Christmas Wonderful: Paper Mache Christmas Trees

Hello Design Dazzle Readers!

My name is Jamie and I have a blog called Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom. I am so happy to be able to share our Paper Mache Christmas Trees Project with you as a part of the 100 ideas of Christmas Wonderful from Design Dazzle!

My blog is all about sewing, crafting and fun family recipes. I would love for you to stop by sometime and see some of my other projects.

One of the things my kids love to do is decorate the house for the Holidays. When I told them we were going to decorate these  little christmas trees with paper mache, they were doubly excited since it combined 2 of their favorite things, a fun craft and decorating for Christmas! We did a paper mache project once before (see it here) and they loved it!

Crafting with Paper Mache is really easy and can be done with a very small child to an older kid. (Even I enjoyed making my tree!)  Paper Mache can be pretty messy, so you will want to cover your work surface with some sort of drop cloth.

Materials needed:

• Styrofoam cones (different sizes)
• Very lightweight scrapbook paper (about 3 8 x 11 sheets per tree)
• Paper mache mixture (1 cup flour, 4 cups very hot water mixed together) 
• Modge Podge and a foam brush

Directions:

1. Mix up the paper mache solution and set aside to cool.

2. Tear or cut your paper into 1 inch by +/- 6 inch strips. (I chose to tear my paper strips so the white paper core would show, but it’s your choice.)

3. Dip your paper into the paper mache mixture, making sure it is saturated. (I put several strip in the mixture at a time so the strips could “marinate”.)  Apply the wet strips to the styrofoam cones.

4. Apply the wet strips to the styrofoam cones. Use your fingers to smooth the strips flat and try to wipe off any excess paper mache.

5. Keep going until the cones are covered. Let the cones sit in a dry place overnight or until they are completely dry.

6. Once the trees are dry coat them with a layer of modge podge for protection.