Have Ball. Will Papier Mache.

Is this adorable or what!
Kirby is by far the cutest fighter in all of Nintendo land. And now he can be yours... in the flesh! Or at least, in 3D paper. And all you need is a ball.

We have an old ball slowly deflating to its demise in the kids' toy chest. We could've had it re-aired. But where's the fun in that? So we went with re-purposing, Papier Macheniacs' style.

All it took was a bit of last week's newspaper sculpted into Kirby's cute little limbs. You might need a little more tape than usual if you're using a rubber ball.

Then, it's a tissue and glue attack! I love how smooth the tissue press came out. No air bubbles. No nasty folds. Cheers for smooth ball surfaces! Needless to say, don't use a textured ball for this project. And start glueing immediately after sculpted newspaper-taping. The tape can easily come off of rubber.

My boys' favorite part is next: PAINTING!

A perfect segue to spilling the beans on my latest papier mache discovery. Flamingo Water-proof Poster Paint. WATERPROOF!  Flamingo gives brilliant coverage, excellent fills, and the most vivid colors. It is definitely our new papier mach staple. A bit of warning though. With waterproofing power comes a bit of chemical fumes. Make it a point to paint in a well-ventilated area.

Just go to town with the details...

And voila! KIRBYYYY!!!!

Not only do my kids have a new loveable, sturdy, waterproof friend to play with... but we've also given an old ball new reason to live again.  *awww...*