Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Inkling: magazine wreath

I’m doing a series of posts of paper mache projects. First up is this magazine wreath with paper mache birds.

I wanted this wreath to resemble a bird’s nest. I cut strips from magazines, curled them with a scissors and glued them to a wreath form.

The birds are also made from magazines using a special paper mache recipe. This is the reason I’ll be doing a series of paper mache projects this week. I made a full batch of the special paper mache paste which is enough to make paper mache crafts for weeks.

Here’s the recipe. I would cut it in half or even a fourth… it makes a lot of paste.
  • Combine ½ cup flour and 2 cups cold water in a bowl.
  • Boil 2 cups of water in a sauce pan and add the flour and cold water mixture.
  • Bring to a boil again.
  • Remove from heat and add 3 tablespoons of sugar.
  • Let cool. The paste will thicken as it cools.
Tear colorful magazine pages into thin strips and dip into the mixture. For these birds, I cut out cardboard templates and paper mached over the cardboard.

Let your paper mache thoroughly dry.
 
Stay tuned for more paper mache crafts this week as I make my way through the vat of paste that I made.




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This project is linked at the following:





19 comments :

  1. Brilliant idea. I'm thinking bright colors for a birthday party, the possibilities are endless. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  2. Excellent Idea! I'm new to your blog but love the many inspirations you share!

    Thank You! :)

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  3. I love the curled pages! I also made a shredded version here...paper mache birds is a great idea.

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  4. So fabulous!!! I want to try this right now!! =)

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  5. this is so amazing. I might try to recreate the look with fabric scraps since I'm always looking for ways to use them up :D

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  6. Love it. Ya know - every year when I toss out the old phone book, I think "there must be something I can do with this" besides just recycling it. I may try it. thanks

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  7. I have been making little flowers out of newspaper strips. They will look fabulous on a wreath like this! I'm totally following you now. Thanks for the inspiration!

    xxoo,
    Liberty

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  8. Thanks so much for all the feedback on my magazine wreath. To answer the question about the base... I used a styrofoam wreath form as a base for this project.
    Thanks again for visiting my blog.
    carolyn - homework

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  9. Looks great! I love the idea.

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  10. I'm new to your blog. Loving it, and learning alot. I have always been fascinated by paper mache, but your recipe is a winner! My brain is spinning with ideas. Thank you.

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  11. Beautiful wreath! I love all of the colors from the magazines. The little birds are cute too. Thanks for linking up!

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  12. Love it!

    Jo @ SmileMonsters

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  13. This is beautiful! Great project idea
    www.itsybitsypaperblog.com

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  14. Love this! Did you dip entire strip in paste? Or just then to attach to form?

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  15. For the strips, I just glued them on to the form (didn't dip them). The birds were made with the paper mache paste. Thanks for stopping by.

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  16. I love your wreath! I made a bunch or things out of curly strips of junk mail and magazine pages this year for Christmas decorations and ornaments, but it never occurred to me to make a wreath - great idea!!

    Happy Holidays!
    Andi

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  17. Wow, your really did an amazing job! This wreath is so unique and very beautiful. In a distance, one will not really be able to tell that it is made from book pages but knowing that it is indeed made from recycled materials makes it even better. Surely, others who will read this post will have fresh ideas on what to do with their shredding Houston papers and other items. Thank you for sharing his incredible paper wreath.

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