{"id":430,"date":"2015-07-16T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T09:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/?p=430"},"modified":"2020-10-27T15:47:27","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T15:47:27","slug":"paper-mache-alligator-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/paper-mache-alligator-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Paper mach\u00e9 alligator, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/alligator.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/alligator.jpg\" alt=\"How to make a paper mache alligator\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is part two of my paper mach\u00e9 alligator project for Halloween. <a href=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/paper-mache-alligator-work-in-progress\/\">Part one can be found here.<\/a> When I last left off, I had just applied <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Activa+Plus+clay&amp;rlz=1C1CHKZ_enUS438US438&amp;es_sm=93&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=dp6RVbL_KIbItQWgmYOwBg&amp;ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&amp;biw=1920&amp;bih=955\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Activa Plus clay<\/a> to the alligator&#8217;s head in order to create the teeth, eyes and eyebrow ridges, and nostrils. So my next step was to paper mach\u00e9 over those bits; easy. See my article about my paper mach\u00e9 method <a href=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/uncategorized\/my-paper-mache-method\/\">here<\/a>. The short version is: I use <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2LYmQsW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roman PRO-543 universal wallpaper adhesive<\/a> (paid link) and alternating layers of newspaper and brown wrapping paper. <!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"am-item\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00FK8VNJE\/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;linkCode=li3&amp;tag=manningkrull-20&amp;linkId=c750f16dcb0f016ec23f35d64e1c3348&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;ASIN=B00FK8VNJE&amp;Format=_SL250_&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=manningkrull-20&amp;language=en_US\"><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=manningkrull-20&amp;language=en_US&amp;l=li3&amp;o=1&amp;a=B00FK8VNJE\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/alligator-head1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/alligator-head1.jpg\" alt=\"Paper mach\u00e9 alligator head detail, before painting\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next was tackling the legs! These proved to be the most challenging part of this whole project! I ran into an interesting problem and made up a new solution that I suspect will be very helpful with lots of future projects.<\/p>\n<p>I started the legs by wadding up lots of newspaper and wrapping it in masking tape. I ended up doing the feet several steps later, so we&#8217;re just talking about the legs for now; eight oblong blobs of newspaper for the upper parts and lower parts of all four legs. I knew I needed the legs to be folded up pretty tightly and close to the body in order for the alligator to sit perfectly in the tub, and this is where things got difficult. I taped the legs to the body with heavy duty Scotch packing tape, but they just wouldn&#8217;t sit close to the body the way I wanted. Even with tons of packing tape and masking tape wrapped around the pieces and holding them together, the leg pieces remained very flexible and they tended to splay out a lot more than I wanted. No amount of tape would squish them up as firmly as I wanted; the wadded up newspaper was too elastic and it would push back out when I let go with my hands. I wanted the legs to look tensed up and alive; not splayed out and dead!<\/p>\n <div class=\"ad-300x250 ad-float-right\">\r\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- MMS 300x250 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5009313124668288\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3616150394\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>So I had a neat idea. My table was already covered with newspaper and wax paper, all firmly taped down, and I decided to tape the legs to the table at each of the wrists\/ankles. Remember, there were no feet yet; just legs with stumps. So my goal was to lock the legs firmly in place by taping them to the table, then apply lots of paper mach\u00e9, with the hope that when the paper mach\u00e9 dried and hardened the legs would stay folded up and close to the body like I wanted. And it actually worked! I used tons of masking tape to attach those ankle\/wrist areas to the table, applied two layers of paper mach\u00e9 all around the tensed-up legs, and when it dried overnight and I removed the tape attaching the ankles\/wrists to the table, the legs kept their shape! Beforehand I was worried that when I removed the tape the tension in the wadded-up paper would be stronger than the hardened paper mach\u00e9 and they&#8217;d just bounce back to the splayed out shape, but no, it totally worked. Still, I added a couple more layers of paper mach\u00e9 to be sure.<\/p>\n<p>So from now on if a shape won&#8217;t stay put the way I want it to, I&#8217;ll just try to tape it down on the table, paper mach\u00e9 whatever parts I can reach, and hope that it will dry and harden and completely keep the shape intact. I&#8217;m really pleased to have figured this out.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/paper-mache-alligator-9.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/paper-mache-alligator-9.jpg\" alt=\"How to make a realistic paper mache alligator for Halloween\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Okay, then it was time for the feet. I cut out shapes for the feet with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=craft+foam&amp;espv=2&amp;biw=1920&amp;bih=965&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjh09CLi_XKAhXMHD4KHWKaAS0Q_AUIBygC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">craft foam<\/a>, put a little bit of wallpaper paste (I use GH-57 Universal Wallpaper Adhesive) on the top surface, and set them under the stumps of the ankles\/wrists. Because my work space was covered with wax paper, I was optimistic they wouldn&#8217;t get glued down too bad, and this worked out fine. I fashioned the toes out of paper towels, rolled and wadded with lots of wallpaper paste squished into them, to turn them into a nice gooey workable consistency. I laid these onto the craft foam base, and built up a little more of a top surface for the feet with more paper towels and paste. Note: this method takes much longer to dry than regular paper mache, &#8217;cause it&#8217;s so much thicker and there&#8217;s so much more paste in there.<\/p>\n<p>Once the sculpted feet were totally dry, I applied two layers of paper mach\u00e9 to the top surface, let that dry, and then flipped the whole alligator over and applied paper mach\u00e9 to the bottom surfaces of the feet, as well as the areas underneath the legs that I couldn&#8217;t reach when the alligator was right-side-up.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, all done with paper mach\u00e9! Wow, this guy was a lot of work. Next it&#8217;s time for the easy\/fun parts: painting and waterproofing! Remember, this thing has to sit submerged in water in my bathtub for about eight hours during my Halloween party. I hope to start on the painting and waterproofing this weekend&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Next: <a href=\"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/paper-mache-alligator-waterproof\/\">Part 3 is up! Painting, waterproofing, and more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is part two of my paper mach\u00e9 alligator project for Halloween. Part one can be found here. When I last left off, I had just applied Activa Plus clay to the alligator&#8217;s head in order to create the teeth, eyes and eyebrow ridges, and nostrils. So my next step was to paper mach\u00e9 over [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[84,98,97,56,57,101,95,60,59,3,100,99],"class_list":["post-430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alligator","tag-animals","tag-art-supplies","tag-bathroom","tag-bathtub","tag-bayou","tag-craft-materials","tag-halloween-decorations","tag-halloween-prop","tag-paper-mache","tag-swamp","tag-voodoo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5883,"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions\/5883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manningkrull.com\/manningmakesstuff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}