Kids Paper Mache House

A Paper Mache House is simple to make and fun for kids to paint and to play with.  It's also a great project for kids who need to spend time in a hospital or clinic or are confined to bed rest.   Kids can use their own little character toys, they can display and store little treasures, or they can create characters and furniture for their house out of paper, cardboard or clay.  House can be made any size from tiny to quite large, but our house is about 16" high by 12" wide. Kids can help with the paper mache part or an adult can make the basic house and let the child paint it any way they choose. 
Materials required for house include a box the size of the basic house without the roof or some corregated cardboard to make a basic square or rectangle shape house.  You will also need some  cardboard pieces for the inside part of the house and the roof.  Our house is not too deep, only about 2.5 inches but this can vary.  Because the house is not too deep, a base was added to make sure it was stable. You will also need masking tape, sharp scissors, or a knife, liquid starch and newspaper strips for paper mache (use any paper mache recipe you like but I prefer liquid starch), Gesso or any white acrylic paint for undercoat, assortment of acrylic paints,  clear acrylic gloss top coat.

Cut cardboard pieces to make a roof and  inside of house (make rooms any size you like) and use lots of masking tape to secure pieces to house box base.  Don't worry about tape showing, it will be covered with paper mache.  Draw and cut 2 tree shapes for the side of the house if you like.  Our tree is just a straight trunk with a broccoli shape top.

Cover house with paper mache (torn newspaper strips dipped in starch, squeegeed with fingers)  making it as smooth as possible.  Corners can be tricky so use a pencil or stick to push paper mache pieces gently into the corners. Typically just one layer is fine as long as you make it nice and smooth.  You can do 2 layers but if you do it is best to wait until the first layer dries before applying the second, otherwise it can get too wrinkled and lumpy. 

When paper mache is dry, paint a coat of Gesso and when that is dry, paint with acrylic paints any colors you choose.  You can leave rooms plain or you can paint patterns and designs in the rooms...anything goes.  Encourage kids to have fun and paint their house any way they like.  To make house shiny and a little stronger, when dry add a coat of a clear acrylic top coat.  If your house is a little crooked here and there, don't worry, that is part of the beauty of paper mache.  It's not a plastic house from a factory!

Fall Leaves  ~ Kraft Paper

 

Paper Fall leaves are easy to make and can be used for table decorations, on windows, front door etc or for creating mobiles and other projects. This is an easy project for kids.  For little ones, have leaves cut and ready to go. 

Cut leaves out of Kraft paper (wrapping or mailing paper is fine), any shape or size you like.  There are lots of good leaf patterns online.  

Create a paint palette (a plate covered in foil works) with acrylic or poster paints and Fall colors ~ orange, red, magenta, yellow etc.  Mix up some variations of those colors.  You will be placing your leaves on wax paper so have it ready. To give leaves that weathered, wrinkled look, run each leaf through water just to get it wet and then wad it up tightly but carefully, unwrap it very carefully and lay it flat on wax paper.  Do as many as you like.  Paint overlapping blobs of different Fall colors on each leaf and let dry.  When leaves are completely dry, they will peel off wax paper easily.   If you want your leaves a bit shiny, add a thin coat of any clear, gloss, acrylic top coat.

Fall Leaf Tray ~ Paper Mache 

 

I love the Folk Art look of Paper Mache, how easy and inexpensive it is and the endless opportunities for creativity.  A tray is a simple thing but by making it out of paper mache you can make any shape you like and paint it any way you like.  Paper mache does take a little practice and a lot of patience but it's easy to master. Paper mache projects are great on going projects to do with kids at home and when there isn't a lot of time, you can make things for kids to paint like castles, robots, animals, and boxes, which they love...especially when the hard part is done for them!  There is the basic forming of a shape, covering with starch dipped newspaper (I prefer liquid starch), drying time, possibly another coat of paper mache, and a coat of jesso before final painting and some gloss finish.  Worth the time as the results are special one of a kind creations.

For Fall leaf you will need ~
 A leaf pattern, any size (mine is appx 21"x13") and any leaf shape.   There are lots of leaf shape templates online.
Basic supplies like knife, scissor, pencil etc.
Corregated cardboard large enough for your shape.  I buy sheets (3ftx6ft) at a janitorial supply company but you can use boxes or purchase sheets at a craft store.
Newspaper torn (not cut!) in strips, a variety of sizes or appx 2"x10" or close enough.
Liquid Starch, found at most markets, and Smart and Final.  You can use any paper mache recipe you like but I find nothing is as smooth and easy to use as starch and when dry, I like the crisp surface it makes.
Masking Tape.  Have lots of pre-torn strips ready as you will need a lot when applying the tray rim.
Jesso, Acrylic Paints in Fall colors ~ Red, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Magenta (opptional) Brown, Black (if outlining a design).  I like Windsor & Newton tube paints but you can also use the little plastic bottles sold at all craft stores, they work fine.  A plate covered with foil for paints or some sort of palette, and brushes.  You will want to mix up a nice variety of colors.  A clear, gloss, acrylic coating or spray such as Liquitex Gloss Varnish.
Wax Paper

Create your leaf pattern, trace on cardboard and carefully cut out with a sharp knife (I prefer) or sharp scissors if that works better.  For tray edge, with a string etc measure the outside of the tray and then mark and cut a strip or strips of cardboard( 1 1/2" wide works but you can make it 1").  You can piece these together if your cardboard is not long enough.

Taping the edge to the leaf will be the hardest part of this project.  First get the edge piece ready by making it flexible.  Just keep bending all along the strip or strips, about 1/4" at a time, almost like you are creating a circle or curved piece out of the straight strip.  This way, you will be able to work it around your leaf.  Start taping the edge to the tray using lots of masking tape.  The curves and corners are tricky so just do your best to tuck the edge piece into the sharp turns and use a knife or pencil etc to help push and bend the piece in place. Use lots of masking tape to attach the edge piece and  don't worry if it doesn't look or fit perfectly, paper mache  covers up a lot. These tricky parts of creating your basic piece can be tedious and time consuming but you will get there.

When edge is done you are ready to paper mache.  Pour some starch in a plate or bowl and dip newspaper pieces rhrough, squeegee excess with you fingers, and apply to tray.  Make pieces smooth, especially corners and edges.  It will be tricky making paper mache smooth in the tight corners so try using a pencil, a knife etc to sort of push the strips in while smoothing them the best you can.  Tear some small strips for these areas. Don't apply a lot of coats of paper mache, it's not necessary and can get too lumpy.  Better to apply one smooth coat, let dry, and then apply another.  However, I find one good smooth coat works fine.  After all, paper mache is for decorative use and though it has a certain strength, it's not for heavy use, and not for liquids.

Let tray dry which will take a day or so.  It is very important that you put some sort of weights in your tray while it is drying or it will curl up.  Put tray on wax paper so when dry, it will lift right off.  For your weights, try to use something like rocks or fruit as they don't have sharp edges.  Move them around a bit every few hours.

When tray is dry, paint on a coat of Jesso (you can also use white acrylic paint or house paint but I like Jesso) as your colors will look best starting from a white background as opposed to the grey newspaper and the surface will be easier to paint. When dry, you can draw a pattern on your leaf if you like or you can just paint random fall colors here and there. You could paint a patchwork design in Fall colors and then paint patterns on each area.  Kids enjoy painting these trays and once they have a nice selection of Fall colors, they will be successful.  It's good to let them know they can paint a variety of colors all over the tray, sort of the way real leaves look. I use acrylic paints and mix up a bunch of colors from my originals such as rust, red orange, gold from orange and yellow etc.  When dry, paint tray with a coat of clear  acrylic finish.  It will look great and it will be stronger.

                                                               Trace and cut tray.

                                                          Mark, cut, and bend edge strips.

Tape edge to leaf.

Ready for Paper Mache.

Paper Mache making as smooth as possible, one or two layers.

Dry for a day or 2 on waxed paper, with weights, moved around now and then.

When tray is dry, paint with a coat of Jesso.

When dry, draw a design or pattern or just start painting.

Mix up some new colors with you original Fall colors and paint!  Two coats is best.

When tray is dry, apply a coat of clear gloss acrylic.

Flowers Watercolor Painting Pack

Watercolor Painting Pack contains 6 printed pages, featuring flowers, ready to paint, on fine quality 140 lb weight watercolor paper. Watercolor Paint Set (12 colors, semi moist), 2 paint brushes, one small brush with paint set and 1 fine quality 1/4" brush, and tips for painting and mixing colors.  Designs are printed lightly on watercolor paper so that they do not dominate the painting.  Printed pages are an easy, relaxing way to enjoy watercolor painting and try different techniques, in the lines or out, your choice.  Available at Etsy.com/shops//littleislandcompany.

Fall Scarecrow Craft

SCARECROW CRAFT

This is an easy craft to do with kids but younger ones will need some help with cutting.  All pieces will be pre cut and then all that is left to do is, glue, hang up and enjoy.  Kids like this a lot as the results are so special.
Materials ~ Cardboard (any size will do but our scarecrow is 15" long by 12" wide).  Glue, denim scrap fabric or old jeans, 3 or 4 scrap fabrics for patches and shirt, felt for hat,( any color you choose), sunflower and mouth and eyes.  A corner of a bandana, and a little wire for hanging.
If you want to, you can use real straw for the hair.

Mark and cut the cardboard base in shape shown in picture, ours is 12"x15". Put a little hanging wire at the top. Mark and cut your overalls and shirt to fit the cardboard base.  No need to be exact or perfect, just leave a little cardboard showing at arm ends. Cut out the overalls, making the hem a little jagged, a band (with jagged ends) to fit across the arms for the shirt, scarf, patches, hat, felt strips for straw, and a sunflower.  Glue pieces to the base starting with the shirt first, overalls, scarf, patches, "straw hair", hat, sunflower and face.  Ready to hang on the door or anywhere you choose.    

For a variation,  make a large size scarecrow (2 or 3 feet) and put it on a stick.  Put it in the ground or stand it up near the front door.