Papier mache is something that children can make and have a fun time with.
However, it is also something that adults can easily help children with.
Thanks to the ease of use of this craft, it is a popular creative activity during times when there may not be much else to do.
Before a person starts up a project using this substance, it is important that he or she gathers all of the things needed to make it.
To make mache, all a person really needs is some old newspaper, some flour, water paste, chicken wire and wire snips.
All of these things can easily be found at an arts and crafts store for not much money or laying about in your backyard garden shed.
To make papier mache, follow these steps:

• Tear it up - One of the fun parts is being a little creatively destructive in the process.
  The old newspapers should be torn up into a lot of long, narrow strips.
  After all of the newspapers have been properly torn, they then can be placed in either a large black bag or a big cardboard box.
  
• Cut it up - Next, the chicken wire should be formed into the basic shape that the finished papier mache will be in.
  Then cut the chicken wire out in that shape.
  Any excess wire should be snipped off with the wire snips.
  The cutting of the wire does not need to be exactly precise, but it is important to make sure there is no wire protruding from any area.
  Stray sharp ends will cause injuries.
  
• Mix it up - Next, take two cups of flour and mix it with cold water.
  There should be enough cold water to allow a person to mix up a thick paste.
  This paste forms the glue.
  The glue should be covered with plastic wrap until a person is ready to start using it.
  Covering it will help prevent it from drying out prematurely.
  
• Grab the strips - A handful of newspaper strips should next be grabbed from the box or bag in which they were earlier placed.
  These newspaper strips should then be placed all around the chicken wire statue that was created earlier.
  The glue mixture then should be smeared onto each of the newspaper strips.
  Then, the process should start over.
  A person should end up with a lot of newspaper and glue layers on the finished product.
  Another method is to dredge each individual piece of newspaper in the glue before placing it on the structure.
  
• Dry it out - After a person is pleased with the number of layers he or she has added to the chicken wire, it is time to simply let the glue dry.
  If the shape starts to dry and does not look quite right, more layers can still be added.
  After the full shape has dried up and it looks how it should, this means that the project is ready to have the finishing touches put on it.
  
• Final touches - Do not rush to finish the project.
  It is important that all the layers be very dry and set.
  Once the whole project is dry, a person can then apply acrylic paints to finish the papier mache project.