• 60 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Paper Mache Art Ideas

Three paper mache ideas at a time, each naming the form to build it over.

Paper Mache Art Ideas

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  1. A goldfish with a fan tail, finished in orange tissueForm: one balloon. The card tail and fins go on first and orange tissue is the last layer.
  2. A crescent moon with a sleeping faceForm: a card crescent. Roll paper for the nose, lips and eyelid and blend them in with strips.
  3. A puffer fish covered in paper cone spinesForm: one balloon. Roll small paper cones, tape them on all over and paste strips round each base.

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Bowls and masks over a mold 12

  • A fox half mask lifted from the rounded back of a bowl Form: an upturned bowl. Build the brow and snout from wads of pasted paper before the last layer.
  • A fruit bowl that looks like half a watermelon Form: a deep bowl. Green outside, pink inside, a pale ring of rind at the rim, seeds last.
  • A leaf dish with veins raised in string Form: an oval dish. Press string into the wet top layer as veins and paste one more strip over each.
  • A moon face for the wall, half of it in shadow Form: a round tray. Raise the nose and lips with rolled paper, then paint one side dark.
  • A nest bowl with a ragged rim and three pulp eggs inside Form: a small bowl. Leave the strip ends sticking up past the rim and do not trim them.
  • A shallow bowl whose last layer is torn pages of an old atlas Form: a lined bowl. The map pieces go on last, printed side out, with their edges overlapping.
  • A sun mask with card rays all round its rim Form: a dinner plate. Tape card triangles round the edge and strip over the joins, front and back.
  • A tissue-thin dome that glows over a battery light Form: a small bowl. White tissue only, kept thin; the light shows every overlap as pattern.
  • A trinket dish ridged like a scallop shell Form: a saucer. Pinch pasted paper into ridges that fan from one side; cut the scallops when dry.
  • A turtle shell tiled in six-sided pieces of paper Form: an upturned mixing bowl. Cut hexagon patches for the top layer; card legs go on after.
  • An owl mask with rows of paper feathers round the eyes Form: the curve of a bowl. Paste snipped paper fringe in rows from the edge in toward the eyes.
  • Three nesting bowls, each finished in one color of tissue Form: three bowls, small to large. Tissue is the last layer and deepens wherever it overlaps.

Animals over a balloon 12

  • A bumblebee with wings of tissue on card loops Form: one long balloon. Paint the stripes when dry; glue tissue across two card loops for wings.
  • A cracked egg with a small dinosaur looking out Form: one balloon. Cut a zigzag round the dry shell; a foil head sits inside the lower half.
  • A goldfish with a fan tail, finished in orange tissue Form: one balloon. The card tail and fins go on first and orange tissue is the last layer.
  • A hen sitting on a ring of rolled newspaper Form: one balloon. A card comb, beak and tail fan slot into cuts; the newspaper ring is the nest.
  • A pair of tortoises from one shell cut in half Form: one balloon. Halve the dry shell round its middle; each half gets a foil head and four feet.
  • A penguin with a card beak and flippers Form: one long balloon stood on its wide end. Tape the flippers flat to the sides before pasting.
  • A puffer fish covered in paper cone spines Form: one balloon. Roll small paper cones, tape them on all over and paste strips round each base.
  • A round pig with an egg-carton snout and feet Form: one balloon. Tape on a carton cup as the snout and four as feet, then strip over every join.
  • A sheep with card tube legs and a fleece of pulp Form: one balloon. Press on small balls of pulp as wool after the shell has dried hard.
  • A whale with a card tail and an open mouth Form: one balloon. Cut the mouth slit once the shell is hard and strip over the tail join.
  • An octopus with eight legs of twisted newspaper Form: one balloon. Twist newspaper into eight ropes, tape them underneath, wrap each in strips.
  • An owl with pinched ear tufts and card wings Form: one balloon, knot down. Pinch two tufts from pasted paper on top; the wings lie flat.

Wall pieces on card 12

  • A big initial built out to the depth of a finger Form: two letters cut from box card. Tape them together with spacers between and strip the sides.
  • A crescent moon with a sleeping face Form: a card crescent. Roll paper for the nose, lips and eyelid and blend them in with strips.
  • A flock of flying birds, each with lifted wings Form: card cut-outs. Bend the wings up a little before pasting so that they dry lifted.
  • A giraffe head and neck that hangs on the wall Form: a card tube on a card plaque. A foil ball head, card ears and horns, then strips over it all.
  • A panel of real leaves under a skin of tissue Form: card. Lay the leaves vein side up, paste tissue over them and press it into every vein.
  • A panel of waves in curling ridges Form: a card rectangle. Paper ropes in curling rows; paint it blue, then wipe white along the tops.
  • A picture frame crusted with rolled paper roses Form: a card frame. Roll pasted strips into spirals, press them on side by side, one skin over all.
  • A raised map of an invented island Form: thick card. Crumpled paper under the strips makes the hills, and the cut edge is the coast.
  • A relief fish with rows of overlapping paper scales Form: a card oval. Paste on half-circle scales from the tail forward, each row lapping the last.
  • A shield with your own emblem raised in the middle Form: a card shield. Stack card layers for the emblem, tallest at the center, then strip over them.
  • A sunburst plaque with rays of twisted paper Form: a card circle. Twist pasted strips into ropes and lay them from the raised center to the edge.
  • A terrace of houses in low relief Form: a long card strip. Glue on card doors and roofs, then one skin of strips softens every edge.

Small figures over foil 12

  • A cat asleep in a ring Form: one foil sausage bent into a circle. Pinch the ears up out of the pasted paper itself.
  • A dancing pair made as one piece, holding hands Form: one long foil twist bent into two figures. The joined hands let it stand without a base.
  • A family of cacti in bottle-cap pots Form: foil sausages. Stand each in a bottle cap packed with pulp and paint the spines on last.
  • A finger puppet head with a hollow neck Form: a foil ball on a card ring that fits a finger. Pinch the nose and ears from pasted paper.
  • A fox sitting upright with its tail round its feet Form: foil. A cone body, a ball head and a curved tail; pinch the muzzle to a point.
  • A head and shoulders bust of an invented character Form: a foil ball on a card tube. Model the nose, brow and chin in pulp over the dry strips.
  • A long-legged bird standing on card feet Form: a foil body on rolled paper legs. Tape the legs to a card base so it stands while it dries.
  • A rocket with three fins and a round window Form: a card tube with a paper cone. Card fins slot into cuts; strips go over every join.
  • A row of toadstools with domed caps Form: a foil ball on a card tube stalk. Smooth small strips over the cap; spots go on after painting.
  • A snail with a coiled newspaper shell Form: a twisted paper rope rolled into a coil, on a foil body. Strips hold the two together.
  • A standing figure with one arm raised, the height of a hand Form: twisted foil. Twist a foil person, tape it tight and wrap it in narrow strips like bandages.
  • A teapot that will never pour Form: a foil ball with a foil handle and spout taped on. Many small strips, not a few large ones.

Shapes pressed from pulp 12

  • A branch of coral built up in pinches Form: none. Add the pulp a pinch at a time so each branch firms before the next goes on.
  • A disc of moon surface pitted with craters Form: a plate used as a tray. Press a bottle cap and fingertips into the pulp for craters.
  • A face plaque with features pinched up from the slab Form: a flat board. Pat out an oval and pull the nose, brow and lips up with your fingers.
  • A fossil slab with the hollow of a shell Form: a tray. Press a shell or a toy into a slab of pulp and lift it straight up.
  • A landscape tile with plowed-field lines combed in Form: a card square. Spread the pulp and drag a fork across it for furrows.
  • A pencil pot with the bark of a tree trunk Form: a card tube. Coat it in pulp and drag a stick down the sides for bark.
  • A relief tile with the print of a leaf Form: none, pulp in a tray. Press a leaf in vein side down, peel it away and dry the tile flat.
  • A rough-edged bowl pressed inside a kitchen sieve Form: the inside of a sieve. Press the pulp thin; the mesh leaves its grid on the outside.
  • Beads rolled from pulp and threaded as a necklace Form: none. Roll pulp round a drinking straw and slide the straw out once the bead is firm.
  • Letters cast in card outlines to spell a name on a shelf Form: card strips bent into letter walls. Fill each one with pulp, level with the top.
  • Pebbles that weigh almost nothing, for a still life Form: none. Squeeze pulp into stones, smooth them with a wet finger and paint them speckled gray.
  • Stars pressed in a cookie cutter, with a hole to hang them Form: a cutter on a flat tray. Pack the pulp in, push the star out and poke the hole while wet.

How it works

Paper mache needs something underneath: a bowl, a balloon, a sheet of card, a twist of foil. These paper mache art ideas are sorted by that form, because it settles the shape before the first strip goes on.

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Fine art paper mache ideas

The small figures and the wall pieces are the sculptor's end of the list: a bust on a card tube, a standing figure of twisted foil wrapped in narrow strips, a panel of waves in relief. Model the features in pulp over the dry strips.

Strips or pulp

Strips pasted over a form dry into a thin hollow shell. Pulp is paper soaked, mashed and mixed with glue; it is pressed into shape with no form at all, as beads, tiles or stars in a cookie cutter.

  • Grease the bowl or line it with cling film before the first strip, so the dry shell lifts off.
  • Let a piece dry right through before painting it. Paint over damp paste shuts the water in, and mold follows.
  • With young children, an adult blows up the balloon and clears away the pieces once it is popped.

Questions and answers

What can you make with paper mache?

Hollow things over a mold, such as bowls, masks and balloon animals; raised pictures on card; small figures over foil; and solid pieces pressed from pulp. This list has 60, in five groups of 12.

How do you make paper mache paste?

The traditional paste is flour and water stirred to the thickness of heavy cream. PVA craft glue thinned with water to the same thickness also works. Tear newspaper into strips, soak each one in the paste and smooth it on.

How many layers of paper mache do you need?

Three layers of strips is the usual aim. Lay each layer across the direction of the one before, and let a layer dry before the next goes on. More layers make a thicker, stiffer wall.

What are good ideas for a paper mache art project at school?

Ones that need a single form and can dry between lessons: a bowl over a lined dish, a relief initial on box card, a fish with pasted scales, pulp stars pressed in a cookie cutter.

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