PAINTED 'PAPIER MACHE' BALLS

PAINTED 'PAPIER MACHE' BALLS
£5.00
Item number: 25 Painted WHITE balls
  • 'PAPIER MACHE' balls, nuggets, rounded shapes.
  • Packs of 25 of single colour, presently white, periwinkle blue and lemon yellow.
  • Pre PAINTED with a base coat WITHOUT holes drilled through middle
  • Not perfecly spherical, due to being handmade and shaped in the palm of the hand.
  • Drill your own hole through middle. TIP! Take care to tether the bead (firmly but gently in a vice or gripped by pliers or similar tool) whilst drilling. Do not apply too much pressure in the vice so as not to crush the paper beads. Use a small drill bit first to start off the hole, bit make 'bounce off' the surface. Then finish with the drill bit diameter of your choice. Seal the inside of the newly drilled hole wth PVA solution.
  • The balls are made from recycled clean brown card, wrapping paper and egg boxes.
  • I make the balls from macerated paper pulp (using my extra kitchen blender purchased specifically for craft use) with added PVA and salt.
  • Nuggets are rolled by hand from clumps of soft, wet pulp into a vaguely rounded shape. They are left to dry naturally in the air, taking up to 2 weeks to fully dry out and harden to a solid nugget.
  • The balls shrink as they dry to form quite a solid little ball shape which can then be drilled to form a hole if required.
  • The balls can be further painted over the base coat using acrylic, emulsion or poster paints (adding PVA will increase the durability of the poster paints). Add gold leaf for extra luxury to the surface.
  • The balls when painted and drilled can be used to make chunky, contemporary necklaces and bracelets. Thread with a decorative yarn through the holes, add spacer beads, make to any length.
  • To increase durabilty of the painted balls cover in a thin coat of matt, satin or gloss varnish or as an alternative dilute PVA works well.
  • Paint and use as baubles and beads in decorative wreaths, fix in position with PVA or hot glue gun.