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

Quilting over papers

A few years ago I owned a box of small fabric samples and thought they were perfect for making a quilt using papers over triangles. The projects took a long time and the top has only just been finished. I have yet to back and quilt it.

It needn't take so long to complete such a project. I recommend knowing how big a quilt you want and having the cut papers prepared in advance. My pattern is a random one but you could plan one too.

The quilt top is very attractive and eye catching and sewing a quilt like this, y hand, over paper templates, is very relaxing. A perfect project for these cold nights that find us indoors more often. 

I'll report back when I've quilted it!

quilting over papers

Garlands from scraps.

I've just returned from my crafting class where my learners are beginning to make decorations for Christmas. This garland was a popular Christmas project.
We used a florist's copper ring frame as the base. Afterwards we threaded small pieces of fabric, the size of two stamps side by side, onto lengths of strong cotton leaving long ends to tie up with. 
Once we created a large strip of fabric strips we wrapped them around the frame and sewed a few places to make it secure. Junk shop chains, broken jewellery and brooches were used to decorate further and recycled ribbon tied on to hang it. 
An inexpensive and effective object.
Today there were no copper frames to work on so someone cut out a stiff cardboard ring and tied lots of 12" x 2" strips of red cloth all the way round. It looked classy and expensive. A great low cost project with wonderful results.

www.marthastewart.com/christmas-garlands

Marbling - a pleasant addiction

I have always wanted to try traditional marbling, the sort you find on the inside pages old ledgers and dictionaries. I have the instructions and methods ready but have never got round to buying some of the unusual ingredients needed.

In the meantime I've tried commercial marbling kits. Small droplets of marbling ink of varying shades are dropped onto water in a shallow dish. designs are made in these inks by dragging through them with a toothpick or by lowing them.

Paper, laid carefully over the inky surface of the water, picks up the design and a new hobby is born. Paper is a good place to start. Try embossed surfaces, wallpapers, music sheets. Just as good are fabrics - plain or patterned - but you could marble shells, pegs, hollowed eggs and large pebbles. Even your fingernails.

Paper and fabric can be further embellished with stitches and can be used as pictures or motifs on cards. The design possibilities are vast. 

As a tutor I've run marbling workshops for a wide range of people and found that it is universally popular. It's messy too so plastic gloves are recommended.

I used the marbling shown as a writing prompt and as a result it is to be included in a pamphlet of work to be produced by the writing group in question.

Have a go!

marbling demonstration

Bracelets. made from sewing box treasures

I first saw this bracelet in a 'how to' book. It looked fabulous and I made it immediately by threading buttons, charms and beads onto safety pins and threading them onto elastic as instructed. It was gorgeous. It was also heavy and the threaded pins slid about and the elastic on one of the bracelets unfastened. I made it again with knots, with fewer safety pins, with smaller accessories but was never full happy with the result. 

Finally I threaded the safety pins onto a chain of a decent size with solid links. Then I attached fastenings and a more wearable bracelet was made. Chains come in different sizes and types. Colours range from bronze, gold, silver, black and grey as well as primary colours from some suppliers. 

This is a fantastic bracelet to make. It costs about £15 if you are buying stuff, a lot less if you have the buttons and beads and bits already. It makes a great accessory for an outfit, a fantastic gift and a wonderful project to make in a class or with a family member/friend. 

I have one made entirely from gold buttons, another from black and another from silver. They are eye catching and unusual. I hope you make one.  

notice boards and headboards

I bought a bed and didn't like the headboards that went with it and so made my own. I've made headboards before and have also painted them onto walls. The one you can see cost about £30 in total and the ones in the shop were four times the price. It consists of a piece of firm MDF, wadding, and fabric. I bought curtain fabric and doubled it but you could use upholstery fabrics or something that's firm.

Once you measure our wall for the size of bed head you need it's a case of laying wadding and fabric over and stapling them to the back. You have to make sure the fabric is even and tight so that it doesn't wrinkle after use. I fixed this to the wall with four metal plates that are screwed to the back of the board and then into the wall. They are visible. Other fittings exist.

This system scaled down is great for notice boards. Simply add thin ribbon in a criss cross pattern to form a grid effect into which letters and photos can be tucked and a hook on the back.

Very cheap and cheerful but fabulous results can be gained and the items are useful.

craftstaplegun.com    Have a look at these items. They make crafting so much easier and increase the range of jobs you can do.