I don’t know about you but often I get a bit of a shock when the festive season hits and I suddenly realise that I have to buy presents for my family and friends and my pocket money does not stretch very far.
Then I wish I had been more creative and clever when it came to organising presents.
So this year I am going to start early for a change.
Even better… I’m going to make most of them so that I don’t run out of money during the holidays.
I’m going to plant some tasty herbs so they are ready to give away by Christmas.
I’m also going to make cool stuff out of papier mâché.
Its great fun plus you get to recycle things like old newspapers and containers.
First thing you do is tear up newspapers and magazines into a lot of narrow strips – about 5cm long and 2 cm wide.
They don’t have to be perfect either.
Then you make a paste from water and flour (best you check with your parental agent whether you can use some flour).
You simply mix 1 part of flour with 2 parts of water.
It should be the consistency of thick paste – so if you make it too runny, just add more flour.
Mix it well to get rid of any lumps. You can store this glue in a jar or a covered bowl in the fridge for a few days.
Try making a pretty container using an old yoghurt container
Use your fingers or a paintbrush to cover a strip of paper with glue and stick it onto the container. Smooth it down so that there are no wrinkles or bubbles. Stick another piece onto the container, smooth that down too.
Keep on sticking (it’s good to overlap the strips) until your whole container is covered.
Then let it dry.
When it’s totally dry, stick on another layer of paper and let that dry too.
Add a third layer for a really cool effect.
When that’s dry you can paint it and decorate it.
A layer of varnish makes it look classy and also makes it waterproof.
You could use it as a vase or a container for sweets.
You can also make fabulous ornaments like this – really let your creative juices flow.
Have fun
Sibo
