DIY Network

DIY People: Papier Mache Bird

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DIYer Serey Andree shows you how to create a papier mache bird made from materials you probably already have in your home. Figure A Figure B Serey's finished project -- one painted and one unpainted.

"This is a great rainy day project for kids," says Serey Andree of her papier-mC"chC) bird. "The wonderful thing is it can be made from materials, most of which, you already have in your home."

Serey suggests that, with some adult supervision, this project is suitable for children ages five to 11.

Materials:

Carboard tube from a roll of paper towels
Wire coat hanger
Masking tape
Wallpaper paste
Newspaper
Plastic foam ball
Piece of cardboard
Large mixing bowl
Tempera paints

1. Begin the project by shaping the wire coat hanger (figure A), which will serve as the frame for the bird's wings. The hanger hook will hold the bird's head.

2. Twist the hook 90 degrees and bend it upward.

3. Squeeze the foam ball onto the bent hook of the coat hanger. "If you don't have a foam ball you can create a bird's head with a ball of newspaper," Serey says.

4. Tape the cardboard tube onto the coat hanger using masking tape. The ends of the coat hanger should extend out from each side of the tube to form wings. To create the bird's tail, squeeze one end of the cardboard tube flat and hold it with tape.

5. Cut three or four small triangular pieces of cardboard for tail feathers, fan them out and tape them to the flattened end of the tube. Cut another triangle piece of cardboard to serve as a beak and tape it onto the foam.

   Note: "You don't have to use a lot of masking tape when building the bird's frame," Serey cautions. "Use just enough tape to hold the tube and the cardboard pieces to the wire hanger. Adding the papier mache will strengthen all of the taped areas."

6. Serey says there's no science to mixing the papier-mache paste. "Put water into a bowl. Add the wallpaper paste and stir with a spoon until you get the consistency of mashed potatoes." After mixing the paste, tear the newspaper lengthwise into strips. The strips should be a couple of inches wide. Tear some of the strips in half to create shorter strips.

7. Next, dip a strip into the paste and, with your fingers, rake off the extra paste. "Don't use too much," Serey cautions. "The more paste you use, the longer it will take for the paper to dry."

8. Start wrapping the bird's frame with the strips of paper (figure B). Serey likes to cover all of the taped areas first. "Papier mache has a tendency to crinkle," she advises, "so try to smooth the paper, as best you can, when applying it to the frame. If you get too much paste in any one area, just take a strip of dry newspaper and lay it over the area that is over-pasted." When finished applying the paper, check the frame thoroughly to make sure that it's completely covered.

   "One more thing," Serey cautions. "Don't forget to protect the surface of the table on which you're working. Using craft or newspaper will make cleanup much easier."

9. Depending upon weather conditions and how much paste has been applied, it usually takes 24 to 48 hours for the paper-covered frame to dry completely. Traditionally, after drying, the papier mache is painted with tempera paints. For a different look, Serey suggests decorating the papier mache with old stamps or pictures from magazines.

"Papier mache, by its very nature, has a sort of folk-art look," Serey says. "It's a great project for kids because it's easy, creative and fun. It lets you create things out of stuff that you'd normally just throw away. And it's also something that can be worked on in stages."