papiér-maché fun

This time of year we usually find ourselves heavily steeped papiér-maché (Zeal has always wanted a homemade piñata at his birthday party. This year when I mentioned it, he said emphatically, "No! No piñata!" And for a moment, I was sad that our ritualized-over-the-years piñata making would not be happening.

Luckily, his Halloween costume (The half-bull/half-man Minotaur) plans included the need for a bit of papiér-machéing, so I got my fill anyway.

There are other ways of doing papiér-maché that work well (like just glue or liquid starch and water, but here's our favorite recipe for a cooked slop that makes a good hard mask or piñata:



Papiér-Maché Mix
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups water

Directions:
Mix flour and sugar in a pan. Add water and stir together. Boil, stirring constantly until thick. Add more water to thin to desired consistency. Let cool slightly and use on any papiér-machéing projects such as piñatas, masks, etc. Keeps for a few days. Makes about a half gallon.

















And you can see the final costume, with mama's too, here.