Made by Sarah Rose
Elliot the dragon is my first paper mache project, and I’m thrilled with how he turned out. First I sketched him from the top and side on some graph paper. Then I used that sketch to estimate the sizes of all his parts. Since we planned to hang him from the ceiling, I made his middle section from of a series of balloons. I filled the gaps with newspaper then wrapped the whole midsection with newspaper to hold it together. (I was afraid if I taped the balloons directly they would pop.) Then I added the features on the head and the legs with cardboard, crumpled newspaper and tape.
After I covered him in one layer of paper mache, I created a sort of cradle system to hang him by running thin tubing under his belly in 3 places and then covering that in more paper mache so that I could later run a long wire through it and attach the ends to hooks on the ceiling. He ended up weighing about 25 pounds and measuring about 6 feet long.
For his skin I decided that it would be cheaper to decoupage him with torn tissue paper instead of using paint. It was time consuming, but I think the texture and color work well. He got some glitter, glass eyes, and a big pink felt tongue at the end. The kids loved him!
Jonni rescued me part way through when I thought I ruined him with a mistake in my paper mache recipe. I’m thankful for your site. I learned so much!
Sarah
Wow – he really came out nice, Sarah! I hope he has a permanent home, after VBS is over. I can see why the kids love him so much. 🙂