Craft: DIY papier-mâché balloon bowl

Looking for a creative storage idea? Get your kids in on the fun by making this balloon bowl craft and even they might be excited to put their toys away.

Paper-mâché balloon bowl

Materials:

• 1 balloon
• decoupage glue
• 1-inch foam brush
• newspaper, torn into roughly 1-inch squares
• plain newsprint (available at craft stores), torn into roughly 1-inch squares
• scissors (decorative-edge optional)
• paint
• paintbrushes

Directions:

1. Inflate the balloon. Coat the top half with decoupage glue using a foam brush. Press newspaper pieces on top, and then add another topcoat of glue. Continue until you have a bowl-like shape.
2. Cover the newspaper from step 1 using the same technique, but with a layer of newsprint pieces. Add a third layer of newspaper, and then a fourth of newsprint. Let dry overnight.
3. Pop the balloon, peel the latex from inside the bowl and discard. Cut the edge of the bowl with scissors.
4. Now paint away! You can keep it simple with a solid inside, a contrasting exterior and a bright edge, or go wild with a pattern.

 

Excerpted from Project Kid: 100 Ingenious Crafts for Family Fun by Amanda Kingloff (Artisan Books), © 2014.

 

 A version of this article appeared in our May 2014 issue with the headline “Papier-mâché balloon bowl,” p. 20.