Large Paper Mache Vase

[?] Subscribe To what's new on the site.

News

How To

Projects

Art and Artists

Galleries

Get in Touch

General Info

Make Your Own Large Paper Mache Vase

Large Paper Mache Vase

This large paper mache vase was made using the strip method.

What we used

An 18 inch (approx 45 cm) diameter beach ball.
Newspaper.
Wallpaper lining paper.
PVA glue.
An old CD.
Masking tape.
Sandpaper.
Household emulsion and artist’s acrylics to decorate.

What we did

We tore the newspaper into long, narrow strips and put the first layer onto the ball, using water only (to prevent the vase sticking to the ball). On this vase we shaped the hexagonal opening by using the panels of the beach ball as a guide.

We worked around the ball leaving the nozzle sticking out at the top. This is useful in case you need to let air in or out of the ball, as it expands and contracts with changes of temperature. It’s also useful to hang the ball from a washing line or tree, with a piece of string tied around the nozzle.

Because we get so few nice drying outside days, we rested our ball upside down in a ceramic dish. We also used this method to hold the ball while we worked.

We pasted several layers using PVA glue diluted two parts glue to one part water. We laid the strips first vertically then horizontally allowing it to dry well between every three layers.

If you live in a cold, damp or humid climate, it’s best to dry out between every one or two layers.

Attaching the base to paper mache vase

To make the base we placed an old CD on the bottom of the vase. It’s best to do this while your layers are dry, so you can stand the vase upright to be sure it stands level. We taped the CD on with masking tape to secure it before pasting it in place. Masking tape is easy to remove and re-stick if you get the base in the wrong place.

Pasting the base on the paper mache vase

Once we were happy with the placement of the base, we pasted it on with more strips of newspaper. We continued to build layers of newspaper until we were happy with the strength. An easy way to test this is, once your layers are dry, to let a little of the air out of the ball and check the edges for strength.

For a large paper mache vase like this one you will need at least 15 layers of paper for a good strong end result.

We were lucky enough to score some wallpaper lining paper from a friend who was re-decorating her house. So for our final layer we tore squares of this and pasted it on with undiluted PVA glue. This gave us a really strong finish and interesting possibilities for our decoration.

Layering with lining paper

Once the lining paper layer was completely dry, we gave it a coat of undiluted PVA glue to add strength and to help it resist moisture.

A final coat of PVA glue

How we decorated it

First we gave the outside a coat of white household emulsion. Then we removed the ball and did the same with the inside. Wait until the outside is dry before painting the inside.

Removing paper mache vase from the mould

Once the inside was dry, we painted it with a coat of magnolia household emulsion mixed with a little burnt sienna artist’s acrylic.

To get the ‘distressed’ look on the outside, we first gave it a very dilute coat of the colour then, once it was dry, we sanded it off.

Decorating the paper mache vase

We then added a layer of undiluted colour, allowed it to dry, then sanded it to allow some of the underlying emulsion to show through.

Once it was thoroughly dry we gave it a coat of matt varnish to seal it.

Large paper mache vase at an exhibition

This is our large paper mache vase, alongside another of our works, at an exhibition in the UK.

Return to Paper Mache Projects from Large Paper Mache Vase

Return to Creative Paper Mache

New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.

SBI!

Keep in Touch via:

Creative Paper Mache Blog

Trash to Treasure

Twitter

Facebook