Finishing up paper mache on momma

Tonight I spent an hour finishing up some paper mache on momma, I mached the bottom part of the upper jaw and the lips. I still need to finish the nostrils and let her dry. The lower jaw and preschool hippo still have damp pulp so I have to wait a little longer before I finish those...once that is done then I'm off to painting land...but of course with more drying time we're probably looking at a few day standstill and taking it back up by next weekend....

and now for something completely different

Absolutely nothing to do with hippos...but I did work on it tonight for a few hours. Some of the other girls I work with are considering being Thompson's gazelles with small children being lions...cute right? Well I worked on the prototype of a mask for them tonight as well. I like it, I hope they do too...the other option is a half mask that I need more felt to complete where we'd paint their noses and mouths to make the complete face....

Baby hippo!

Random hippo fact- baby hippos are born underwater and can swim pretty much from birth.

Finally starting on Amelia's costume...hers is the easiest as it has no drying time involved...it also is clean enough to work on inside, while watching t.v. when the garage is FREEZING.

Basically it's felt cut and will be sewn onto a hooded sweatshirt....cute eh?

some finishing touches

Random hippo fact- at night hippos walk as far as 5 miles to graze on short grasses (the main portion of their diet)

Tonight was a rather slim work day on the hippo project. I went out to dinner with a good friend after the kids were in bed so alas, I fell behind...

tonight I placed the top tusks and the lips, and jowls.



I also started working on tissue paper mache of the pulped areas on the eyes, the nose and front of the lips is next...maybe tomorrow night!

Smile pretty

Hippo fact of the day- A hippo's lower canines or 'tusks' can grow more than a foot long!

I also worked on the 'bones' of the lower jaw tonight, adding tusks, some gum work and lip edge and some detail to the tongue. When this dries I will paper mache it, tissue paper it and paint it...well and drill some holes in it to attach it to the upper jaw...one step at a time though.....

I add the tusks, they are actually made from the rolls the tulle used in the tutu was on...recycling :)

I pulp the gums, lips, and tongue...

Preschool hippo-cont...

Random hippo fact- a hippo can hold their breath for about 5 minutes!

Almost done with preschool hippo...tonight I pulped the eyes and nostrils...all that's left is to do a tissue paper layer and paint it...WHOO HOO!!

Twinkle toes

My ingenious idea of using e-collars from work for hippo feet is well...ingenious...it's working just like I thought it would! I decided on 20 inch collars and here's how I made them more ballerina hippo-esque

First I painted the front part of the foot in pink.

Then I taped off some toes.

Finally painted over the whole thing in grey...I was a little disappointed in the grey paint it FLEW out of the can so I have some dribble marks...but it is what it is...I think they'll be pretty cute when they are on!

tutu much

Soooo, the last couple of days have been a bit light on the hippo work, the last two days I worked on paper mache on the preschool hippo head....




And tonight I made my adult sized tutu while watching Project Runway.....I have a feeling Tim Gunn would call my look 'too costumey'

It's the eye of the hippo....

it's the thrill of the fight....okay nevermind...

random hippo fact-a hippos eyes and nostrils are placed high on their heads so they can stay almost completely submerged but still keep an eye on danger and breathe

Tonight I spent some quality time with my hairdryer, trying to speed up the pulp drying speed on the lips and nostrils...I also fashioned some eyes...check it out...here's lookin' at you kid.....

Preschool hippo

Hippo fact for the day-Hippo calves weigh nearly 100 pounds at birth and can suckle on land or underwater by closing their ears and nostrils.

Well I got a good start on preschool hippo (my son Kyle's costume)...basically he will be wearing a hippo had and a grey sweatsuit. I hope to get him to wear some feet of some sort but we'll see how the time goes.

The hat will sit on top of his bike helmet.



This is the rough carving of the hat, I will paper mache and possible put a little pulp on it (trying to keep it as light as possible so trying to avoid too much of anything on it.



notice the bike helmet is in place so it will be pretty flush and hopefully minimally visible...not that a Lightening McQueen hippo would be a bad thing mind you.....

Even Ryan admits this is actually a hippo

Though he questions how I will manage this gigantic head and two children during the parade...two words...tootsie pop.

Random hippo fact for the day- Hippos secrete an oily red substance, which gave rise to the myth that they sweat blood. The liquid is actually a skin moistener and sunblock that may also provide protection against germs.

Okay, so today I grabbed a pic of the hippo with the mache on the ears and eye wells (these will be pulped and have an 'eyeball' and eyelashes fashioned in the future.




I also finished my pulp. This is what it looks like before it is drained and mixed with salt and glue.




I ran out of glue so I was unable to use all of my pulp but I did manage to get nostrils and some thickening of the lips done. These will have one layer of paper mache over top to smooth them and make sure they stay put during the parade!





I also finished fashioning a tongue and a lower lip out of foam so that I can mache that tomorrow.

Look she's sticking her tongue out at you!! nya nya nya nya




SAD DAY, I ran out of glue....sigh...guess I have to wait until tomorrow for anything fun..but I can start to carve....PRESCHOOL hippo..LOL

Houston we have a HIPPO

Random hippo fact for the day- Hippopotamus means river horse...so named by the greeks

tonight I finished some more mache over the top and then the sides of the hippo (no pics of the sides being done yet, maybe tomorrow)...BUT I ADDED THE EARS AND EYE WELLS...it totally looks like a HIPPO!!! I'm so excited as pretty much the plan for this has been in my head...mad scientist like and to see it in real life, actually looking good (just a little lopsided) is making me feel much more comfortable with actually getting this done on time!! Tonight I also made paper mache pulp (or at least started the process)

Paper Mache pulp: (this is what I will use to sculpt the hippo and make finer details)
Tear newspaper into tiny pieces and put them in a large bowl. Add just enough warm to hot water to completely cover the newspaper. Let soak overnight.

Once your newspaper has soaked for several hours, get your hands into it! Play with it, mix it, and squeeze it through your fingers until it looks like oatmeal! Try to get as many lumps out as possible. If necessary, add a bit more water and let it soak a little more.

Once you have it as smooth as possible, add a few tablespoons of salt to help retard mold. Mix it again with your hands. Once mixed thoroughly, squeeze out any excess water and add a few tablespoons of glue. Now you are ready to use your paper mache pulp!

nosey rosey

Well I finished mache on the blank canvas that is the nose...will be adding some pulp to round it out and also to make the gums and then paper towel tubes to make the tusks...fun stuff!

Another day another paper mache

So tonight I did 2 things, one I reinforced the wire with some casting tape (fiberglass) and second I attached and paper mached the foam a bit...she's starting to take shape but there is a HECK of a lot more work left...UGH!!!!

Casting tape over the top of the nose...


lower jaw on top of the upper jaw to give an idea of where my head will be..the hole behind this :)


Paper mache just starting to take shape over the bottom of the top jaw and the snout...I decided to start on the bottom part of the upper jaw since it had the least components (although it will have tusks it will not have eyes, ears, or nostrils) and will be the least visible to mistakes...

Hippo Trap

Tonight as I pieced together the ragged and ragtag effort that is this hippo mask I jokingly asked Ryan if it looked like a hippo. He said 'no, it looks like something you'd catch a hippo in, a hippo trap." Now dare I say that he is overestimating my abilities here. This could maybe catch a pygmy hippo, well maybe a baby pygmy hippo that could contort into a smallish area. Also dare I say that we are not going for the pygmy hippo with this costume....okay enough silly stuff.

Tonight I cut the rest of the lips out and glued them together, I'm going to work on shaving them a bit better but thank goodness paper mache is a little forgiving and I might get away with it yet in terms of the rough nature of the outline. I also reinforced the head with casting tape and fleshed out the lower lip with casting tape. I have decided to have the lower jaw be a separate piece that I can attach at the parade route as I worry about the teeth being injured during transport. Also I want the jaw to be moveable to not encourage any damage to the mache. I will put a small piece of fabric in the space that will flex with the jaw. Or at least that's what I think I'm doing...I guess we shall see. Pics to come tomorrow or maybe the next day. Tomorrow is cupcake day! :)

hippo lips!

Day 2

Well actually this day takes place about 3 weeks after day 1...sigh, but Amelia had a GREAT first birthday party so that's also very important and we had a fabulous time in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and short track speed skating. The things I do to procrastinate.

Today (or tonight as I should say...most of the creative effort on this project is going to take place between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. after the kiddos are in bed) was all about fleshing out the hippo. She was going to need a 'skin' for me to adhere my mache to and then I decided to use foam to help to make her a bit more shapely.

I attached the chicken wire with wire and zip ties to cover the entire top of the head. I miscalculated and did not get enough wire to cover the lower jaw portion of the head. I am contemplating if I truly need more wire or if I can get away with something else...I'll keep you posted. I then reinforced the back part of the head with casting tape (yes the same stuff they use to make casts, kind of a perk of working in the medical field I guess) (I think I'm going to do another layer on the inside too) where my head will be to encourage the mache not to bed when my head is underneath it and partly holding it up.



Then came the messy business, carving foam. One truly needs one of those electric knives for this job. Although I am a bit of a nut about this event I'm not that big of a nut to buy something that would only be used for this event....wait a minute I do own a heat gun...hmmmm... Anyway, this was messy and involved a bread knife. I am seriously rethinking my sanity. It was tough to shape and get the exact effect I wanted. I am very grateful that I get to cover this up with paper mache or I might have to start again with new ideas. I fleshed out some eyes and lips for the momma hippo. Then I attempted to attach the loose lip pieces (there are 4 pieces to create the effect) using gorilla glue we shall see how it all works out (pictures of the lips coming)....notice part of the foam mayhem around the base of the head. The eyes are on top in the shot. I still have to figure out if I'm going to attach these to the frame or just let the mache hold the eyes on and work on attaching the lips by themselves...decisions, decisions....



The next plan? Attaching all the pieces to the main head and also fleshing out the lower jaw and deciding how to attach the lower jaw before I get too much mache on the head. Once I start on mache on the momma hippo I think I can use some of the drying nights to start on Kyle's head which is going to be carved from foam...crap!

Day 1...

So back to day 1. The first part of the costume was to purchase implements. I needed PVC piping and some connectors, chicken wire, zip ties, and some foam. I have glue and hot glue for the mache part and paint and fabric will be bought later as the need is known better (or depending on how much I'm panicking!). I use a heat gun to heat the PVC pipe (while outside wearing a respirator I might add) to bend it. I attempted to fill the tubing with sand as is often done to get smooth curves but I found I needed more severe curving and worried that I might not get all the sand out and end up with a ton of bricks on my shoulders on the day of the parade. Believe me I have done that before (see picture of the flea). After getting the general shape I then added a couple of cross bars to stabilize, when I was happy with the shape I gorilla glued the pieces together.

Unfortunately right now I already feel about 3 weeks behind. I'll get there, but there also has to be the making of preschool and toddler hippo too. Neither of these are as intricate though so let's hope we make it by 4:30 on 4/24!

A little history....

What is the Procession you might ask? Well it's this fairly outrageous parade that takes place in late April as an homage to Earth Day. People are asked to come dressed as a species in one of four elements, Earth, Water, Air, or Fire. Obviously fire is not really a great 'true to life' element and this is where mythical creatures are placed. Of course I'm sure there are some algae that could go there as well. The website is www.procession.org if you'd like more information.

Way back last fall we decided as a collective group to do Africa savanna or the like as the theme of our Procession group. My son Kyle decided that we should be hippos...hippos with tutus. He has since dropped the tutu thing realizing that this is most likely for girls. Ahh the fickle 3 year old.

Previous years have also been a bit over the top. The first year I participated was 2006 I was pregnant and had NO idea what the heck I was doing. My bellydancing troupe was in the parade and we were in Air. We were to be white birds. I thinking that this was a 'normal' parade purchased a white skirt, and some small feather clips for my hair. Uhm, I looked far underdressed on the day of the event. I was hooked it was colorful and magical and watching the children made me think 'how much fun will this be for the baby in the future." Unfortunately I was so embarrassed I have no pictures of this day, I think maybe a friend might and I need to track this down. The next year Kyle was with me, he was 7 months old. This time the bellydancing troupe didn't do it and I started a month ahead of time and made a giant paper mache preying mantis. I then made a paper plate into a ladybug. Voila, preying mantis and prey.


The next year I decided to go all out, I made a GIANT flea outfit, the thing must've weighed around 50-60 pounds and was strapped to my shoulders, we even had a tapeworm in our troupe...Kyle was a skunk...


This brings us to 2009. We had added a new member to our family in March so I was a bit busy with Amelia's needs to go too far out, my son's favorite animals at the zoo were the belugas, and so baby beluga marched in the procession.



This year well, here goes nothing!