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I just wanted to pass on the tip that immersion blenders are awesome for breaking down paper to make pulp out of. I decided to go with it instead of a regular blender because you aren't limited to the cup size of the blender and they can be usually found for a lot cheaper than most blenders. I picked up a brand new one for just $10 yesterday.
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If it's one of those small ones like for mixing drinks, be sure to have a lot of water in the container with the paper. Too much drag on that little motor will burn it out.
Sue
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Hmmm, I've got one of them ... never occurred to me to use it for making mache - it's usually reserved for soup. I'm due to make a new batch too (mache, not soup!) so I might give it a bash 
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I have lost count of the kitchen appliances I have re-employed as papier mache tools, Tim (hubby) has despaired of anything in the house being used for it's manuafactured purpose. I have even managed to co opt stuff for my other hobbies, we are minus a kitchen blind and rolling pin (felting) blenders and liquidizers (papier mache) net curtains and old picture frames (paper making).
Nothing is safe from the born again crafter!
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Don't worry Sue! I always make sure I make a kind of paper-mache smoothie out of it. (*laughs*)
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Just be sure to keep them separate. I know from experience that having a mug of tea and a cup of water for rinsing my watercolor brushes DO NOT MIX. And the tea tastes horrible after I've rinsed my brush in it.
Sue
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Ah yes, the old "mug of tea next to pot of glue/paint/water squished from pulp trick", not a pleasant experience! You'd think I'd learn!!
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Yes, but that goes along with remembering not to shut doors when using PM, I have lost count of the number of times I have glued myself to the door handles!
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If we all contributed the silly things that have happened to us while working with papier mache, we could probably come up with a really slapstick comedy!
For instance:
Piece of used computer paper to sop up glue drips from container
+
Said sheet of paper inadvertently flipped onto floor, glue-side up
+
Belgian Tervuren dog noticing that I'm in the kitchen, possibly with food
+
Dog sitting down to show how well-mannered she is, possibly attracting a treat
=
Belgian Tervuren wandering off with sheet of paper attached to furry breeches, being followed by curious cat.
Sue
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I've come to the conclusion that the tea cup needs to REALLY be at least six feet (2 m) away from the worktable.
Sue
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LOL
There must be a whole section of the arts and crafts community out there that has no idea what a decent cuppa tastes like!
Back on topic for a moment though ...
... employed the hand blender in the mass production of pulp for the first time today and WOW!, talk about being a time saver! It probably allowed me to knock off about an hour of the time I normally just spend simmering and stirring the stuff, thanks for the tip
Of course, I'm still trying to get the thing clean ... I think I need to invest in a dedicated piece of kit, or rather a replacement one for the kitchen one, iyswim.
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Buy a new one for the kitchen,the moment you succumb to using it to blend any paper with a dye in it the thing will be marked for life. Mine is still luminous green from tissue paper and black from the 'lovely' ingredients of newsprint
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Alasdair: I am so glad I could be helpful! I was amazed and how fast it worked as well. I used it as an excuse to buy a new immersion blender so I have one just for art, and one just for food now. 
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When the one you're using now breaks, you could always go for this one at $319USD: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/waring- … WSB55.html
No time soon for me!
Sue
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newmodeller wrote:
Buy a new one for the kitchen...
Done! £4.19 from Tesco's!!
Sue, one day ... one day! Although I do love cooking as much as I love PM, so that one will be strictly for the kitchen!
Last edited by Alasdair (2009-03-21 19:24:47)
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Alasdair: I wanted a blender so long to do papier-mache pulp but they were all out of my price range. That is why I loved the immersion blender idea so much because I couldn't believe how cheaply they could be gotten for!
It warms my little heart to know that they are cheap to get, even in Scotland!
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i know i am unknown because i haven't posted or shown my work yet, but everything is a work in progress and experimental.
im working with hand ripped recycled egg cartons and water and mixed with an immersion blender (we call them stick blenders). i usually get the ones my wife wears out in the kitchen and i repair them and use them. so my costs are zero until i get further on in projects.
right now im experimenting with plasticine recipes with low cost materials to make my projects quicker and more detailed castings. <-another story
but ive been using a stick blender to mix the egg cartons with a lot of water (you can hear the pieces being sucked into it, i can make a huge batch in no time with little effort and no cost its awesome.
Last edited by seriouslycgi (2009-04-05 09:29:37)
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