksurface and the floor under you with unstrapped paper mache). You need a lot of newspaper to have a really strong and durable creation.
Blow up a balloon to the desired size, and tie it up well.

Place a small stack of newspaper, spread out, into your glue mixture. As you pull each strip from the bowl, squeeze out all of the excess glue by running it between two fingers.

Begin covering your balloon with strips placed overlapping horizontally and vertically. This will ensure that your creation is strong. If you would like, layer them almost like a wicker basket, and your sculpture will last for a very long time.

Completely cover your balloon, and add 4 or 5 full layers to the balloon and let it dry over night.
From there, you can paint your sculpture, cut it in half to make a mask, or cut it in half, fill it with candy, and use more Paper Mache to seal up the incision. Then you can have a piñata at your next party!

Come back soon to hear more of what you can do with paper mache!