Arts & Crafts with Paper ClayHow to Recycle Paper into Crafty Works of Art By Alyssa Davis If youâÂÂre into craft projects and youâÂÂd like to recycle some of the excess paper in your life, try making crafty works of art out of paper clay. Ordinary household paper or colored construction paper can be combined with flour and water to make paper clay that can be molded into any number of objects. When finished, the air-dry crafts can be painted or, if made with colored construction paper, they can be left as is.àPaper clay is fun and easy to do and kids love working with it almost as much as adults so why not create abstract wall art of your own. Here is a recipe for making paper clay along with some ideas on craft projects. If you can imagine it, you can create it! Gather Your Supplies The great thing about paper clay is that it uses items you already have around the house.àTo make enough paper clay for a typical project, youâÂÂll need two cups of newspaper or construction paper scraps, four and one-half cups of ordinary tap water, a blender, a wire mesh colander and a large mixing bowls or bucket. How to Make the Clay Start by ripping the paper into small pieces and add it to the blender along with four cups of tap water.ÃÂ
Getting Crafty Using newspaper will give your paper clay a grayish cast. You can add food coloring when mixing dough, if you like, or you can paint the dried creation with watercolor or latex paint. Using construction paper will result in colored paper clay that does not need to be painted. You may try mixing separate batches with different colors of construction paper so that you can combine colored clays when putting your creation together.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Once you start crafting with paper clay, youâÂÂll see that the possibilities are endless. Let your imagination take you wherever you want to go. |