This Paper Mache Craft has endless possibilities. We used our Paper Mache Recipe and instead of using paper to wrap around our balloons we used yarn. You end up with a really cool hollow ball of yarn. You could use these balls of yarn to decorate for a party. We tied ours to a string to dress up our fireplace mantel, but you could also tie these balls to the individual lights on a string of Christmas Tree Lights and make a cool Party Lanterns. We also tied ours to a chandelier to dress it up (see picture below). My 6 year old had a little trouble holding the slippery yarn on the balloon as she wrapped, so this craft would be good for kids a little older who'd be able to work it better.
Paper Mache Glue Recipe:
- Mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup flour until smooth
- Mix this mixture into 4 cups of boiling water
- Add a little cinnamon if you want
- Let cool and it's ready to use
Supplies Needed to make a Paper Mache Balls:
- Balloons, in any shape and size. We used small round balloons
- Yarn, preferably thinner yarn because it dries faster
- Paper Mache Recipe
Directions to make a Paper Mache Balls:
- Make your Paper Mache Glue Recipe and blow up your balloons (try to make them all the same size)
- Cut your Yarn into long, but manageable lengths (that won't tangle when you dip it into the Paper Mache Glue.
- Dip one of your lengths of Yarn into the Paper Mache Glue and wipe of excess glue from the yarn as you take it out
- Next, wrap the Yarn around your Balloon, make sure to wrap enough yarn around your balloon so that it's strong when it dries.
- Let the balls dry overnight (DON'T put outside in the hot sun to dry like we did. Your balloons will shrink before your yarn dries. We had to take out the shrunken balloons and blow up another one inside the yarn ball to save it).
- After the Yarn is completely dry, pop the balloon inside and pull out through a hole.
- Depending on how you use your Yarn Balls, you might want to spray with a clear varnish to make them a little water resistant.
- Tie to a string of ribbon or tie on your string of Christmas Tree Lights. You can also hang them from a chandelier like we did:
