I love to fill the Christmas season with lots of hands-on activities and beautiful arts and crafts. Recently, I’ve been using paper mache a lot more, both in my classroom and at home. It’s easy and inexpensive to use. If you’re looking for a unique holiday project, make sure to try this Christmas Stocking Paper Mache Art and grab the free template.

This art project is also a great sensory opportunity for young children. If you can, include children in the making of your paper pulp. It’s a unique feeling to play with and run your hands through the paper pulp before you turn it into paper mache.

Create Christmas stockings with different colors and designs. I love using the template to give to children to make their art. It keeps them focused and helps young children create a stocking that looks like a stocking. When your project dries, you will have a unique, textured Christmas stocking paper mache image.

After creating the stocking, if you have paper mache left over, make sure to grab another holiday design from this collection of 5 Easy Christmas Paper Mache Ideas for Kids. If you love these projects, then make sure to check out another set of paper mache ideas that you can try any time of year! See the ideas here: Simple Paper Mache Ideas for Kids

Christmas Stocking Paper Mache Materials

The materials you need for the project are simple and inexpensive. The only materials you need are: paper, water, a blender, paint, and glue. You can also use tweezers if you have them available to help make adding paper mache to small spaces easier.

You can use any type of paper. Paper that was going to be thrown out is always a great option. However, if you used paper with a lot of color on it, you may have to add white paint to get the color you want.

Creating the Mache

Start by ripping up the paper and soaking it in water. Warm or hot water works best because it starts to break down the paper faster. Once it has been soaking for awhile, use a blender to break the paper down further and create paper pulp.

The paper pulp is fun for kids to touch and feel. If kids get their hand into it, it can also help them find any bigger pieces that still need to be broken down.

Once all of the paper has been broken down into paper pulp, add glue. You don’t need a lot of glue. Add roughly a tablespoon for every half cup of paper pulp. Next add paint. I suggest using acrylic paint because the color tends to be more vibrant, but any type of paint will work.

Add paint until you make the color you want. You may find you need to add quite a bit of paint to get the right color. Create any colors you want to use to make your stocking.

Holiday Art Project

Once your paper pulp is ready, make sure to have a copy of the stocking template. You can download the template at the bottom of this page, for free.

Start adding blobs of the paper mache pulp onto the template. You can use a tweezer to be more exact, but children can also simply use their fingers to fill the stocking. Make sure each of the sections are covered. You can add extra details, such as small dots or prints to the stripes and make it your own design.

Once you have added the pulp and completed your Christmas stocking paper mache, you can add extra details. We had gold craft foil that my students added to their stocking. You don’t need to add this, but it adds an extra feature. Add the gold while the paper mache is still wet and the glue in the pulp will make it stick as it dries.

Once you have finished your stocking, leave to dry overnight, or for 24 hours. Depending how wet your paper pulp is it may take longer. Once it is dry it will be hard. You can then cut out the stocking and glue it onto any background.

The craft looks great when it is done and it is strong and can last for many years.

Christmas Stocking Paper Mache

Download the Free Template Here

Grab the free stocking template below. Click the box and subscribe to Hands-On Teaching Ideas through Grow. Once you subscribe the stocking will download right away. You will also unlock the rest of the freebies on this site if you choose to use Grow to subscribe.

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