Lesson Info
4. Intro to Paper Mache: Strip Method
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Lesson Info
Intro to Paper Mache: Strip Method
We're going to go old school and nostalgic with this session of paper mache a this is most likely the method that all of us remember from elementary school. Well, I remember it was one of my earliest crafting projects mixing the flower in the water into a batter, dipping in recycled paper, blowing up a balloon and putting it around the exterior. I can't remember what we did with it, but I remember that that was the project, so but what we're going to do today is very similar in form and function, except that we're going to end up with a beautiful pendant light at the end of the day, so I am going to be sort of bouncing back and forth with some of the steps with the ladies in the audience today, I'm going to take care of a little bit of the messy portion of it for you and all of you have a nice dry swap outs that will address in just a little bit now for this format of paper mache, eh? The traditional mixture that you use for your paste is really just one part water, one part flower uh ...
there are some people that use something that is a little bit more akin to perhaps a deck, a posh solution where they're mixing glue and water, watering it down slightly and using that. But I still just like this traditional mixture a lot s o, I'm starting just with the two cups of flour, and to that, I'm going to add in a couple cups of water. Um, mel, the production designer, said that when she opened up the box for all of the swap outs that I had shipped up, that it smelled like bread, which I kind of love that so we're just going to give this a good whisk. Now, not everyone enjoys the smell of of water and flour, especially as it dries, and I have had some questions in the past about ways of scenting it. And I know some people have successfully added just a couple drops of an essential oil of some sort. Do it just accorded, sort of give a different odor or sense to it, and so that's, certainly something that you can consider traditionally there have also been recommendations of putting clothes essential oil in it as a means of preventing mold during the drying process. I know other recipes also recommend adding in perhaps a tablespoon of salt for the same purpose. I honestly, and I think this is in part because I do live in southern california and it's a warmer climate and sunny most of the time, I don't have issues with the dampened moisture that you might have in other parts of the country in the world, so that is just something to consider. So as I said, this was two cups of water and it's, two cups of flour mixed together. If you do want to do that extra step just to prevent any possibility of mold, perhaps consider adding in about a tablespoon of salt to your mixture. So now that I have done this, I am going to set this aside and let's talk about what we're going to use when I was a kid making these, we just ripped up pieces of recycled newspaper and that's, absolutely acceptable form and it's easy to dio I happen to have a lot of unprintable news print it's an inexpensive material you can buy a large ream of it, so it is essentially the same paper that newspaper is printed on. And I do have to say that one little added benefit to having it un printed. It just keeps your hands a little bit cleaner. But you're constantly going to be running to the sink anyways while you were doing this. Um, today. I'm just going to be wearing some latex gloves, which I normally would not do at home, just to try and contain the mess that I'm going to be making up here. But if I were home, I'd be doing it the counter. And just going over to the sink every now and then in washington of the mixture off of my hands.
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user-2d17c2
Must say that this was a very interesting class, well-structured, clear, real-time for much of it, and oddly soothing. Good voice from the instructor, good-humored class, and information that's transferrable to all sorts of fun projects. Don't stop once you've got the hang of it - can't wait to see what I'll make next. Recommended.
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