Tuesday, 15 November 2011 by Irene Hoofs

Vellum Paper Mache Igloo by Jennifer Kirk from Ambrosia Creative

With cooler weather coming upon us, I'm ready for some winter themed crafts with the boys. This project involves one of my favorite mediums, vellum paper. With its translucency, applications are almost endless and this project was an experiment to see if it would paper mache well. As a forewarning, this project is very messy, but my kids enjoyed the tactile experience of getting their hands dirty! So be prepared to make a bit of mess and to work on this project over the course of a couple of days.

What you'll need:
*All-purpose glue
*Glue gun
*Balloon
*Vellum paper torn into strips, various lengths
*Oatmeal canister wrapped in plastic wrap (optional)

Step 1:
Create paper mache glue by mixing entire contents of glue bottle (I used a 4oz bottle here) with 1/4 cup of water in a bowl. Set aside.
Step 2:
Stabilize inflated balloon in another bowl. Use a couple pieces of tape to make it extra secure. Draw outlines for the bottom of the igloo and for the doorway.
Step 3:
Dip strips into glue mixture, making sure to completely saturate paper. Slide off excess glue and lay strips over surface of the balloon. Try to keep to one layer -- makes for a quicker drying time -- and aim to have the pieces criss-cross and overlap. Optional step: If you're feeling ambitious, make a doorway to the igloo. For the mold, I used a round oatmeal canister wrapped in plastic wrap. Allow everything to dry until hard (I had to wait overnight).
Step 4:
Slowly deflate balloon. It will stick a little to the inside of the igloo, so do this step carefully!
Step 5:
Trim off the marker lines.
Step 6:
If you made the igloo doorway, attach using a glue gun and trim off any excess. While gluing, it helps to use a bowl again to hold the igloo steady.

I found a small string of battery-operated lights at the store that we used to illuminate the inside of the igloo which gave it that extra cool factor for the kids.