DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Paper Maché Lion Book Holder
This is a very cute little gift for siblings to make for each other or for a favorite grandparent.
Materials:
- shoebox
- scrap cardboard (the corrugated kind is best) If you only have thin cardboard, then you can just layer it together.
- newspaper
- ONE OF: white glue, mod podge OR paper mache paste (1 part flour to 4 parts water... Boil about 3 minutes stirring constantly, add 2 ice cubes and let cool)
- scissors,
- poster or tempra paint -- yellow and orange or brown (or both)
- paintbrush
- black marker or paint
- Optional: exacto knife
- Optional: masking tape
- Optional: spray varnish
Instructions:
- Prepare your paper mache paste right away so it has time to cool (if using the boil method). I like boiled paste as it's smoother and takes a lot less flour (the REDUCE part of the three R's!).
Print out the template -- the templates are B&W (or you can choose to do this free hand).- Cut out the template pieces and lay them on a piece of corrugated cardboard.
- Trace the pieces onto the cardboard
- Cut them out with scissors or an exacto knife. I recommend an adult help with this as the cardboard is difficult to cut. Especially the mane (TIP: have the adult cut out a smooth circle for the mane first and then let the child snip in little triangles to make the jagged edge. This is a lot easier than trying to cut the jagged edge from the cardboard as you go.)
- I included legs on the template, but we didn't use them. Be aware of your child's attention span when deciding how much to do. You could also skip the tail.
- Tear strips of newspaper about 1 " wide and as long as you want
- Dip in the paper mache paste, but then remove excess paste (I run it through my fingers to do this).
- Cover the shoebox, inside and out, in no more than 4 layers of paper mache (I always tell the kids no more than 2 as they always put on too much *grin*). If you put on more than 4 it will likely mold before it dries.
Cover each of the cut out pieces with paper mache (all the way
around). Again, no more than 4 layers.- While it's still wet, arrange the head pieces together on the short side
of the shoebox.
- The mane goes on the bottom, then the circle head, then the circle nose.
- The ears go right above the head on the mane.
- The paper mache should stick the pieces together so you won't need any tape or glue.
- Put the tail on the back, folding it around the side (it will fold easily at this point as it's a bit soggy, but you may want to use masking tape or just add a few more pieces of mache/newspaper to hold it in place.
- Let dry COMPLETELY. It goes faster in a warm breezy place. If it's a nice day, just stick it outside (just don't forget it if it starts to rain). It takes a day or so to dry.
Optional: apply a second layer of mache. The more layers you
add, the sturdier it will be. We applied a second layer, but we only
did one layer, not 4 this time. That just made sure all the parts
stayed firmly in place.- Optional: we always use scrap white computer paper or toilet
paper (don't laugh) for the final layer of all of our paper mache
projects.
- It takes less paint to cover.
- I find newspaper needs two coats of paint, whereas the white paper only needs one.
- Toilet paper gives a rough texture which is nice for some animals.
- We used computer paper for our lion.
Paint the whole thing yellow (we didn't paint the bottom).- Use a small paintbrush or old toothbrush to stroke some brown and/or orange paint onto the mane, inner ears and tip of the tail.
- Use a black marker or black paint to add facial features.
- Let dry.
- Optional: cover in a coat of clear varnish. This will make it last longer (especially since poster paints aren't water proof),
Printing Templates:
- Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
- Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).