Homemade maracas

April 9th, 2009

My siblings and I all had the same second grade teacher — Mrs. Johnson, whom, along with her crazy earrings and funky jewelery, was famous for her arts & crafts projects!

Each of us came home from our second grade classroom with one of these homemade maracas, and during my last trip home to Seattle I discovered a couple of them stashed away with the rest of some old toys… reminding me of second grade and the day we made them. Such a fun art project! Of course I had to give it a go with my own kids.

Here are the steps for making your own maracas:

What you’ll need:

-Used lightbulbs (the old-fashioned kind, not the eco-friendly ones!)
-Old newspaper, torn in small pieces
-Flour
-Water
-Salt
-Tissue paper (in different colors), torn in small pieces
-Mod Podge or similar clear lacquer for top coat
-Paint brush

Create your own glue-like substance for paper maché by mixing one part flour with two parts water with a tablespoon of salt.  (Substance should be smooth and resemble elmer’s glue.)  Dip the torn newsprint into the glue so each piece is wet, and plaster on top of the light bulb.  Cover the entire light bulb with the newsprint, even doubling up layers to make sure it’s thoroughly plastered.  Set light bulbs aside and let them dry (if you set them in a warm spot, they’ll dry more quickly).  The drying process may take up to one full day. (You can refrigerate the paper maché mixture to keep for the next layer.)

When the paper maché newsprint is almost dry, bang the light bulbs against a hard surface to break the glass inside (creating the rattle sound effect).  Create another layer of paper machéd newspaper to make sure there are no soft spots (and absolutely no glass could poke through).  Let the second layer of paper maché dry completely.

Paint the colorful tissue paper onto the paper machéd light bulb using the Mod Podge or clear lacquer.  Make sure the tissue paper is thick enough that you can’t see the newsprint below.  Let dry.

Shake and play with your maraca, and enjoy!

-Courtney

Entry Filed under: Crafts, Entertain your Kids!, For Kids, Toys and Games