In the last few weeks we have launched into exploring all the things we can make with paper mache clay. I love that it's a pretty cheap material to make, dries really hard and is so versatile. I'm not an expert, but I will share what I have learnt so far in this article.
If you want to delve deeper into this topic, I recommend checking out Ultimate Paper Mache>>>
MATERIALS:
Paper mache clay recipe:
- 1 1/4 Cup of soaked paper pulp with some of the water squeezed out
- 1 Cup of dry wall joint compound
- 3/4 Cup PVA glue
- 1 Cup flour
Other materials we used in these projects:
- Cardboard
- Masking tape
- Hot glue
- Craft knife and scissors
DIRECTIONS:
Making the clay:
To make the paper mache clay, first rip the paper you are using and soak in water. Absorbent paper like news print or toilet paper is easiest but you can use other paper, you will just meed to soak them for longer first.
Once you paper is fully soaked and the fibers have broken down, drain the mixture and squeeze out about half of the water. This isn't very exact, I recommend checking out this video for a more detailed explanation.
Put the paper pulp, dry wall compound and PVA glue into a bowl and mix. You can either mix with your hand or use a stick blender. Gradually add the cup of flour until you reach the right consistency. A softer consistency is good for spreading thinly over surfaces, ticker is best if you want to sculpt more textured surfaces.
Now your clay is ready to use. You can store it in an air tight container in the fridge for over a week.
Making a structure to cover:
With paper mache clay, you need a base structure to cover. This can be made from cardboard, wood, masking tape and even molded aluminum foil. If you're using cardboard, I recommend using a double layer of corrugated cardboard, otherwise the moisture from the clay will make the card structure warp.
MAKING YAYOI KUSAMA FLOWERS:
The first step in making these flowers was to create the cardboard base. This was done using the FLOWER TEMPLATE that is available to download at part of my Yayoi Kusama printable activity bundle.
To make the base structure stronger and prevent warping, I made 2 flowers from cardboard and glued them together with hot glue and taped the edges with masking tape.
The leaf was created from cardboard and the stem from scrunched up aluminum foil covered in masking tape.
The next step was to cover everything with a thin layer of the paper mache clay.
Leave the clay to dry overnight in a warm place. Once dry, remove any rough edges with sand paper.
Now you are ready to paint. We use acrylics which cover the clay well.
Once the paint was dry, the final step was to attach the leaf using hot glue.
You can follow this same process to make anything. We have also made this fun tiger head and these cute mirror frames using a cardboard base covered in paper mache clay.
