The papier mache cat was my second craft after I managed to make the first dragon. I made the cat using the same technology. If you haven’t seen my article about the dragon yet, then click here.
Papier mache cat base
This is a very interesting part of the work, to find unnecessary objects and give them a second life, to make something useful. I decided to use empty clean yogurt cups and old notebooks.
I used tape to connect it all together, and I also found some old wire that would become the paws and tail.
Giving shape
As you can see, the base is a very important detail, but at this stage it is difficult to guess that it will be a cat. It is necessary to give rounded shapes. To do this, I squeezed the paper and attached it all over the base. This is what I got.
Then I added some more small pieces of crumpled paper and pasted newspaper strips. I used PVA glue, it works great for this purpose.
Applying the mixture
As you can see, you can already tell from the craft that it is a cat. But the papier mache cat is not ready yet. To give it strength, I used a special mixture that I prepared myself in advance. First, I take PVA glue and water in a 1:1 ratio, mix well, then tear toilet paper into it in small pieces. If you have an old blender, it would be good to use it. The finished mixture should be thick enough.
This mixture takes a long time to dry, so it’s best to apply it to the craft in parts. To prevent the tail from falling off when wet, I secured it with a thread and hung it near the stove to dry.
The final stage
This is my favorite part of the project. Once the mixture dried, the craft became durable. I planned to hang the papier mache cat on the roof, so I additionally covered it with primer, and then with white water-based paint for outdoor work. On top, I applied regular acrylic paint in black.
When the craft was completely dry, I covered it with several layers of marine varnish. I applied each subsequent layer after the previous one had completely dried. Marine varnish protects the craft from moisture well, this will extend the life of the product. But remember that papier mache crafts do not “live” very long outdoors.
This is the papier mache cat I made. I attached it to the roof. The idea was that the cat was sitting on the roof, but suddenly a dragon landed on it, the cat got scared and hung on the roof in fear. I decided to capture this moment. A little humor in our lives will not hurt.
