Papier Mache & other free hobbies for all ages

I'm also taking part in the 'Start a Cottage Industry' forum as part of my 2008 set of challenges and you guys have been great by showing such enthusiasm for the papier mache animals. I'm trying to amuse a 3 year old and earn my income from home, but I had never even thought about making these for selling! LOL

whitewing wrote: »

nyk, sorry to be thick..I don't actually have an artistic bone in my body but we are on our third layer of papier mache (planning to do more than 4 layers): how do you shape the head of the cash cow and penguin? This is what I am told by DS that we are making, althou I could have managed the pig!

OH is helping paint it so not worried about that but shaping it is worrying me. Don't think I've ever built anything that hasn't gone in the bin!

Mine haven't got any particular shapes - the pig has a piece of egg carton for a snout, wherease the cow has the lid off a milk carton so it's nose was shorter. Cow legs are toilet roll tubes stuffed with paper to keep them fro collapsing and have milk carton tops taped across the end and the ears/tails etc are all just paper or cardboard (old Chrissie cards would do) painted to match. Cow horns are made from long strips of pasted paper rolled around and shaped then stuck on with long thin strips of papier mache before winding around and pasting over the top... they are a little bit dodgy trying to get them to stick, so use long thin strips right across the horn and stuck down both sides of each strip. I only ever do one splurge on the pasted paper and then dry it completely before painting it and then drying it again. I don't have any PVA glue or I'd have watered that down and used it as a final coat. Wonder what they do with the PVA empties? I could rinse them and collect the dregs!

Edited in - penguin's head is err.... let's just say I hurried up the grand daughter to finish her junior yoghurt 'cos the little carton was ideal! Can't remember what they were called, whatever they were, Co-op were doing a 6 pack for 99p and it wasn't Yoplait whatsitcalled... :rotfl: :rotfl:

Yes, I am that person! The one who says, "Come on, eat it all up, granny needs the carton for the penguin's head!"