Make beautiful papier-mâché bowls from old newspapers—here’s how!
Make papier-mâché from old newspapers and color it with pigments or even with turmeric, spinach, and beetroot. The pulp is easy to shape into beautiful bowls.
Papier-mâché bowls—materials
- Plastic bucket and colander
- Newspapers
- Hand blender
- Bowls to use as molds
- Multi-purpose glue (e.g., EriKeeper), wallpaper paste, optionally wheat flour and/or wall grout
- Natural colorants like turmeric, strong coffee, beetroot, spinach, onion skins; water-soluble craft paints; textile or food dyes
- Plastic to protect your table
Papier-mâché bowls—instructions
1. Tear a few newspapers into strips and let them soak in hot water for a couple of hours. Blend the softened paper with a hand blender. Pour the mixture into a colander and squeeze out the excess water from the pulp.
2. Add some glue to the pulp as well as wallpaper paste. Adding a spoonful of wheat flour or wall grout makes the pulp easier to mold. Squeeze the pulp until it’s firm.
3. Add a small amount of water-soluble paint or sprinkle in pigment powder to color the pulp. Paints and pigments are potent, so start with a small amount.
4. Experiment with natural dyes from the kitchen, such as turmeric powder, strong coffee, water left over from boiling spinach or beetroot, and food coloring. Squeeze out any excess water from the pulp.
5. Line the mold bowl with plastic wrap and press the pulp into the bowl in an even layer. You can make both thin and thick bowls. Shape the edges neatly or leave them casually free-form.
6. Press a dry branch onto the surface of the moist bowl for decoration. Let the bowl dry for a day on a radiator. Remove the partially dry bowl from the mold and plastic wrap, then leave it to dry upside down.
