Bronze Bunny

I've been working on this bunny for a few months and finally finished it today.  I couldn't decide how I wanted to paint it.  Looking for inspiration I came across Jonni Good's site, ultimatepapermache.com, who did a beautiful ballarina bunny and bonzed it.  It looked so good I decided to bronze mine.  Jonni Good also has some amazing paper clay recipes, books about sculpting, and wonderful animal sculptures.  Please visit her site when you get a few minutes.

For more pictures, please visit my website www.bebesnowart.com

    

More Paper Mache Clay Owls

Please visit www.bebesnowart.com for more images.

Paper Mache Clay Owl

This is my favorite paper mache / clay project so far!  How cute is he?  This little fellow is on his way to my Sister@

Paper Mache Clay Cat and Dog

Sometimes the creative juices dry up and I found myself wanting to try something different.  Looking for inspiration, I ran across some paper mache / clay projects. These are my first two projects and I'm currently working on two more.  The shapes aren't perfect because I like the playfulness of how they look.

To see some amazing projects visit these artist on youtube:

DanMonsterMan
UltimatePaperMache

Paper Mache Paste

This recipe is for non-cooking paste.  Works great, dries fast with a hard cover.  I do not use ballons.  I use newspaper for the initial shape of the project.  Taking one sheet (page) of newspaper at a time, I ball up the newspaper until I get the size I want. Then I put it inside a plastic grocery bag, then twist and tape off the.  Then I add 4 layers of paper mache, let dry and then add a layer of paper mache clay (recipe below).

When I made the Cat and Dog, I cut out ears and feet from cardboard and taped (masking tape) them where I wanted them before putting the paper mache on.  I used wire and taped it under the dog's ear to get the shape I wanted.  I used the clay recipe to mold the ears and nose.

For the projects I'm currently working on, I used the clay to make the body parts instead of using cardboard.  I found it easier to add the parts after I did the paper mache and clay. After putting on the layers of paper mache, I put the project in front of a fan to dry (rotating as needed).

Paper Mache Clay

I found a great recipe for paper mache clay at http://ultimatepapermache.com/.  When making paper mache projects, lots of newspaper is needed to add layers to make the project durable.  Using paper mache clay allows you to cut down on the layers of newspaper and is a a great medium to use to add details (nose, ears, feet) to your projects.  When I mixed the first batch of clay and used it for the first time, I found that it was a bit thick for me and I wanted a smoother finish so I played around with the mixture the second time around.  I've found that thicker clay works best when making parts - nose, feet, ears.  You can mold them into shapes and then attach them to the project.  Thinned out clay makes the clay easier to spread and makes the overall surface of the project smoother.

So, on the second batch, I used the recipe below, then I took half of the batch and added more glue and compound and mixed it until I got the texture I wanted.  Doing it this way gave me two different batches, one thicker compound for shaping, and one smoother compound for overall coverage.  Once you do the first project, you will be able to determine the clay texture that works best for you.  The Cat and Dog were my first projects, I'm currently working on an Owl and Frog and the texture of those are much smoother and I will have less sanding to do before painting.

1 Roll of Toilet Paper (cheap works best)

1 Cup of Joint Compound (Pro-Form All Purpose at Walmart)

3/4 Cup of Glue (Elmer's Glue-All)

1/2 Cup of White Flour

Unroll toilet paper into large bowl and add water to cover the toilet paper.  Let set for couple of hours and then take a handfull at a time and squeeze out the water and tear into small pieces.  In a large bowl, add the joint compound, glue and flower and blend with mixer.  Add handfull at a time of the wet torn toilet paper and mix.

Homemade Gesso

Recipe for homemade "Gesso":

1 Part Glue-All (Elmer's Glue)
3 Parts Joint Compound

Add ingredients into bowl and use electric mixer to blend.  Store in tightly sealed plastic container.

Note:  The Joint Compound I use is the Pro-Form All Pupose Ready Mix at Walmart.  I bought a 3 lbs containter for less than 5.00.  Makes a ton of "Gesso" and is a great base coat for painting Paper Mache / Clay projects.

Sofie Mini Album

Made this mini for a very special little girl.

Cesar

Just had to share this picture of my baby.  :)

Tutorial - Simple Mini Albums

I’ve been asked to do tutorial on these mini albums. This is my first tutorial, so I hope I get it right. For these albums I used 3 ½ x 6 ¾ bags. You can buy the Celebrate It brand at Michaels and the Nicole brand at AC Moore. I prefer the Nicole brand because they are not at thick.

Materials: 1. 12 x 12 Chipboard (for cover) 2. Paper: The Spring Fling Stack (DCWV) 3. Butterflies – Martha Steward punch 4. Flowers – Cuttlebug Die Cut 5. Buttons 6. Crochet Thread (for the buttons) 7. Colored card stock 8. 3 1/2 x 6 3/4 paper bags

Instructions for Top Tag Insert

Step 1: Fold the bottom over on each side of the bag (total of 6 bags).

Step 2: Cut the top of the bag to the height you want. The bags in the picture are 5”.

Step 3: To bind the bags together I used Laura’s Stack the Deck technique. Laura makes amazing albums – her blog is http://followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/ - Using craft paper cut one each of the following sizes:    

 5” x 1 ¾”
 5” x 2 ¼
 5” x 2 ¾

Score each end at ¾”, fold at score lines. - Glue the pieces together in the center to create binding.

Step 4: Glue the sides of the paper bags to the binding

Step 5: Cover your pages with paper. Then all you have to do is make your cover and glue or tape your pages to the inside. 

Instructions for Side Tag Insert

Instructions are the same as the Top Tag except I used larger bags, (4 ¾” wide) and folded the bottom sections down to glue to the binding.  Then cut the bags to measure 4 ¾” x 3 ½”. The pockets on the pages are made using cardstock.

The folded bottom will be used to glue to the binding.

Other: I usually put a thin layer of mattte finish Mod Podge on my covers for protection. I also do the same for delicate paper embellishments (like the butterflies) so they won't tear easily. The flowers on the smaller mini cover are made from burlap which come apart easy and they are "flat". I brushed them with Mod Podge and and when it was tacky, I formed the petals to give them dimension and to keep them from coming apart.