From Paper to Pulp, to bead, bowl, and chime

Shreds of recycled paper that have been soaking in water for 24+ hours.  I usually get this from someone nice who has a shredding machine and is really happy to give it away.

For this batch I've put the above mixture into a blender (not for food usage), and pureed.  I recommend using the pulse button, and you may need to add additional water.  Not to worry, the water will be squeezed out.  For my previous batch of papier mache, I skipped this step, and my forms were less regular or precise.  The beads from the previous batch turned out more like pebbles, which looked really cool when they were finished.

Here, I've squeezed out the excess water.

Water squeezed out, but prior to adding the papier mache paste.

Here is my paste.  Essentially it's flour, sugar, and hot water.  I've added lemon and wild cedarwood essential oils to serve as preservatives. 

Select an interesting dish, put a layer of plastic wrap around the outside of the dish.  Apply your papier mache to the plastic.  This may take a little time, keep in mind that the more finished this process, the less sanding that you'll need to do (of course, sanding is optional).  I discovered a couple of tiny holes, so make sure the entire piece is covered, but not thickly covered.

Here are beads that I've hand rolled.  I have a dehydrator and really love the time saved by using it to dry my pieces.  The beads above and chimes below are already dried.

I'm going to make chimes out of these papier mache pieces - circles and squares, and a few round balls.  Here I've already made holes for the string.  I prefer to ream, or make my holes prior to painting and decorating the papier mache.