papier mache Mary Jane shoe

Dear Violets-

My heart is still in Santa Fe in Jone's studio!!!!  We have great plans for a workshop there someday.....you will be thrilled with the unique scenery, the food, the shopping and Jone's wonderful studio!  I have been yearning to make some papier mache objects for a very long time, but needed the self-confidence boost that comes for me, with creating with a friend.....

especially being in the presence of such a talented and generous artist named Jone!!!!!  I just put the "frosting touches" on this little 5" girl's shoe which was made by wrapping a real, live shoe in cling wrap and then papier mache-ing a few layers around the cling wrap;  after I had a solid "mold" of the shoe, I cut it down the middle and extracted the papier mache object from the real shoe;  then I closed the seam with masking tape and continued adding layers of papier mache.  That was the method for the tea cup & saucer and the baby carriage.  The doll clothes hangers were cut out of foam core board and then papier mached.  I brought a few children's books that had lovely images to use on the objects.  We experimented with filling the color copier with cut down newsprint paper rather than regular copy paper which would have given the images I was printing a too starkly white backround.  It worked perfectly and was easy to glue on with matte Mod Podge....a glue that is often used for decoupage.  I also watered down the acrylic paints so that the newsprint underneath would show through.  I need to come up with some foreign language newspapers to use on the top layer for a more interesting effect.  Jone has offered to post the other objects we made and hopefully the Valentine mushroom that she made for me...it is adorable!!!!!  Love to all-  Julie/Oolie