Wednesday Extra: Home Decor Accents by Tessa

I recently purchased a pretty vintage bowl that I wanted to fill with something.  When I saw these kraft paper mache balls in the craft store, I knew I wanted to alter them for my bowl. 

Here are three techniques for covering these home decor accents with your scrapbooking supplies.  First gather your supplies - a sheet of patterned paper (Pink Paislee), some tissue paper (Pink Paislee), decorative tape (Hambly), Mod Podge, a paint brush, scissors, a circle punch, and your paper mache spheres.

Technique One: Tape

Working with small pieces (about 2-4 inches depending on the size of your sphere), tear tape and adhere directly to the ball.  Don't fret over wrinkles and allow the tape to overlap.  When the entire ball is covered, cover with an even layer of Mod Podge and allow to dry.

Technique Two: Tissue Paper

When choosing tissue paper, go with the nice stuff!  Quality tissue paper won't result in colors bleeding and the paper tearing.  Cut tissue paper into squares.  Working in one small area at a time, brush some Mod Podge onto the sphere and adhere tissue paper.  Quickly add Mod Podge over the top of the tissue paper and repeat the process until the sphere is completely covered.

Technique Three: Patterned Paper

My patterned paper was cardstock weight, which made this a little more difficult.  You might want to take that into consideration when choosing your paper.  Punch circles from your paper.  Using scissors, cut five slits around the circle.  Doing this will allow the paper to form to the ball as closely as possible. 

Brush Mod Podge onto the sphere, then add paper.  Using your finger, work the paper into the glue and then cover the circle with more Mod Podge.  This is messy!  Use your finger to ensure the paper is secure and then repeat until the ball is covered.

Tips:

1. Spheres can be tricky to keep steady on your work surface, so use an empty paper towel roll as a perch.  One tube is all you need - just cut several pieces and you have several stands.

2. Only work on 1/3 or 1/2 of your sphere at a time.  Set the sphere on your stand to dry before trying to add more.  Doing so will keep your tacky hands from sticking to portions you already glued and/or keep your hands more clean.  I'm speaking from experience here :).  Just work on the other spheres and go back when the first is dry.

3.  If paper tears, just layer another piece on top of the imperfection.  If you leave a fingerprint in the Mod Podge, just go back over the section with more glue.  These are pretty forgiving.

4.  Try an assortment of sizes.  After completing this project, I decided that I should have used spheres of different sizes for more visual interest and a better fit in my bowl.  Now I have an excuse to do some crafty shopping, though, right? :)

If you give something like this a try, I'd love to see it! Just link us up in the comments section or post a photo in the forum.  Have a great day! Tessa