How To Make A Beautiful Paper Mache Bowl Out Of Old Newspaper
Paper mache projects can be a lot of fun and there’s a lot of and you can get really creative with them. If you’re never done this before, start with something simple, like a paper mache bowl. You could make one to keep your eyes and change in on your desk or on the entryway table or you could use it as a jewelry bowl. There’s lots of different types of bowls that you can make and lots of ways to customize them. Let’s have a look at a few ideas.
Here’s how you can make a beautiful paper mache bowl with decoupage. First of all, get all the supplies ready. You’ll need an actual bowl to use as a mold (the material doesn’t really matter), newspaper, plastic wrap, white glue (or flour to make your own), white acrylic primer, mod podge, white paper napkins, masking tape, sealer and a printer. You can print out your favorite images on white paper napkins and then use them to decorate your bowl at the very end. The instructions can be found on pillarboxblue.
If you want to make a round bowl but you don’t have anything to use as a mold that fits the desires size and shape, a simple trick is to use a balloon. Inflate the balloon until it looks about right and then use it as a mold. Cover it all in newspaper strips and glue and let it dry and harden, then pop the balloon and then cut around the edges of the bowl to get it nice and smooth. You can then proceed to seal, paint and customize your bowl. Check out thesweetestdigs for more details.
Another idea is to let the actual bits of paper show through the bowl instead of covering them up with glue or paint. It would be great if you had a paper shredder so you can get all the magazines and catalogues turned into little thin strips instead of doing it all by hand. You can use a balloon as a mold but an actual bowl would also work if you have one that’s just the right size and shape. It will take a bit of time to glue all the shredded paper bits together and to cover up the whole surface of your bowl but once that part is done the project is pretty much complete. If you want to check out the tutorial for this, head over to thechillydog.
A nice thing about using balloons as molds is that you can control the size and even shape of your paper mache bowls and you can make your own set of different-sized ones if you want to. Each one can be painted in a different color or you could give them matching designs. Either way, it’s a fun project and it’s not as messy as you might think, at least not if you’re organized and you follow the tutorial. You can find out all the details about that on kixcereal.
You’re probably wondering what a paper mache bowl could be used for and if there’s any point in actually crafting one. As mentioned before, they’re great to use as little organizers and storage containers for jewelry and you can also use one to keep all your hair ties and clips in one place. In that case, you’ll want the bowl to look and pretty and the design proposed on pysselbolaget would be perfect. You can use different types of wrapping paper to make it super colorful.
Seeing how you can use different types of paper to customize your paper mache bowl, consider making something festive for occasions such as Halloween or Christmas using seasonal wrapping paper, napkins or print outs. You could then use it as a decoration and fill it with various ornaments. For example, this bowl is filled with cute little paper pumpkins and makes a wonderful Halloween centerpiece. Check out papervinenz to find out how it was made.
There are all sorts of little ways to customize paper mache bowls, starting with their size and shape. Once these details are decided, you can also choose to add some texture to the inside of the bowl. You can do that by covering the mold with crumpled aluminum foil. Then of course once the bowl is made, you can go ahead and paint it or apply decoupage and patterns and various other details to give it more character. You can find a few ideas on thesprucecrafts.
There’s also a different technique that you can use when making your paper mache bowl. Instead of cutting the newspaper into strips and glueing them once by one onto the mold you can put all the paper bits in a pot in hot water and let it get mushy, then turn it into a paste. You can then use that to make the bowl. It’s a bit like making a sculpture or making pottery. Everything you need to know about this technique is described in detail on theheartandhaven.
Paper mache bowls don’t need to look perfect. In fact, it would be a bit weird if they need so embrace the imperfections and go with an organic shape and texture. Painting the bowls once they’re done is really fun and it could be cool to involve the kids and let them take care of this part. finger painting could look nice and artistic. With that in mind, check out happyhooligans if you want some extra details and ideas.
To simplify the bowl-making process even more, you could skip some of the details. For example, if you’re using a balloon as a mold, go ahead and apply the strips of paper on the top section and let everything dry overnight. you can then simply pop the balloon and leave the edges as they are rather than try to trim them and make them flat and smooth. When you simplify the process this project ends up being super quick and easy. Check out instructables for a basic tutorial.
Most paper mache bowls we showed so far have been customized and painted in one way or another. However, that part is not really necessary. You can leave the bowl as is without covering the newspaper bits in paint. That way the bowl will end up looking more authentic and natural. Also, you can choose a specific type of paper for this project in order to control to some degree the way in which the bowl ends up looking. Check out reusegrowenjoy for inspiration.