DIY Paper Mache Heart candy

Make your own conversational sweetheart candy from card board boxes, newspaper, and simple paper mache paste.

Huge conversation hearts can be a fun part of a good Valentine's Day party or a beautiful centerpiece for a Wedding anytime of the year.

finished Paper Mache Big Conversational Heart

Link to our free diy YouTube workshop:

Quick List

Paper Mache paste

Cardboard box

Recycled Newspaper

Masking Tape

Paints and Paint Brushes

Glue Gun (optional)

H²0 and Rags

1 Creating a Huge Heart Armature

Cut 2 hearts out of recycled cardboard, you want them the same size. Place cups between the hearts to create height. Glue the cups to one of the cardboard hearts and lay the other heart on top of the cups and hold this together with masking tape.

Make your hearts as large as you would like the bigger the better, is our motto.

Cover your armatures with a plastic bag; this will help prevent the cardboard from warping. When using thick cardboard sometimes I leave of the plastic bag.

2 Paper Mache Paste

1st Session

Cover the hat armature with 3 to 4 layers of newspaper soaked in paper mache paste. Lay your paper flat onto your heart armature and work out all air bubbles. Keep Appling paper with paste soaked hands until the heart is covered.

If the cardboard is thick you may cover with 2 to 3 layers of paper and mache paste, you decide.

Once you have covered the party hat with paper mache they must completely dry.

The size of your conversational heart will determine how long it will take to dry. But roughly it will take 24 hours.

Quick Link to Paper Mache Paste Recipe: http://goo.gl/BH5lgM

If you need once the heart has dried you can lightly sand with sandpaper and wipe off before painting.

3. Paint Your Conversational Heart

Paint a white coat of primer paint on your heart hat to give a white canvas for painting and keep the newspaper print from bleeding through.

Once the base coat as dried we paint with a layers of acrylic paints and let that completely dry.

4. Varnish and Protect

You must seal your paper mache pieces with varnish for protection.

We use Polycrylic Minwax at the studio to seal all our paper mache art.

Paper Mache pasting the Big Conversational Heart

Minwax Varnish comes in a can in gloss or stain to apply with a brush, apply 3 to 4 coats and let it dry. Follow the instructions on your varnish to apply.