Paper Mache/Composite Recipe

I have not made any of this in ages so hopefully if i blog it i will not loose it.This Paper Mache is called "Composite" because is not just paper and glue,when it has dried it is very solid,a bit like wood,can be sanded and is fairly tough.

You Need;

Ingrediants-
-4 Double Broadsheet pages
or
-8 Double tabloid pages

-Two heaped tablespoon of Whiting
-Two tablespoons of white PVA glue
-One tablespoon of Linseed Oil
-Two drops of clove Oil*
-Two tablespoon of wall paper paste

*In the original recipe,it said "Wintergreen Oil"which i could only find for sale online from the US,clove oil was another option,i think it`s use is to slow it`s going mouldy if you store it in the fridge for awhile.

Utensils-
-Latex gloves
-Baking Bowl
-Large pans,2 if possible
-Whisk
-plastic bags with ties,if you are going to store it.
-Old Sieve.Large and not used for anything else.
-Watertight Bowls/Buckets/plastic storage boxes,for soaking shredded paper in.

1.Take the newspaper and shred or rip it up.Leave it soaking in water overnight.Leave it soaking in something you do not really need spotlessly clean for anything else because the ink comes off and sticks to the sides.
Does not really matter if you leave it soaking longer as long as it does not dry out.

2.The original recipe said boil the soaked paper for 20 mins,i don`t think that was long enough.I boil it till i see it has dissolved sufficiently to only need minimal whisking.Use pans you DO NOT NEED AT ALL.The print ink will really stick to/ruin them.I use two large old pans.Make sure they are as full of water as possible when boiling and top up when necessary.If you let it boil dry you end up with a paper cast of the inside of your pan!

3.Whisk the pulp to as fine a grain as possible and pour into a seive.The whisk is better a whisk you do not use for anything else too,as with everything ,the ink really clings to it.Placing the sieve in the bottom of the sink as the water may still be hot.

4.Leave the pulp to cool in the sieve.

5.Wearing plastic gloves ,give the pulp a prod to see if it cool enough to handle.If it is squeeze the bulk of the water out but do squeeze until all the moisture has come out,do not squeeze dry.The pulp needs to retain moisture to be mixable with other ingrediants and pliable/workable when modelling.

6.Transfer the moist pulp into a large baking bowl and add all the ingrediants except the wallpaper paste.Mixing thouroughly with your hands[keep the gloves on!]is best.Add the wall paper paste last.

7.At the mixing stage if you do not want to use your paper mache straight away it is best to have little plastic bags ready, 4 is a good bet and 4 ties/clips.Seal the bags.They will store in the fridge for three weeks.Definatley No longer,when it goes off it really goes off [stinks!]for some reason.The usual odour is not unpleasant but there is an odour so they are best stored seperately from food.


The witches are paper mache but the dripping effect is Gesso,made with Whiting and rabbit glue.The paper mache can be sanded but you get a fuzzy felt finish.Gesso can be sanded to a much finer finish.