Paper Mache Candy Bowl

Materials and Tools:

paper grocery bags or craft paper
large glass bowl
aluminum foil
small bowl
decoupage medium
water
stir stick
paint
black craft foam
tombstone and tree templates (at right)
light transfer paper
blue painter's tape
pencil
craft knife
foam glue
clothespins
small black pompom
black embroidery floss
sewing needle
white thread
scissors
small bird figurine
black craft paint
bamboo skewer (optional)

Steps:

1. Turn the bowl that will serve as the mold upside down and cover the outside with aluminum foil. Fold excess foil into the interior of the bowl.

2. Tear the bags or craft paper into roughly 2" to 3" pieces.

3. Mix four parts decoupage medium with one part water in a mixing bowl. Dip each paper piece in the solution and place on the outside of the foil-covered bowl, overlapping the paper to cover the bowl. Work with the bowl inverted over a can so that it is easy to spin. Continue adding paper until 3-4 layers of paper cover the outside of the bowl.

4. Allow the bowl to dry for 24 hours.

5. When the paper bowl is dry, gently peel the foil off the inside of the glass bowl, releasing the bowl from the paper shell. Gently peel foil from the paper shell.

6. Paint the paper bowl. We used black spray paint on the outside and red house paint on the inside. Allow the paint to dry.

Note: Sometimes the bowl will become slightly misshapen after you paint it. To restore the bowl to its original shape, wait for the paint to dry completely, place the glass bowl you used as a mold inside of the paper bowl and let it sit for a few hours.

7. With a craft knife, cut a spooky tree and three tombstone shapes from black craft foam. If using templates, transfer the images onto the craft foam with light colored transfer paper, holding the paper in position with blue painter's tape. Glue these shapes to the outside of the bowl with foam glue. Use clothespins to hold the foam pieces in place while the glue dries for 24 hours.

8. Create a spider by threading black embroidery floss through a small black pompom. Secure the embroidery floss "legs" by coating them with glue. String the spider on a piece of white thread and attach to the tree.

9. Paint a small bird figurine black with craft paint and glue it to the tree. If the tree begins to droop, brace it with a bamboo skewer that has been painted black and glued both to the back of the tree and the top of the bowl.