- decide on the design for your project.
- If the child wants to be quite creative, have them draw the design
of the shield on a piece of paper, it can be a variety of shapes
with different things in the center -- otherwise, just do a basic
shield and ask them whether they would like a cross or their initial
in the center of the shield.
- freehand draw the shield/mask shape on a large piece of cardboard.
- cut it out.
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Here are some basic shield shapes:
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- Roll a sheet of newspaper as tightly as possible and tape it in a
few spots so it stays rolled up into a tight tube
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- lay the rolled up sheet of newspaper on the shield and mark about
where it should be cut to be the right length for your cross
(I'll give some directions on doing initials in a moment)
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- cut the tube of newspaper (making sure both sides of the cut have
tape on them so nothing unravels after you make the cut)
- Use the masking tape to tape the piece to the shield
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- Repeat the process of marking, cutting and taping for each side of
the cross
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- once you have everything cut and taped on, your shield should look
something like the one pictured to the right.
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STRAIGHT LINE LETTERS:
- if you are making a letter that is all straight lines use the
newspaper tube method just like we did for the cross
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CURVED LETTERS:
- if you are making a curved letter:
- scrunch up a long piece of newspaper and use masking tape in a
number of spots to keep it from unraveling
- shape it on the shield into the shape of the letter, trimming it
shorter as necessary -- use masking tape to keep it in its shape.
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- Paper Mache the shield (we just did the front side, but you can do
the front and the back -- I would suggest doing them in separate
sittings though or it may have trouble drying.
- See our How
to Paper Mache section for how to make paper mache mix and tips on
applying it.
- Cover the shield with one or two layers of paper mache newspaper
strips -- make sure you push the strips into the edges of the raised
part so you don't lose the shape of your cross or letter
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- ok, everyone should have a roll of craft toilet paper *laugh* -- we
use it for all sorts of projects (including covering over paper mache
items with a white layer so they're easier to paint)
- Anyways! take a sheet of toilet paper off the roll and scrunch
it up.
- Dip the toilet paper in the paper mache paste and put it on the
corner of the shield.
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- Repeat with 7 more sheets, placing the "blobs" around the
shield with about even spacing. These blobs will be the bolts on
the shield
- Set your shield aside in a safe, preferably breezy, place to dry for
24 to 48 hours (the time it takes depends on the humidity in your area
and the amount of mache you used)
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- paint your shield the base color (in my case it was grey)
- You can paint the entire thing, but then you have to wait until it's
dry to do the second color -- I just painted around the 3D items (it
isn't hard to do)
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- paint the raised parts of the shield your accent color (in my case
it was gold)
- let dry
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- put a piece of string through the toilet paper roll and tie a loop.
- tape the toilet paper roll onto the back of the shield -- use lots
of tape.
- you can hold the shield by the toilet paper roll or by the string
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