Day 58: Penguin Mache day 1

I have talked about this blog to a LOT of people over the past 2 months.  One of the most common comments I get from other parents is, "Oh, no, I am not into that sort of stuff.  I just don't do messy."  To which, I have always said, "Eh, it all washes up, no harm, no foul."  Well, after today, I understand the, "I just don't do messy," train of thought!

I saw these ADORABLE  penguin paper mache things and I just HAD to make them with the girls.  I mean, really, how hard could they be?  1 part flour, 2 parts water, some news paper cut into 1-ish inch strips, and a  couple of water balloons.  I can TOTALLY do this!  Sometimes, I should think "Just because I can do this, should I?"

We mixed up the "glue".  Basically, I used 1 cup of flour and 2 cups of water, (if you live in a high humidity place, use a little salt to prevent mold) and whisked it until it was smooth.  The kids enjoyed this part too.  So, we mix up the glue, I cut 1 inch strips of news paper, basically, the bottom half of section A in the Friday paper covered 2 water balloons if that gives you an idea.

Next, we dunked, there is NO way to do this cleanly, the strips of paper in the glue and then started pushing it onto the balloons.  Believe me, expect to get M-E-S-S-Y.  You just have to reach in and coat the news paper with your fingers, and then squeegee off the excess glue between your fingers.  It is a mess!!!!

As I was wrist deep in flour/water/glue my phone obviously had to ring.  Well, guess what, I left that one go to voicemail!  I will say that I was mildly uplifted when, halfway through the craft, Iris looked at me and said, "Mommy, this is a really fun craft!"

After we were done, THIS is what my dining room looked like.  If you don't have hardwood floors in your craft room- TARP IT! lol

But, I can't complain too much, I gave Iris and Penny each a washcloth and told them to clean the dining room up with me, and they did a VERY good job.  It wasn't as hard to clean up as I had expected it would be.

Now, as long as these dry properly, tomorrow, we will paint them :)