My crazy story – Paper Maché & a Raccoon!

It seemed simple enough; a childrens craft gone quite wrong!

What is an Easy Craft for kids?

Many many years ago my children used to take part in activities at the local park organized by the city. A young person was employed to spend the day with the kids to play games, organize crafts, and encourage interaction. The supervisor was called a ‘Supie’ for that reason. It was a great concept and I had even enjoyed it as a child. It was free and quite popular.

My kids loved going to see the Supie as the art supplies were given and they did learn new things. Paper Maché was a great thing to do as it was non-toxic and easily washed off in the water fountain. Other crafts were bracelet making from gimp, popsicle stick creatures, and other paper crafts. There would be a large lockable box to keep supplies on hand in the park. I still love making with paper maché materials!

So Simple:

Mix a bit of flour and water until it was thick enough to paint over paper or tissue so that you can build a form. If you got any on your clothes mom would not be angry as it would easily wash off! Super cheap and non toxic.

As a simple way to get the shape going fast you can use a balloon. My daughter loved crafting and would be concentrating quite intensely to make the best thing she could (I do not know where she gets that from?!) It is great to see a child spend hours working on something.

Adding some coloured paper or water based paint allowed it to become almost anything. I distinctly remember some of my early days ‘crafting’ with the ‘Supie’. I got such a sense of accomplishment from whatever I had made.

Some of my first Creations:

I think it must be over 50 years ago that I had made a plaster creation with the Supie at the park. There were latex rubber molds and we mixed some plaster, poured it in and a little while later pulled out a little character. To me it was like magic – I was so elated at what I had made and ecstatic to bring it home to show off. ‘Yes, I was maybe 10 years old, but I was instantly hooked on making and that amazing feeling!

Encourage the little ones!

I still chase that feeling as we all need something that brings us joy, whether big or small. It is important to encourage creativity in the little ones, to see the sparkle in their eyes when they are so proud of something they made! That hugely builds their self confidence!

My Mother was instrumental in giving me that motivation to create in so many directions. She understood how art can be a great career since it is so versatile. Becoming an illustrator and also working from home allowed me to be a big part in the upbringing of my children, a priceless thing these days.

It doesn’t have to be perfect:

I’ve often seen how some kids think they ‘can’t’ before they even try. When I taught in college that mindset was a tough one for students overcome. It is all a process, as with any kind of skill, we need to persevere and keep trying! We learn from failure as well as from success!

Ok, Speaking of Failure:

Back to my story of the paper maché. When my daughter came home from the park with her creation she was so proud and happy about what she had made! She was just beaming! I can’t remember what it actually was but that didn’t matter – it was the feeling that was important!

We needed to let the creation dry as it was a hot summer. It was decided we should put it outside in the garden overnight as the heat would help dry it out.

We often have Visitors:

I am quite blessed to have a lot of wildlife in our area. Doesn’t this just warm your heart?! That old oak tree is so hollow that it can house a slew of baby raccoons!

“I am just looking for food” he says. “So do not put edibles outside if you do not want me to visit”.

I should have known:

Well, as I had mentioned, this paper maché was made with FLOUR and water. That is almost like what bread is made of. If you are really hungry then that would be a food source even though there is some paper!

When we came downstairs in the morning she looked outside she immediately screamed! I thought there was a dead body in the backyard or something as she was so distraught!

Yup, you guessed it; the Raccoon ripped apart her project and chewed it up! She cried and cried also blamed me for suggesting to leave it outside. Who would think a raccoon would do that?! Lesson learned.

Ok, that is also why I keep a cage over the turtle pound as we know what happened there! I hope you enjoyed joining on my trip down memory lane… And remember; do not feed the raccoons!

I’m also happy to report that my daughter currently has a creative career (not in Paper maché though) and remembers this escapade vividly over 30 years later.