I’ve spent the past week making adorable paper Mache animal crafts. At times it was a bit challenging but it was definitely worth it because they all turned out to be extremely cute! I suggest that if you are planning to make these crafts as piñata’s for a birthday party you give yourself about a week. Paper Mache takes a long time to dry so the process can be a lengthy one.

Technically speaking it should only take you about three days but if you run into some trouble with the first few steps like I did you might need more time. When I put on the first layers of paper Mache I didn’t make it thick enough so when the balloon deflated so did the paper Mache. In order to avoid this simply put on at least two layers to ensure it is thick enough. Another problem I ran into was that I made the paste too wet when I began to paper Mache again so the animals began to crush; fix this by stopping and letting the project dry and then restarting with a new, less wet paste.

Source: wikicommons Photographer:Mathieu Weber

My favourite of the three paper Mache animals had to be the penguin, but I have to admit I am a little bit biased because emperor penguins happen to be my favourite animals. When I was in junior high my friends used to tell me that I was a penguin because when I ran I looked like a penguin with my arms out at my sides and I’m a volleyball player so I would spend a lot of time sliding on my belly. Ever since then I have taken a certain fondness to penguins! The way they are so clumsy on land but so graceful in the water is pretty impressive!

Paper Mache Animals on DLTK’s Crafts for Kids