Summer Stuff to Do

Yeeooow! Lizzy here...

Summer's here, which means plenty of time to do plenty of stuff...!
When I'm not singing my heart out, I do the other thing I love best: making cool stuff.

So, tell me. When was the last time you were elbow-deep in gook? If you have kids, I'm guessing yesterday... I'm actually talking about constructive, creative gook - papier maché! 

The kids and I made papier maché shoes and hats the other day and man, oh man,  it was super fun.

The recipe for papier maché paste is easy-peazy. Forget about the nasty glue business, which is harmful for anybody working with it, especially kids. All you need is flour and water: a spoonful of flour for a cup of water. Like I said, easy-peazy.

And if the kids eat it, the worst that can happen is that they'll be too full to eat their dinner...

 What you'll need:
- lots of thin paper (newspaper/tissue paper/colored paper)
- big mixing bowl
- flour
- water


- Tear the paper into thin strips. We did a layer of newspaper first, then a layer of colored paper ontop because we didn't have any paint, and it worked great!
 
- You'll need some kind of object to stick the strips of paper onto. Easiest and most satisfying is a balloon. That can be turned into a hat, a mask, a pinata, a bowl, you name it. We made shoes by tracing each kid's foot on a piece of cardboard, then 'building' a shoe around it using cardstock.

- When you're ready to start papier maché-ing, make sure your workspace - and yourself - is protected! Wear an apron or an old t-shirt, cover the table with newspaper, or better yet, work outside (weather permitting). It will go EVERYWHERE.

- Start with a mixture of four heaping spoonfuls of flour with four cups of water into a bowl. You can always make more if you need it. Keep in mind, most of the mixture will probably end up on the floor. Mix really well so the mixture is clump-free. You can use a mixer, but a good ole whisk works just as well.

- Now the fun part: dip a strip into the mixture plop it on! The paper can get really soggy really fast, so try gently pulling it along the edge of the bowl before laying it on your object. Important: let the layer dry completely before slapping on another, otherwise it will get mouldy!


The hardest part of this project was waiting for each layer to dry - if I had a dime for every time my kids asked me if the layer was dry yet, I'd have enough to fill my car with gas! If you're lucky enough to live in a climate where it's actually sunny in the summer, you're in luck - the drying goes super fast in the sun. If not, the key is distraction or food.






And now we're the envy of the neighborhood with our mega-fashionable, completely unique and completely hand-made shoes and hats!

Papier maché all the way!

Check out the 'Cool Stuff' section of this site for more awesome fun projects!