DIY Christmas Craft: Paper Mache Lady Ornament

Hello!

I'm back with another free Christmas DIY craft tutorial for you all. We are getting so Christmas-y around here!

 Gather your supplies:

-Cardboard

-Newspaper

-Plain Paper

-Scrapbook or Decorative Papers

-Acrylic Paints & Water Based Gloss Sealer

-PVA Glue

-Craft Glue

-Fancy Wool & Threads
-Decorative Trim
-Mini Pom Poms (I cut mine off those pom pom strands you can buy)

Tools:

-Printer
-Paint brushes
-Scissors
-Greylead Pencil
-Scalpel
-Large Wool Needle
-Scissors
-Drill with 3.5mm (.1378") drill bit

Download and print out your template at 100%. Download the template here. Cut out the template and trace around the cardboard. Cut it out then paper mache the first layer, front and back, with torn pieces of newspaper using PVA diluted with a little bit of water. Do a second layer of paper mache with white paper, so you can see what you've already done. Let dry.

Take your decorative papers and cut a dress a little larger than the body shape. Round the neckline with scissors and glue it on using PVA. I always paint PVA onto the back of the paper and then press the paper onto the shape. If you paint the PVA onto the body first, your paper is likely to wrinkle.) Cut a curved smaller piece of paper for the bottom of the dress and glue in place. Apply some firm pressure to the papers to help them stick in place. Let dry.

Once dry, turn your piece over and trim the excess paper away using your scalpel.

Next, transfer your arm shapes onto your lady using your template. (Rub grey lead pencil over the back of the template, then place directly onto the lady and trace over the lines which will transfer the drawing.) Paint the arms white at first. Then once dry, paint the arms and the head skin colour. I used white with a smidge of yellow and red added. 

Once this is dry, you can transfer the facial features and hairline to the shape using the same method as when you transferred the arms. Carefully paint in the features using a midtone colour, then use a darker colour, such as black, and a tiny paintbrush to paint the eyes, nose and mouth, and the lines in the hair. Dilute a bit of this darker paint with water and paint around the arms a little to make them stand out. 

Paint the sides & back of the ornament with your choice of colour, and then once that's dry seal your piece front & back with a water based sealer.

Take your drill and drill holes in the top of the ornament, and along the dots at the bottom using your template as a guide. You may need to clean up some of the holes a bit with your scalpel. Cut your fancy wool or threads into 6 1/2" (16cm) lengths. You'll need 3-4 lengths per hole, depending on how thick your threads are. Double over a selection of  3-4 threads and poke the folded bits through from the front to the back and hook the ends into the loop and pull tight. In one of the photos above I used a piece of cotton threaded onto a wool needle to get through the hole and then used that thread to pull the lengths through. Fill all the holes with threads and then trim to 2" (5cm).

Lastly, Pull a doubled over and knotted length of thread through the top hole for the hanger, and glue your two pom pom buns onto the sides of the head using craft glue. Glue your fancy trim onto the neckline and the bottom of the dress... and you're done!

I hope you enjoyed that tutorial. Let me know if you make one! She looks quite happy on our tree :)

Jules x