From grade-school volcanoes to homemade Halloween masks, paper mache is a versatile craft material that lets you create any 3-D form you can imagine. Creating a paper mache fish is a simple project that any beginner can do. Once the paper mache is dry, you can decorate the fish with paints or markers or glue on colored tissue paper or glitter. Run a needle and thread through the top of several paper mache fish to create a hanging fish mobile perfect for any child's room.
Things You'll Need
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- Large bowl
- Paper strips (newspaper or any paper you choose)
- Construction paper
- Plastic googly eyes (optional)
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of flour with 2 cups of cold water. Add to the boiling water and bring to a boil again.
Remove the flour and water mixture from the heat and stir in 3 tbsp. of sugar. Pour into the bowl and let cool. This is your paper mache paste mixture.
Tear newspaper or whatever paper you like into 1- to 2-inch-wide strips. You can make the strips any length you like, but shorter strips are easier to work with.
Blow up a balloon to the size of fish you want and tie.
Dip the paper strips into the paste mixture until they are saturated. Apply two to three layers of the wet paper strips to the balloon until it is entirely covered, except for the balloon tie. Let dry for six to eight hours (the drier and warmer your location, the faster it will dry). When it is dry, pop and remove the balloon.
Cut two large circles out of construction paper. You can freehand them or trace around a circular shape, like the end of a glass jar or drinking glass. Cut each circle in half.
Glue one circle half on each side of the fish to create side fins. Overlap the remaining two circle halves slightly and glue to the back of the fish to create a back fin. Glue the two googly eyes to the front of the fish and finish decorating as desired.