Something fishy

           Hi guys, after I'm back after a long hiatus. Sorry but I've been rather busy lately. Anyway, getting right to it, this week, I'll be making a wind chime (somewhat) from paper mache, paint, and waste products left over from painting. Lets get started.

Things you will need for this are
1: Painted paper mache fishes (any type, but preferably the 3D ones)
2: Old paint brushes
3: Sand Paper
4: String (I used the elastic type, but you can use any you want)

Collect used or badly damaged paint brushes. Use wooden ones if possible and avoid plastic materials as the next step is not suited for plastic. Try to match the thickness of the paintbrushes as closely as possible.

Sand the brushes to remove paint and make it smooth to touch.

Punch small holes in the top fins/parts of your fish. Try to make the large enough to fit the string, yet small enough to go unnoticed.

Run the string through the hole. Cut off excess string to make the line as short as possible. Cut 4 strings of 25cm and 15cm in length.

Tie knots about 10cm from the top of the 2 25cm long strings. Make the knot larger if you feel one is not enough. This knot will help you hold your paper mache in place.

Cant be seen here, but the knot actually holds the underside of the fish and keeps it from slipping down onto the other fish in line.
>>>>

Seal all connection points with strong silica glue. The glue will harden and provide extra support so that your fish won't break of and fall.

Cut off the tips of the paint brushes and glue them together. You may need to use cellophane tape to hold them together until the glue dries.

Make 4 arms in total. Join the middle parts by using string. Once again, I used silica glue to strengthen the connection.

Tie your fish paper maches to the ends of the brushes. Again, I used silica glue to keep the string in place.

(Optional step) Paint the brushes with natural/woody colours. Alternatively, you can polish them and spray on a layer of lacquer.

Add another piece of string and hang it from a suitable place. Another optional step would be to add bells to the strings and make it a makeshift wind chime.

                                                               Thats it! Fish chime.

The wild blue yonder

             Once again, a project that does not deal with colouring the paper mache, but what to do with it AFTER you're done colouring it. This will be my first "non-natural post", as the subject of the post today is a man made object. Hope you like it.

 Things you will need for this project
1) Photo frame
2) 2 pieces of painted paper mache airplane
3) Strong glue
4) Some paint

Remove the cardboard edge protector from the frame. DO NOT throw them away as you will need them later.

Remove the back cover of the frame.

Also, remove the white paper inside the frame. While there will be some painting later, I do not recommend using this paper as it is glossed/laminated and it will be difficult for the paint to stick on it, as well as taking a long time to dry.

BE VERY CAREFUL when removing the glass. I should have bought the glassless variety, but since it was already bought, I decided to use it. Store the glass in a safe place away from small children. It can be used for future projects. 

 Glue a piece of paper to the front of the board. You can use recycled paper as it will be painted over anyway.

Paint the entire piece blue. There is no need for you to paint it as perfect as possible. I personally painted it in pastel form to make it more childish/cute.

Add in clouds.

Next comes the sticky part. Use 2 cardboard edges that you removed just now. Stick them together, one inside the other to make a "table" shape.

It should look something like this.

Using the same glue, stick one paper mache airplane to the painted sky. Make sure its well stuck.

Flip the other plane upside down. Glue the "legs" of the table to the underbelly of the plane. Remember to glue both legs. One will not hold the weight.

Glue the table top to the painted surface. Your second plane should now be flying above your first.

carefully slide your finished work into the frame. Take care to not knock of the planes of tear the paper.

There you have it! Freedom in flight! The second plane is meant to stick out of the frame, giving it an amazing 3D effect.

Lady's, please.

                When you're done painting your paper mache, what should you do with it? Leaving it alone makes it seem very lonely, so why not do a DIY project to liven up your creation? This week, I'm using the ladybird model as the centrepiece. 

Things you will need to make this 

1) Leaves

2) Small ladybirds

3) Cork board frame

4) Any strong glue/adhesive

5) A painted ladybug paper mache

Cut off the stems of the leaves (if any)













 Try to get a big pile of leaves.

Ideally, enough to cover the cork board.

Begin gluing the leaves to the cork board. Try not to use too much glue when doing this as it could get messy. You can glue the leaves in any manner you want, but I followed the Fibonacci sequence when pasting the leaves onto the board for a more natural look.

Slide the later leaves under the previous ones for a more organic look. While its harder to do than just sticking it on top, it'll look better in the end.

It should look something like this when done and dry.

Full sequence of leaves stuck onto cork board. Didn't manage to follow the Fibonacci sequence entirely as some of the glue had already dried and hardened, making it impossible to slide under.
 
For extra decoration, I added some foam maple leaves to the side of the board. 

Glue the centrepiece..... in the centre. Be mindful that your piece is glued to the leaves rather than the board itself, so do not swing it around too quickly, at least until the glue dries.

Stick little ladybugs all around the centrepiece. These are store bought and cost about RM6.00 ~1.50USD for a large bag (50 pieces or more).

Stick the little ladybugs all around the motherbug. You're done. For added brightness, spray a thin layer of shellac.










AAaaannnnndddd...... you're done.

p.s. Did u notice there is 1 "sesatbug" going in the wrong direction?

推& 拉

              As promised, here's the guide to making your own 推& 拉 from Aang : The Last Airbender series.

Start with the Koi fish molds. You will need two of them to make the set. The one that glows is 拉 (the black one), the Ocean spirit.

Draw the markings for both fish. They both have a diamond shaped marking on their head. In case you're not sure, refer to Google.

Also draw a circle beneath 拉. You will need it for the lighting later. The circle provides a guide on which portion of the fish's underbelly that you should cut out

 Cut out portions of the mold according to the patterns you have drawn earlier using a small knife or a blade.
Be careful not to cut yourself in the process.

Remember to remove the eyes as well for 拉. His eyes needs to glow when he spiritually connects with Aang in the Avatar State.

Cut a hole at the bottom for fitting the lighting. You only need to do this for 拉, but I did it for 推 as well, since I wanted to see how it would look like if it glowed.

Get a piece of sugar paper or any other form of thin, opaque material to act as cover for 拉. Material choice is important as we want to make a diffused glow rather than a (blinding) glare.

Cut pieces of paper according to the size of the holes left in the material. The paper must be large enough to cover the holes and hang onto the surrounding area.

They should look like this when they are covered. (not very neatly done though)

推& 拉 after colouring is completed. Sorry no pictures for the process because I got carried away and forgot to take them.

Battery, light bulb and light bulb holder. Make sure the bulb you are using gives of WHITE light, not any other colour. Do not use LEDs as they are directed beams (shine in 1 direction), instead, go for bulbs with diffused beams (all round)

Connect the electronics and put the bulb inside 拉's underbelly hole.

There you have it, 推& 拉, with 拉 in the Avatar State. Hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial.