Mod Podged paper bowl | How About Orange

April 23, 2009

Mod Podged paper bowl

A little decoupaged bowl made out of songbook pages I found in the dumpster. Here's the how-to.

1. Get some paper (newspaper, scrap paper, packing paper, anything that's on the thinner side), Mod Podge or PVA glue, a bowl with a smooth bottom that will be your mold, and either plastic wrap or foil.

2. Wrap the outside of your bowl with the plastic wrap or foil. (Update: Having tried both now, foil is better.) Smooth it down as much as you can and fold the edges into the center of your bowl.

3. Rip up your paper into bits.

4. Flip your wrapped bowl upside down and set it on some sort stand, like a glass or jar. Coat both sides of each paper scrap with Mod Podge. (I dipped mine in the glue and used my fingers to smear it on.) Smooth each piece onto the outside of your bowl, overlapping the edges. (See here for pictures of the process on a similar project.) I kept adding paper until I had about 3 layers.

5. Wait for the bowl to dry. Mine took two or three days. Seriously. Wait until every last bit of glue showing through the plastic wrap dries clear.

6. Freak out a little bit, wondering if you'll be able to pull your original bowl out of the paper. Pull the bowl out of the paper. Breathe a sigh of relief. Remove the plastic wrap.

7. Use a sharp scissors to trim off the rough edges of the bowl.

8. Paint if desired. I was just going to do just the inside, but decided to keep going. (Note: painting your vessel white will make it look like a creepy mummified bowl, so be prepared to add some decoration. I used a DecoColor paint pen to draw on a design.

Please don't eat cereal out of your bowl and sue me when you get sick. It's not food safe! Use it for wrapped candy or keys or loose change.

26 comments:

pattylg67@gmail.com said...

How cute! I actually saved the how-tos for this kind of project about fifteen years ago to do with my kids. As with many other good intentions, this one never came to be. Now, though, I can just do it by myself - thanks!

Susie C said...

Jess,
I do find it encouraging when "freak out" is part of the project directions. So comforting, then, when the freakage does begin, to know even the expert who wrote the directions was a little bit daunted.

Genevieve Gail said...

Great idea! I will be awesome at the freak out part of step 6!

lain said...

Really wonderful idea! I'll try it with children I work with.
Thanks!

jubistacha said...

Super idea, I need a bowl for my keys!

Gina said...

This reminds me of making pinatas in Girl Scouts! What fun. I like the idea of using a musical score, I think it created a really cool pattern! Fun, easy to read directions too. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Great how-to....I do a lot of crafting with the grandkids...so freak out is a normal part of any craft for me!!...so glad it is for you too.

Ann said...

Nice and useful too.

Ginger said...

Wonderful how to..Just right for the warmer days to do crafts with kids.Love this idea have to make few for my self.
Thank you so much for sharing re linking your blog.
hugs

Crafternoon said...

Love that idea. I'm a huge fan of Mod Podge. And an even bigger fan of freaking out.

Ashlee said...

You have really gotten a lot of use out of that dumpster hymnal. I am so impressed at your creativity plus greenness.

Leigh Ann said...

Looks like the perfect bowl for the mini yarn balls my daughter is endlessly winding! This would be a great project to do with her! Thanks!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

I love this, what a great project! I'll be linking to this, thanks so much for sharing!

Vacuum Queen said...

You've been dumpster diving, that's funny. Hey...not to downgrade your project, because it turned out super cool, but my daughter just did this in kindergarten for Easter and they used the coolest thing. There is a special kind of tissue paper called "bleeding" and it lets the colors bleed together. So when they're layered and mod podged together, it looks like water color. I love yours, just wanted to mention the other cool one I've seen lately.

#41x14 said...

love the bright blue inside-only color! freaking out seems to be a hit! it did make me feel really motivated to start the project and *get* to freak out too!

xoxo,
craftYARD

Jessica Jones said...

Oh totally. Freaking out is awesome.

Jessica Jones said...

VQ, sounds interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for that paper.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Ha! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I actually once made a night table out of cardboard over an apple crate with color comic strips mod podged all over the outside. It lasted several years. :)

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Awesome idea! I'm linking to it!

BululuStudio said...

Lovely idea, thanks so much for sharing

She Can't Decide said...

I love this! I am an art teacher and I am going to have my students make these!

xo

PrincessMax said...

When I have made these, I have used a hairdryer after each layer. No waiting 2-3 days!

georgia b. said...

the chair, the bowl! awesome!

Ashley said...

What a fun project! It'll totally connect you to your kindergarten roots :)

Trish said...

Love it!
I work at a music store and we recently got rid of some old/yellowing sheet music.
I took a few books home to collage with, but I think I'll try this as well!

rocknrolla said...

i posted about your tutorial on my blog she's crafty....thanks for the great ideas!
http://crafty.littlerockmamas.com/index.php/2009/10/07/mod-podged-paper-bowl/