Sewing Diaries
-
Edwardian Jacket and Skirt
'The Importance of Correct Corseting'
-
Other Projects
Paper Mache Nativity
August 22, 2006: I have an old 1938 November McCall's magazine. One of the projects they suggest for an inexpensive Christmas decoration is a cardboard creche, painted with poster paints and a triptych in the back. I really liked this idea and decided to make my own, but out of paper mache instead to make it a little sturdier. I also only did the Holy Family since it was more work than I realized.
Supplies:
1 cardboard box (mine was from Amazon)
non sewing scissors
flour and water mixed to form a slightly runny paste
newspaper, torn into strips and to protect your table
acrylic paint (the original project used poster paint, but today you can get a whole rainbow of acrylic paints for .50 each. I used brown, canary yellow, royal blue, emerald green, Christmas red, pumpkin orange and gold.
set of brushes, several sizes (mine were from the dollar store)
sandpaper (likewise from the dollar store)
Sealant or fixative
Instructions
Draw and cut out your figures from a flat section of the box. Keep the design simple. From one right angle edge of the box, cut out three small sections to be used as stands.
Cover everything with 3-4 layers of paper mache and let dry. To make the manger backdrop, bend a piece of the box into shape or luck out as I did- the top of the box was already bent forward into the shape I wanted.
Let dry. Sand well. Paint two layers of base paint to cover all the newspaper, then begin with the designs. I stuck to some of the designs used in the 30's magazine but could only really do very straight lines with my cheap brushes. Add the gold detail and the faces- painting the Blessed Mother's face was nerve wracking. You can see I left the Christ child's face alone.
Here I realized I needed a star for all that brown, and made one using a scrap of cardboard. Cover everything with a layer of sealant- I used matte Mod Podge but water down Elmer's glue would probably work. Hot glue your stand pieces to the back of your figures, hot glue the star to the backdrop. You're done!
