Old Paper Bags and Old Coffee Bags
Here is how you can make unique book ends out of old household items.
- You will need either a small paper bag or an empty coffee packet. The bags should measure approximately three to four inches wide, with a height of at least seven inches. For the sake of this example, we will be using an empty coffee packet to make a teddy bear book end.
- First, put in a thick cardboard into the empty coffee packet against the inside surface. You may want to tape the cardboard piece onto the surface to keep it from moving later on. The cardboard should be approximately of the same width of the bag but half its height.
- Then, fill the empty coffee packet up with either beans or small pebbles until it is three quarters full. Fold the open end down twice, leaving some empty room in the bag. Tape the flap down securely using masking tape.
- Now, using more masking tape, shape the bear\’s body and head out of the packet of beans or pebbles. Using both your hands, squeeze the bag in a choking manner approximately two thirds from the base up so that a sort of round head is formed at the top. Use masking tape to go around the supposed neck to keep the bag in shape.
- Tape the base of the bear\’s body onto a hard piece of cardboard, with the back of the body right at the edge.
- Cut the inner cardboard from a toilet roll into four quarters. Use these cardboard tubes to form the bear\’s arms and legs.
- In a bowl, mix one part PVA glue with two to three parts water.
- Tear up strips of tissue paper and if they are two-plied, pull them apart.
- Scrunch up two to three strips of tissue paper together and dip them into the glue mixture. Form the bear\’s ears with this and stick them onto the bear\’s head. Do the same for the other ear.
- Place a strip of tissue paper onto the bear, starting from the head, and then using a flat-bristled brush, brush on the glue mixture onto the tissue paper so that it soaks the tissue paper and sticks it to the coffee packet. Continue covering the entire structure with tissue paper and glue mixture. This is called \’Papier Mache\’. As you cover the structure with more and more layers, start sculpting the bear\’s shape so that its arms and legs are rounded.
- Once your bear structure comes into shape, leave it to dry. It may take a few days to completely dry depending on the amount of glue and layers you have applied.
- Once your bear structure is completely dried, you can now begin decorating it. Use poster paint or acrylic paint to paint on the bear\’s face, clothes and fur. You now have one book end. You may use this similar concept to make book ends in other form, such as clowns, desktop computers, and televisions.
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/designpackaging/3349979626/
