Paper Mache Snakes

This activity is courtesy of our local after-school program and their resident Arts & Craft enthusiast, Ms. E.
This is a sensory rich fine motor activity with plenty of room for creativity, using low cost readily available materials.
(Those are cut up school paper towels:)


You will need:

paper- cut into strips
flour
water
bowl for paste
aluminum foil
paint
paint brushes









1- Begin by making your paste.

In a pot mix 1 part flour in 5 parts of cool water, bringing to a boil while stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes. If the paste is too thin, in a cup- add more flour into a small amount of water to make a type of roux. Add it to the pot of boiling paste, cook and thicken it up. You can add a teaspoon of salt to discourage mildew.

2- Shape some aluminum foil into a snake. This will be the support material for your paper mache so be sure you are happy with the shape or pose of the snake.

3- Using cut light weight paper like newspaper or newsprint, dip paper strands into the paste to wet and then begin covering your snake strand by strand until the foil is now longer showing.
Be sure to use a few layers to create a strong snake.

4- Let your snake dry.

It must be completely dry before you apply paint or it will have trapped moisture and will eventually ruin the project. You can speed the drying process by placing the snakes in the oven on the lowest setting.

These snakes were air dryed over a week and since we are in a dry, mountain climate humidity was not an issue.

2013 is the Year of the Black Snake!

Visit our post for 2014 Year of the Horse