How to Make Paper Mache Volcanoes
- 1). Cut a piece of cardboard to your desired size. Generally, the cardboard should be about three times the width of the height of your plastic bottle. For example, if your plastic bottle is 8 inches tall, you will need a piece of cardboard that is about 24 inches square.
- 2). Glue the plastic bottle to the center of your cardboard with the hot glue gun. If possible, set the glue gun to the "cool" setting so that the plastic will not melt from the extremely hot glue.
- 3). Wrap several plastic bags or newspaper around the plastic bottle to form the overall volcano shape. Use tape to secure the materials to each other and to the bottle. Do not worry if the shape is lumpy; volcanoes are naturally not smooth and will have irregularities on the outside of the cone. Add scrap pieces of cardboard to the outside of the volcano if you think that it needs more structure.
- 4). Cut several dozen strips of newspaper into 1-inch-long strips. Set aside.
- 5). Combine flour and water in the large bowl until you make a substance about the consistency of white glue. Adjust the ratio of water to flour until you have the right consistency. Humid areas tend to need less water.
- 6). Dredge the newspaper strips in the sticky glue mixture and then remove excess glue by using your fingers as a squeegee. You'll want the paper strips to be wet but not saturated with the glue.
- 7). Place the strip onto the volcano structure to form the outside volcano shell.
- 8). Repeat dredging and placing the newspaper strips until your volcano structure is covered in several layers of the sticky newspaper. If your structure gets too wet, just place a dry strip of newspaper on top to soak up extra moisture. Allow the structure to dry overnight.
- 9). Paint the volcano and the cardboard base your desired colors. Most volcanoes are a brownish color, however, some also feature lush plant life. To make your volcano look like it's active, you'll want to add streaks of red lava that come down from the top. Let the paint dry.
Source...