Fall Paper Mache Bowl for Fun Decor Piece
If I say "paper mache," what do you think of? Covering a balloon in newspaper soaked in a goopy mess to make your own pinata? Or a globe that you paint for geography class? That's my memory of paper mache from when I was little. I always thought it was the coolest thing ever. But I hadn't done it in probably 30 years, until now when I made this super cool scrappy fall bowl as a home decor item. Awesome, right?
Fall Paper Mache Bowl for Trendy Decorating
This is paper mache all grown up, people. You can use paper scraps and Mod Podge to create your own one-of-a-kind paper mache bowl for a fun and trendy fall centerpiece.
And of course, like everything I do, it's super easy.
Supplies for Fall Paper Mache Bowl
- Paper circles (I used a 1.5" paper punch and trendy, fall scrapbook paper)
- Mod Podge
- Foam brush
- Balloon
- Bowl
How to Make an Easy Paper Mache Bowl
To start, blow up your balloon and place it in a bowl to stabilize it.
Next, cover the top of the balloon with a layer of Mod Podge. You don't need to do a huge area, but make sure you get a good, thick coat on there.
Now just start layering on your circles! After you place each circle, paint on an additional layer of Mod Podge to make sure the circles stick to each other.
Continue layering circles until your bowl is the size that you want. Now comes the hard part (for me, anyway): waiting. You want to make sure your bowl is completely dry before you pop the balloon, so let it sit overnight.
Once your bowl is totally dry, pop that balloon! Now, I will warn you: when you pop the balloon, your bowl will cave in upon itself and make you want to cry because you'll be certain that everything is ruined and all that hard work was for nothing. Do not panic. Just carefully peel the balloon away, and your bowl will bounce back into its original shape.
See?? Told you not to panic! Now, it's up to you what you want to do from here. You could leave it as-is, with the inside white (or if you use double-sided paper, then you're good to go!); you could paint the inside a solid color; or you could do what I did, which was add another layer of scrapbook paper circles on the inside.
If you decide to go that route, just go ahead and do what you did on the outside. Layer up your circles, and just be sure to match up the top row with the outside circles.
That's it! Let it dry, and you have yourself a fabulous paper mache bowl!
Just think of all the ways you could customize this! I made mine using fall colors, but you could use any colors you want. How cool would it be to use old Christmas cards or wrapping paper for a holiday bowl?
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