I have a horrible habit of looking at a project shrugging my shoulders at the fact that I do not have any of the recommended supplies and attempt to create it anyway.
Most of the time I get lucky. My crazy Do-It-Myself determination works some magic and it all turns out well in the end.
This was not my lucky day. Let me tell you about my latest DIY Disaster: Jellyfish Decor.
You may remember these fun Paper Plate Jellyfish from my Mermaid Birthday Party Inspiration post. Go {here} for all the fun party ideas.
They are super cute and perfect for Tootsie’s poolside birthday party! I really wanted to make them but was not brave enough to drag my kiddos out into the summer heat to shop at any store.
All morning I racked my brain thinking of a substitute for the paper bowls used for the jellyfish’s body. There was a ton of colorful scrapbooking paper in my stash plus large bowls in my kitchen that would make perfect jellyfish bodies. All I needed was glue of some sort and I’d be on my way to creating awesome decorations to hang at the party.
I choose to whip up flour and water to make paper mache. Why I didn’t grab all the bottles of Elmer’s glue I had just purchased for back to school is beyond me. Hindsight is 20/20.
So Tootsie and I gathered a variety of bowls and set up our work station on the kitchen table. The thought of the paper becoming stuck to the bowls ran through my mind so I gave each a quick coat of cooking spray before we began. Heads up: cooking spray doesn’t stand a chance against cement aka paper mache.
She got a fine-motor workout tearing the paper into small strips.
Then we started going to town with the goopy paper mache. I was patting myself on the back for involving Tootsie and her sweet cousin in the party decor.
Once all the bowls were covered, we set them outside in to dry.
Dry they did. Into a extremely hard and impossible to remove disaster!
No matter how I tried the paper would not budge from the bowls. All that spray I used to coat the outside was a complete waste of time. Plus the goopy paper mache looked yucky!
After a few days of them sitting on the kitchen counter, I finally admitted defeat. Each bowl got a long soak in hot water which removed all our hard work.
Here’s a sneak peek at the DIY Lantern Jellyfish I did make. Such cuteness! Way better than my original idea!
A tutorial for these much cuter DIY Lantern Jellyfish will be coming soon. Along with lots of other awesome Mermaid party decor and inspiration!
Your comments totally make my day!
They give me huge motivation to keep creating and having fun with my 3 Little Greenwoods!
I link up with these fun parties!
Oh my goodness, this made me laugh this morning! I have to admit I would not have thought the paper mâché would have cemented itself to the bowls. But I guess that is why they use balloons at school. You must have been horrified when they all stuck to your pretty mixing bowls. The jelly fish lanterns were a much better plan.
I swear I think I could have repaired bricks with the paper mache I made. Thank goodness it came off my good bowls with just water.
~ Ashley
They say to use cling film prior to using paper mache on items other than balloons. Hope this helps to save future bowls.
Thanks so much for the tip, Samantha!
Oh no! I’m sorry that it didn’t work out, but it looked like you were at least having fun while making them 🙂 Stopping by from the Pretty Pintastic Party.
So happy to have you today! I did have such high hopes for the jellyfish. Good thing the Lantern Jellyfish turned out so cute!
~ Ashley
Oh dear…. Sorry it was a disaster, but the lantern jellyfish are adorable!
I found myself chuckling as I read this post – it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who screws up a project! 🙂
Happy Birthday to Tootsie!
I had such high hopes for those paper mache DIY Jellyfish! Sigh…
~ Ashley
Oh ugh! Have I had something like this a time or a million! But Oh my those lantern jellyfish! Way tooooo cute! 😀
Ohhh, I’ve had those flopped attempts too! I love that you’ve shared it here regardless! The glimpse of the newest version looks awesome! Way to go!
I’m delighted that we connected through the Blog Staycation and I look forward to getting to know you more.
Thanks so much for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop)!
Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo
It was wonderful connecting with you too! Thanks for hosting SHINE!
~ Ashley
I love seeing other peoples disasters so thank for sharing. I makes me feel better about my own!
Maybe some cling film over the bowls first would have helped, but then I guess you would have had a layer of cling film to contend with too. Just put that one down to experience I guess, thanks for the warning!
Looking back I can think of a ton of things I should have done differently when making those jellyfish. I definately wont have used that nasty homemade paper mache! Yuck.
~ Ashley
The jellyfish lanterns are adorable! Excited to see the rest of the party.
Yay! I’m so happy you liked the jellyfish that I made with the lanterns. They are way better than my disaster!
~ Ashley
That is so adorable!
These decorations are super cute!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
If I had a nickel for every time my DIYs went wrong… Haha I know exactly how it feels. The lanterns are so cute though! I think I like those even better actually.
Don’t we all have crazy stories about DIY Disasters! This one was such a disaster I just had to share!
We all live and learn, don’t we? When I was in high school, more years ago than I will admit, we did a paper mache project similar to yours. We blew up balloons and did the paper mache. Once dry, we simply popped the balloons. You may not attempt this project again, but someone might like your idea, which was a good one, and this tip might help. Your solution to the problem was brilliant!
The girls loved playing in the goopy mess! Maybe one day we can try again with some balloons. 😉
~ Ashley
Oh my…I am so glad I am not the only one who completely flubs up DIY projects every once in a while. What is better yet is the fact that you posted about it. LOVE it! But I love your second jelly fish even more. How cute!!!
I just love how your first sentence started out! I can’t tell you HOW many times I attempt a project without the supplies needed:) Your second one came out adorable though! Thanks for linking up to Do Tell Tuesday:)
Don’t we all have that little voice that tells us we can craft something out of nothing? My second try looks WAY better than the first disaster!
Thanks so much for hosting your fun party!
~ Ashley