I'm with you, Suzy. Can I call you Suzy?  I can't figure out why anyone would want to fool around with flour, water, salt, sugar and whatever, unless...you were making a cake or something. Speaking of which, does anybody have any good cake recipes? I'm throwing a little party over here this weekend, and I need a good dessert to go with the prawns in tequila. I was going to make a pie, but I just don't know, 'seems like everybody serves pie, ya know? Anyway, something in a light cake, with...oh, I'm sorry. What were we discussing? Oh yeah. Paste. Wallpaper paste is the way to go. Or, if you can get it, papier mache' paste by Ross. It's non-toxic, non-staining, mixes easily in cold water, and I've had no problems with it yellowing. OK, Suze-can I call you Suze? I don't know what the big deal is about the lack of British papier mache' artists, I mean you guys have those great double-decker buses, what more do you want? All right, thanks for reading. I gotta get back to work. Can I call it work?

Suester:
Since our divorce, my life hasn't been all that bad. And you darn well know I'm a professional papier mache' artist. No, I don't always paint my work. I've several pieces from the mid- 1980's that I colored using magazine articles and they look fine. They were pasted with methyl cellulose wallpaper paste. Maybe if you'd train that dog you wouldn't find so much "yellowing" around...by the way, I want my blender back. Tomorrow is margarita night.
Mr PM

Pimmy

I am sorry to hear your life is going so well - I was hoping you'd have degenerated into a paper-and-glue fuelled mass by now.  Do you have examples of your recent work that I can see?  Submit them to Jackie, and she'll put them in the gallery.  By the way - she is putting some of my work in there - go check it is -I CAN DO IT ON MY OWN!!  I DONT NEED YOU!!

Suze

PS Blender is not in 1500 different pieces.  Still want it??

Good points.  Understandingly, some don't have the resources available.  For Violet, perhaps you might want to try liquid starch.  If not available, make a mixture.  The liquid starch is easy to work with and does not require mixing, nor diluting.  It will eliminate any possibilities of bugs laying their eggs and hatching later.

Flour and water has its pitfalls but can help someone in a pinch.  After I was told about liquid starch, the sky was the limit.  I'm curoius though; how is liquid starch marketed in the U.K.?  Is Sta Flo or Niagra liquid starch available?

Regards from  Enterprise, Alabama

Julie

I have a mental block against using flour and water paste mostly because it is a food stuff, I think!  (I do make play-dough out of flour and salt though......how contradictory!) 

Flour and water is quite sticky to use, and it's not easy to get it smooth.  The main thing is that it is organic, and does not include a mould retardant.  Being a food stuff to many animals, you could have a problem if it is not properly sealed.  These problems can range from burrowing mites to nibbling mice. I suppose it also depends on what you make and how you store it.  Drying it out properly is an absolute MUST, as with any papier mache.

I don't think we have liquid starch here in the UK.  What is it used for over there?  We have spray starch for stiffening laundry, but I have always assumed that it is a chemical substitute just marketed as 'starch'.  We buy starch in powder form and mix it with water.

Jackie - I am very interested to see the number of people who make papier mache pieces in so many countries.  Is it possible to set up a gallery on members' work? A sort of 'amateurs gallery' ?  I would really like to see what some of the pieces turn out like, having discussed their manufacture in this forum.  The shelves, the kewpie doll, the notebook papier mache - let us know how they turned out, everyone!!

Sue
UK

Ladies,

One of the pitfalls that I have encountered while using flour and water was souring when storing left over paste.  Also, insects would be attracted to it in the drying process while outdoors.  I was warned to be careful of possible hatching of larvae.   That's just me and I can't speak for everyone.

Now, about the liquid starch.  It is sold commercially in the US marketplace in blue or white plastic jugs that resemble fabric softener bottles.  Starch is  starch (corn starch); whether spray, liquid or powdered.  The ingredients is the same as the packaged starch, except that it has already been mixed for you.  The thing that I like about the pre-mixed is that it doesn't need to be stirred and  there is no powdery residue afterwards.  Not everyone carries it in the US but most groceries and department stores such as our "Wal Mart" do.

Love the idea of posting pics of finished pieces or even works in progress.  Do you have enough megabites on your server, Jackie? Don't want to take up the space.  Then again, we can include links with our text.

Regards,

Rozani

well, guess I am really outnumbered as far as flour paste is concerned, I just LOVE it, having tried most other recipes, for some reason I ALWAYS come back to it!!. I cann't wait however to try Rozani's liquid starch.
Yes it Does attract insects while drying, however by using fans this is not a problem, I  guess bugs dont like draughs!!.
I had to smile about the "mice" working in the theatre, a company that I was working with did a series of "Short Skits" which involved lightening costume changes, one skit that I was doing involved wearing a very large fake nose, this was constructed by yours truly, on opening night racing to do the change for the "nose skit" I discovered that a mouse had niibbled away part of my nose in the Theatre Prop Room, however that was overcome and laughed about.............I was informed after the show by a member of the audience, also a papier Mache Artist whom I had never before met, that I must have used wallpaper paste, she used it extensively only to find that when conducting workshops in a warehouse the mice came out at night and devoured all pieces made with wallpaper paste.........So go figure...............
LOL  Terry