Easy Paper Mache Craft Ideas for Kids

The creativity of children can never be limited to classrooms. There is a different form of satisfaction in mastering your own creativity. It is essential to encourage your child to do some creative activities like making crafts, drawings can be very beneficial to them as it involves their imagination power, their thinking capacity as well as their fun moments. There are many crafts that they can use to let their innovation unwind like felt paper crafts, poster making, pottery, etc. One of these is paper mache crafts, where children can learn to make some cute objects with their creativity from paper mache. You can also learn how to make paper mache easily with flour, newspaper, or waste paper and water.

10 Simple Paper Mache Craft Ideas for Children

If children love making crafts, DIY paper mache crafts are the best things that they can use to make some really useful and adorable objects out of paper. Being easily available and budget-friendly, they are among the favorite item for the children to make the crafts from. So, let your child get their hands sticky with some really cool ideas for the paper mache crafts that are listed below:

1. Paper Mache Bowls

Paper mache bowls are the easiest craft that a child can make from the paper mache. Make adorable bowls, and you can also paint them according to your liking to get different set and designs of bowls.

Material needed

• A bowl for template
• Scraps of paper
• Wallpaper paste
• Plastic wrap
• Brush

Instructions

1. Turn the bowl upside down and wrap the plastic around it.
2. Put the paper as per your creativity and design you want and glue it with wallpaper paste. Add the paper to the entire outside area of the bowl.
3. Let it dry for approximately 24-48 hours.
4. Carefully loosen the bowl and remove the plastic wrap.
5. You can add color on the inside portion as well if you like.

2. Paper Mache Earth

Make your own DIY Earth from the paper mache. Children can enjoy getting messy with the fun activity.

Material needed

• Punch balloon
• Flour and water
• Newspapers
• Blue paint
• Downloaded continent maps
• Scissor
• Paintbrush
• Glue

Instructions

1. Blow up the balloon and cover it with newspaper dipped onto the paper mache paste made from flour and water.
2. Let it dry and add an extra layer of newspaper. Clean out the wrinkles through a paintbrush.
3. Let the balloon dry for a day, and then paint the whole balloon with blue color.
4. Cut out the maps of continents from the downloaded sheets and paste them onto the balloon according to their place.

3. Paper Mache Cake Stand

Help your child to make a DIY paper mache cake stand that can be used for keeping pots, as cake stands, or for school projects. The fun thing is it is super easy and does not add extra cost to your budget.

Material needed

• Cardboard
• Newspaper
• Flour and water
• Craft knife and pencil
• Sand
• Masking tape
• Paint and paint brushes
• Glue

Instructions

1. Mark out a round shape and the stand shape from the cardboard. From the stand shape, draw the same pattern connecting the long sides.
2. Cut out the circle and the outline of the stand shape.
3. Fold the stand along the vertical line and stick the two ends through masking tape properly.
4. Fill in the sand inside the stand to make it a bit heavy so that it will not tip over.
5. Stick the stand to the middle of the round cardboard properly with the masking tape and glue so that it gets attached to the stand firmly.
6. Tear the newspaper into pieces, dip it in the paper mache dip and apply to the whole area of the cake stand.
7. Let it dry completely, and then add another layer. Repeat the same process again for the third layer.
8. Let it dry and color them as you wish.

4. Paper Mache Hot Air Balloon

Add some extra creative decorations to the children’s room using this creative idea of making Paper Mache Hot air Balloons with some super easy techniques.

Material needed 

• 12-inch balloon
• Glue
• Colored papers/newspaper
• Paintbrush
• Ribbon brows for decoration
• Paint colors
• Large bowl
• Flour and water
• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Wooden basket
• Needles and thread
• Stickers, foam shapes, glitter glue for decoration (optional)

Instructions 

1. Make a paper mache paste by mixing an equal amount of flour, water, and some glue.
2. The first step is to make a paper mache balloon. For that, inflate a balloon and cut newspapers into small sizes of couple inches, and make paper mache Paste.
3. Soak the paper with the white Mache paste and cover the whole area of the balloon, leaving a small area at the balloon tip. Smooth out the edges through a paintbrush to remove any wrinkles.
4. Let it dry for some time and apply another layer. Repeat the same for the third layer as well.
5. Let the paste dry, and then pop the balloon.
6. Paint the paper balloon with designs and patterns and let it dry.
7. Make four holes at the opening area to hang the wooden basket.
8. Cut the handle of the wooden basket and sew the wooden basket at the corners with an embroidery thread. Then tie the knots of the other end of the thread at the holes made on the paper balloon.
9. Add some decorations through stickers, shapes, and glitter glue.
10. Keep a soft toy in the wooden basket and hang it in your room.

5. Paper Mache Pots

You can use the creative paper mache techniques to make creative pots. This will make a great project for the kids with super easy steps to follow.

Material needed

• A plastic container to form a base
• Craft glue
• Newspapers
• Plastic wrap
• Water
• Masking tape
• Paint and paint brush
• Decorating items

Instructions 

1. Wrap the plastic container with the plastic wrap and make a paper mache paste by mixing flour and water.
2. Dilute the glue with little water and turn the container upside down to apply the newspaper with paper mache paste all above the container.
3. Let the layer dry and apply the second layer of the coat. Repeat with a third layer.
4. Let the paste get dry. Pull out the container gently, and then remove the plastic wrap also.
5. Trim the top edge if required and color the pot as you like.
6. Decorate your pot with decorative items as per your choice.

6. Paper Mache Hearts

Hearts are always beautiful. Help your child make beautiful sculptured hearts from the paper mache with super easy steps. You will not need any extra items, and it will be super fun to make these. Let’s see how:

Material needed

• Newspapers
• Glue
• Water
• Paints and paintbrush

Instructions

1. Tear the newspapers into small pieces and add water to the paper to get it soaked in the water and get soft.
2. Add the glue to the mix and mix it completely to make it a rough paste.
3. Mold the soaked newspaper paste with your hands to give it a heart-shaped sculpture.
4. Let the heart-shaped sculpture get dried for a day or two according to its thickness.
5. Paint with your own colorful imagination and designs as you like.

7. Paper Mache Pumpkins

With Christmas around the corner, the children can make their own DIY paper mache pumpkins, which looks cool if you are preparing for a project in their school or if you want to decorate your house for Halloween.

Material needed 

• Balloons
• White craft glue
• Green construction paper
• Green pipe cleaner
• Papers
• Orange color
• Brush
• Water

Instructions

1. Blow up the balloon and cut out the newspapers into small pieces.
2. Prepare a paste of glue and water. Dip the newspaper pieces into the glue and cover the whole area of the balloon.
3. Let it dry completely, and add another layer to make it strong.
4. Repeat the last process for the third layer.
5. Cut out the leaf shape from the construction paper.
6. Paint it with the orange color, and then add some paper leaves to the paper pumpkins.
7. Add a curled pipe to give the finishing touch.
8. Make more if you want to decorate your house with a Halloween theme.

8. Paper Mache Fish

With paper mache, it is super easy to make beautiful fish models in no time. With just a few items like cardboard and paper/Plastic plates, you can make a fish model. Are you wondering how it’s possible? Let’s find out.

Material needed

• Plastic plate
• Thin cardboard
• Scissors
• Newspaper
• Paint and paintbrush
• Masking tape
• Flour
• Water
• Bowl to mix

Instructions

1. Cut out the design of the fish fins and tails from the cardboard and stick it to the plate at the proper edge of the plates using masking tape.
2. Make the mix of flour and water in a bowl and dip the newspaper tore into tiny pieces. Dip the newspaper into the flour paste and cover the whole body of fish made from paper and cardboard.
3. Let the first layer dry, and then apply another layer. Repeat with the third layer.
4. Smooth out the edges of the paper using a brush.
5. Let the sculpture get completely dry, and then color it according to the design you want the fish to be.
6. Let the color get dry, and your paper mache fish is ready.

9. Hanging lanterns

Lanterns with lights appear so pleasing to the eye. If your child is looking for some useful creativity from their crafts, suggest them to make the hanging paper mache lanterns which you can use to decorate your house and give a different glow.

Material needed 

• Tracing paper
• Bowl
• Balloons
• Needle
• Decorative wire
• Flour and water
• Pressed Leaves and flowers
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Inflate a balloon and cut the tracing paper sized of about 2cm x 3cm.
2. Soak the tracing paper with the white Mache paste and cover the whole area of the balloon, leaving a big round area at the balloon tip. Smooth out the edges through a paintbrush to remove any wrinkles.
3. Now place the pressed flowers and leaves at the balloon’s bottom area and add another layer of the tracing paper dipped in mache paste.
4. Leave the balloon for approximately 24 hours to get dry.
5. After the paste gets dried completely, burst the balloon gently so that the paste remains as it is and trims from the upper area to make it smooth and wider as required.
6. Poke two holes near the open area of the lantern with a needle and attach it with the decorative wire to act as a suspension.
7. Place some battery lights inside the lantern to make it glow and hang it at the desired place.

10. Paper Mache Boxes

Give your child an idea to make their own box from paper mache to keep their belongings. The box is useful to keep little things that bring out a lot of fun in the process of making.

Material needed

• A box
• Newspapers
• Scissors
• Bowl to mix
• Flour and water

Instructions

1. Make the paper mache paste with one part of the flour and two parts of water in a bowl and keep it aside.
2. Cut long strips of newspapers and dip in the paste, and lay the newspapers over the outside of the box.
3. Do the lid and the below part separately.
4. Cover the whole box and let it get dry completely.
5. After getting dried, remove the box gently from the paper mache.
6. Color the box as per your wish.

Crafts can sometimes be messy, but if you want to enjoy it, it can kill boredom and brings out a lot of enjoyment as well as fun. It is good to indulge children in the crafts activities as it not only helps them to relax from their academic world and allow them to have a moment of fun but also helps to create many memories that you will cherish later on while helping the child’s creativity to get a wing and fly. With crafts, a whole world of imagination and creativity is linked that produces super energy and fun as well. Enjoy this easy to make paper mache creations and help your child get messy with their cute little creations.

Also Read:

Simple Paper Crafts for Children
Creative Paper Plate Craft Ideas for Children
Easy Paper Flower Crafts for Children