My brief career in papier mache´

Several years ago (and by "several" I mean twenty-five or so), a coworker brought back with her from a craft fair in Virginia an intriguing ornament.

It was a Santa head, but what it was made of we couldn't, for the life of us, figure out.

It appeared to be a Santa face somehow formed over a 4-watt bulb, maybe.

Or maybe not.

Not long after Vicki showed me the strange ornament, my newest volume of The Spirit of Christmas arrived in the mail. I loved that annual craft book. It was full of all kinds of clever things a person could make.

Lo and behold, on one page were Santa ornaments that looked a lot like the one Vicki had bought.


...with directions for making them....

Before I knew it I had purchased a block of dry papier maché. I mixed it up according to the directions on the package and got to work.

First I crumpled a wad of aluminum foil around a bobby pin, then I carefully formed faces over the aluminum foil.

I hung the wet papier maché Santa ornaments near the wood stove and allowed them to dry thoroughly, which required several days.

Then I applied a coat of white gesso. After that I could begin adding the flesh color, the beard, the hat. I finished each one with a coat of Mod Podge and a spray coat of acrylic sealer.

I cranked out Santa head ornaments every weekend. I gave them as gifts; I sold fifty of them to a nearby gift shop; I taught a group of teachers how to make them (although I suspect none of them followed through with a batch of their own).

And I kept many of them for myself. I still enjoy getting my Santa head ornaments out of storage each December and decorating a couple of our small trees with them. They've stood the test of time.