paper mache

I've been making paper mache bowls this week and hope to make other paper mache items. Whenever I've mentioned this people make two remarks

I used to do that at school.

Is that where you paste strips of paper over a balloon?

Yes - that's paper mache but there are other methods and lots of potential. I've been making pulp to make bowls. You can used strips of paper and glue over chicken wire frames to make objects.

You can add to existing items to change their look or use or to decorate them. It's a lot of fun and not as messy as it sounds. Also inexpensive too. I would avoid magazine paper as they don't absorb well and newspaper if pulped gives a grey sludgy pulp. Coloured paper is more rewarding. In the bowl in the picture I used odds and ends of decorative paper from a craft class. There was more red than anything and this is what I got. No need to paint it. I'll enhance the surface with some gold acrylic paint and then varnish with marine paint.

paper mache craft 

Chinese makers used paper to make glossy, highly decorated furniture and decorative items of a very hight standard and durability. You can look at them on line and often can find examples in museums.

chinese paper mache furniture

For your own bowl you'll need 100g of paper ripped into pieces and steeped in warm water for a couple of hours. Boil it,  blend it with a hand held blender and get rid of excess water. Mix in 2 dessert spoons of PVA glue and it's ready to use. Line a bowl with cling film and press the pulp into place. Use cellulose cleaning cloths to help you to press it into shape and dry it further. Leave it to dry thoroughly then remove from the bowl to paint and varnish.

Great fun - have a go. 

Crazy Quilting

Crazy quilting and crazy paving have a lot in common. They each rely on the use of odds and ends of material to be put together to make a pattern. Crazy quilting has had many uses and revivals. Poor women in the past used odds and ends that were left to make a much needed blanket. Rich girls, perhaps a touch bored as they learned the skills needed to make good matches used silks and satins to make their own crazy quilts.


It's easy to do. You can work on a large cloth surface or on smaller sections that can be sewn together when you have enough. Scraps of fabric are positioned next to each other on a light cotton surface. They are pinned in place and tacked. the edges are made neat and secure with embroidery stitches and suitable embellishments. A colour scheme and theme can be chosen or a happy rag bag selection. It's a fantastic way of using scraps and working inexpensively and it's an opportunity to use several skills.

The finished quilt top if it is strong and neat on both sides can be used as it is. It can also be backed and finished with wadding and binding. 

Crazy designs can be used on lots of other projects. Make a cushion, a quilt, a phone or laptop cover or a pocket on a child's dress. Make a wall hanging, picture or card and experiment with fancy papers.

I need to add a name to the example above and will when I find the name of the lady who sewed it. This piece was done for me and added to a large storytelling quilt that I made and took into schools.

wikepedia crazy quilts.co.uk