Mar 05 2009
Paper Mache Fish
So what do you do when the kids are home early and you have nothing planned?
Paper Mache! I have never even thought about doing paper mache at home before. Usually kids do it at school in art class. That is what I thought at least.
I do not know if it is cut backs or people not wanting to deal with the mess. Maybe it is not wanting to send kids home with dirty clothes. What ever the reason I just realized that Nicole has not done paper mache ever in her whole life. Neona and Neolle loved doing it at school so we had to do a paper mache craft.
James came home with balloons from work. This is what made us think of it. After many ideas we decided on making fish. We used the balloons as the body and taped on cardboard for fins and tails.
The girls are having a blast doing it and it is incredibly cheap so they are doing a few layers a day. All you need is old newspaper, flour, and water. Paper mache is a great way to make art and recycle.
The paste is a simple mixture. Just mix flour with twice as much water in a bowl. Then dip one inch strips of newspaper into the mixture. Wipe off the excess and place the strip on your form.
Here are the girls’ fish after the first coating. For a thicker more stable project you can add more layers each day. This gives the project time to dry in between. It also gives the kids more days of fun.
After a few more layers the girls will be painting their fish. They are really excited about painting their fish. I can not think of a craft that is so fun and so cheap.
