As a teacher, I’m always looking for adorable, inexpensive keepsakes that I can make with a large group of young children. We’ve worked with paper mache in the past because it’s easy for kids to use and inexpensive to make. I have found that using a template can also be very helpful when creating with young children. Sometimes they make any image with the materials, other times they follow a guide, like with this free paper mache reindeer template.

When I made block characters a few years ago, I offered my students the option to choose one of four characters. The reindeer character was, by far, the most popular. So when I decided to create a christmas paper mache project I knew that I had to include a reindeer option.

This is a great sensory opportunity for children as well. Make sure to include them in creating the paper pulp because it’s a really unique feeling to run your hand through the pulp.

If your kids love creating a reindeer, make sure to try another design, like a Christmas tree, Santa, stocking or snowman with this collection of 5 Easy Christmas Paper Mache Ideas for Kids. If you enjoy this holiday paper mache activity, make sure to check out the popular collection of Simple Paper Mache Ideas for Kids. The ideas can be done any time of year!

Paper Mache Art

Materials

One of my favorite things about working with paper mache is that it uses really simple materials that I usually have on hand. For this art project, all you need is paper, water, glue, paint, a blender, tweezers (optional) and the free paper mache reindeer template. The template is available, for free at the bottom of this post.

I typically use acrylic paint for this project because I find the colors and consistency creates more vibrant pulp, but you can use any paint that you have on hand.

Making Paper Mache

Once you have all of your materials, you are ready to start making your pulp. Start by ripping up lots of paper. Once it is ripped, soak it in water. Warm water works best to break down the paper faster. The longer you can let it soak the faster it will blend together.

Use a blender to break down the paper. Make sure you have lots of water in with the paper so that it breaks down easily. Once all of the paper is a pulp, you’re ready for the next step. If you want to include children at this point, have them feel the pulp. It’s a really unique feel.

Free Paper Mache Reindeer Template

Once you have your pulp drain some of the water from the pulp. You don’t want it to be dry, just squeeze enough water from the pulp so that it is not dripping wet. Next add glue to the mixture. Add roughly 1-2 tablespoons of glue for every cup of pulp you make. The measurements don’t need to be exact and you can’t add too much glue, but you also don’t need to add much.

Mix in the glue and then separate the paper pulp into piles. Add the paint to each pile so that you have each color of pulp you want to use. For example, for the reindeer you’ll want at least red and brown.

On a copy of the reindeer template, start placing the colored paper mache. Children can use their fingers or use the tweezer to help get the mache into smaller spots on the template.

Once the template is complete, let it dry. Depending on how much water was left in the pulp it may take up to 24 hours to dry. Once dry, it will be hard and leave the reindeer with a textured look. You can paint any part of the reindeer that you want to touch up or add details to. For example, I used a marker to add a line to define where the reindeers legs were.

You can also cut out your reindeer and glue it onto another page with a colorful background to display your adorable work of art!

Download the Free Paper Mache Template

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