Paper Mache Clay

New Air Dry Clay Recipe, with Better Measurements

I wanted to standardize the new air-dry clay recipe, so it will come out exactly the same every time. To do that, I measured the ingredients, and took special care to weigh the toilet paper after the water was squeezed out. The toilet paper can be squeezed too dry, and if that happens you end [...]

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New Smoother Air-Dry Clay Recipe

I’ve been working hard this week, developing methods for making the baby animal dolls that will appear in my next book. One thing I worked on was making a new recipe for the dolls that could be made smoother than the original paper mache clay. I tried a number of different versions, and all but [...]

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Santa (and Snowstorm) Are Done

It stopped snowing here in South Dakota, and the wind stopped blowing. My dog is getting used to the cold snow on his feet (but still not happy about it) — and, more to the point of this blog, my Santa is done. If you didn’t see the first post, where I showed the process [...]

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Make a Hummingbird Ornament with Paper Mache Clay

I had a lot of fun today, making this little hummingbird. I would have made a whole tree’s worth, but my little rented cottage isn’t big enough for a Christmas tree. I think I’ll keep him around, and hang in my kitchen window. I made this guy really fast, so I didn’t pay much attention [...]

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Thanks for Your Feedback – I Think We Have A Winner!

Thanks to everyone who commented and left suggestions on my last post. I played around with the paper mache clay recipe a bit more, and I really like the result. It’s now smoother, it isn’t sticky, and it holds incredible detail. It’s also less expensive to make, which is always a plus. The one [...]

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JonniClay v. 2.0 – Tell Me If It’s an Improvement or Not

I do hope you’ll experiment with these two new slightly-altered paper mache clay recipes if you have access to a few cups of powdered ceramic clay. The clay I used was ordered from Georgies in Portland. It’s their Wonder White clay. I think any ceramic clay without grog would work the same way. (You [...]

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Paper Mache Clay Video – the Sequel…

Since we’re getting very close to the day when we can add paper mache to our paper mache cat, I thought this would be a good time to do another video about the paper mache clay recipe. There are some very common questions about the clay, and I hope that this video will answer [...]

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Guest Post – Self-Portrait Made With Celluclay

Today’s guest post is by Joanne Gennarella, who shows us a self-portrait she made with Celluclay. Joanne sent these comments with her photos: Attached is a self-portrait done with Celluclay papier mache and the original picture of me I used to do it. Also there is a mask of a jester that I have done [...]

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Progress Report – Molds and Paper Mache Clay

I’ve been working like crazy all week, but I don’t have much progress to show for it. I’m still trying to find a formula for the paper mache clay that will work well in a rubber mold. So far I’ve completed one black-footed ferret, with a plaque based on an ancient petroglyph at Wyoming’s historic [...]

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New Paper Mache Book Is Finished!

As you may know, since last November I’ve been working very hard to create my new book, Make Animal Sculptures With Paper Mache Clay. Now, (finally!) it’s finished and it’s available on Amazon.com. You can see the cover image on the right, in the sidebar. The table of contents is below: You can search inside [...]

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Chimpanzee Bust – A Paper Mache Clay Experiment

I seem to be in the mood for experiments this month. Most of my experiments have been out in the garden (no results to report yet), but yesterday it was cold and wet, so I decided to stay inside and do an experiment with paper mache clay. This experiment actually started a few weeks ago [...]

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Readers Show us Their Paper Mache Clay Sculptures

We’ve been receiving some very interesting comments lately, complete with photos of new artwork made with paper mache clay. I’m going to showcase a few of them here, just in case you don’t have time to read through every single page on this site every single day (whew – that would take some serious time!). [...]

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Life-Sized Bust Made with Paper Mache Clay

Joanne Gennarella, a reader who often shares her comments on this site, sent in a photo of a life-sized bust that she recently completed. I know there are a lot of folks who have been wondering if you can use paper mache clay for human figures and portraits, so you’ll enjoy seeing what Joanne did [...]

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Paper Mache Easter Bunny – Guest Post

Reader Sara Carlson finished this bunny just in time for Easter, using our new paper mache clay recipe. You can see more about how he was made (and see the bunny before he was painted, on her blog, or see him and other work she’s done recently on her etsy shop. Sara softened the bunny [...]

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Horse Sculpture – Project #7 from Paper Mache Book

This horse sculpture is the last project in my new book Make Animal Sculptures With Paper Mache Clay. (The video was made before the book came out – it is now available on Amazon.com) In the video you can see how I reinforced the legs so the armature is strong enough. A larger horse would [...]

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