Many of us in childhood were fond of this wonderful kind of decorative and applied art. In addition to the obvious benefits of making various items using the papier-mâché technique for a child (the development of fine motor skills, artistic taste and spatial imagination), the passion for this art allows you to complement the design of a house or apartment with unusual and original decor items.
Try making papier-mâché with your child using an apple as a mold.
To work you will need the following materials and tools:
- shape - a small apple, as regular as possible;
- flour and water for making paste;
- container for cooking paste (metal bowl);
- old newspapers;
- white paper for the top layer of the product;
- scissors;
- a sharp paper knife or blade;
- paints;
- transparent varnish for furniture;
- a set of brushes.
To make papier-mâché quickly and neatly, follow the steps below.
- Cook the paste. To do this, fill in 3 tbsp. tablespoons of flour with a small amount of chilled water, mix the mixture thoroughly until a consistency resembling thick sour cream is obtained. Put a bowl of water (1-1.5 cups) on the stove and bring it to a boil, then pour the prepared mixture into boiling water in a thin stream, stirring it vigorously. When the mass has thickened enough, remove the container from the stove and refrigerate it.
- Put the washed apple on the table, and cover it with a layer of newsprint, consisting of newspaper torn into small pieces. Moisten irregularly shaped pieces of newspaper with water and place them on the surface of the apple so that they fit snugly against each other. The first layer is ready.
- Repeat the operation five to six times, but do not moisten the pieces of newspaper with water, but attach with a paste.
- Dry the papier-mâché well.
- Repeat step 2, making 5-6 layers of newspaper and the top layer of white paper, making sure that the surface is evenly covered with it and that pieces of newspaper do not look anywhere.
- Dry the papier-mâché well again.
- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the mold and remove the apple. Lubricate the edges of the resulting papier-mâché apple halves with glue (PVA, clerical, or better - superglue) and gently join together, pressing as tightly as possible without risk of damaging the product. Dry the seam well, then sand it down to make it less noticeable.
The main technical part of the work has been completed. As you can see, making papier-mâché was not so difficult.
The most creative stage remains. Turn on your imagination and artistic imagination, or take a real apple lying in front of you as a sample and paint the layout with gouache or acrylics. Let the paints dry well and apply a coat of clear varnish. Now all that remains is to attach the petiole (you can from a real apple, after drying it well) and the papier-mâché apple is ready.
