Dolls on holiday

Our divine local children's shop Spoilt Rotten had these gorgeous papier-mache hot air balloons in the window recently and each morning we would drive past on the way to school and the girls were keen to make their own. They were so simple to make but they do take a few days to make, as you need to let them dry.

To make you will need a balloon, newspaper cut into strips, cornflour paste (recipe below) paint, ribbons and buttons.

Blow up the balloon to the desired size, remember the bigger the balloon the more work required so start small. Using lots of paste stick the strips of paper onto the balloon, you will need four or five layers of paper to make it nice and strong. Leave to dry for at least a day possibly longer in cold weather. When they are ready paint and decorate as desired! We painted ours with stripes and then decorated them with buttons and ribbons. The gondola was made out an old cereal box and attached with string. The doll usually lives in the doll's house but she was keen for a holiday.

Cornflour paste recipe (taken from The Best of Children's Art and Crafts)

You will need

3 parts water

1 part cornflour

saucepan

Bring water to boil, remove from heat.

Dissolve cornflour in a little cold water and add to hot water, stirring constantly. Boil until clear and thick (about one minute). This paste will keep well in the fridge and can be used for other papier-mache projects