Making paper mache' in art class

 Making paper mache' is so much fun. For my little art class, I prepared stuff ahead of time like separating egg cartons and cutting strips of newspapers. 

We blew up balloons and tied them. The children wanted certain colored balloons, but I had to explain that the color of the balloon wouldn't matter later because it wouldn't be seen. They still persisted and we tried the best to give them their color they wanted. We used masking tape. Do not pull the masking tape off to readjust a leg or snout. Our helper did this and two balloons were popped. :)

We taped four egg carton pieces to make legs and taped one over the tied end to make a snout. Then I mixed flour and water into a thin paste.  The children then ran a strip of paper through the glue and put them on the balloon. There were at least six to seven children in there when we were doing this. It got very messy. I had them cover every inch of egg carton, tape, and balloon up. 

 By the time the children were half way done, they got tired of being messy and went to clean up. I finished the rest for them. Tomorrow we will be painting the piggies and making eyes for them.

Fixing an Old Doll

Hello,

  This is my first blog post. :) Today I will be discussing how to fix an old doll to make it practically new.

   First, I slowly seam rip the old body parts and fabric apart from each other. I also washed the arms, legs, and head.

    Second, I laid the old fabric pieces on top of new fabric. Then I cut the pieces out just slightly larger for a 1/2" seam. For this doll there was one piece for the front and two pieces for the back.

 

    Third step, I sewed down the sides and shoulder seams together. The bottom part of the back do not sew to the top part in the center (I sewed about two inches on each side to make it easier to sew to front) so you can have plenty of room to sew on the head, arms, or legs. Plus you need to stuff it too later. I also sewed the crotch as well. Now comes the tricky part!

     Fourth, I begin to sew on the head. I didn't completely take off the fabric of the head due to how it was attached. Plus it made it easier for to sew the bodice to the head. Then I sewed on the arms and legs. The arms and legs had tiny holes on the top of them where the old fabric was attached. I got a tiny needle and did this by hand. Once all the parts were sewn on, I was ready for the fifth step. I reused the old stuffing and added new as well. I stuffed every portion of it as firm but not too firm as I could. Then the wonderful last step was to stitch up the bottom.

    Wow! I still can't believe how nice this doll looked after so many years of wear and tear. My daughter chose this baby as her special baby since it was once mine. The arms were barely hanging by a thread and the sides had been mended, I do not know how many times. I am so blessed that the Lord gave me this skill so I could see my child's face light up with joy.