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beadyeyedbrat |
Plastic Egg Spiders |
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This isn't a tutorial as much as
it's a guide. There is no way for me to
take pictures while I do this and I
don't have my usual photographer's
assistant available
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I bought a package of plastic Easter eggs when they
were on sale. One dozen each in 4 sizes. I took apart
half of one of the smallest eggs and attached it to one
end of a whole large egg. |
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One layer of newspaper strips just to hold it all
together. I figured it would be easier to tape legs to
the paper and I wouldn't have to hold the things all
together. |
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Paper clips are used for the leg structure. Open it
all out gently. Keep the angle on the inside bend. How
you bend the rest of the leg is up to you. That small
bend will be taped to the body. Bend all 8 the same way
and cut off the length as needed. |
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Dip strips in paste and wind
around the paper clips. You can see I didn't wind very
tightly. That's so the legs are thicker. This is just to
give the pulp something to stick to. It just slides of
the paper clip. |
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Use masking tape to attach legs
to body. If necessary, bend that tab up top to mold to
the body. Make sure it's tight enough to hold the angles
you want.
Cover top of body and about an a
quarter inch down the leg with mache. Let dry
Cover bottom of body and all the
way down the legs. It worked best for me when I took
small bits and wrapped around the leg, then worked my
way down to the foot. Let dry. If necessary, prop up
legs so they bend how you want them.
Check all over for places where
the mache has shrunk and the newspaper is showing, or
where it gaps or you just don't like it. Fill these in
and smooth the joins. Use a dab of paste if necessary to
make it look seamless. |
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First one finished. |
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I don't recommend this one. It has been a major
pain. There are no armatures at all, just twisted
newsprint. The legs were so fragile and had to be
propped at every step and had to be left to dry half a
dozen times. |
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This guy was painted with green acrylic paint. Waay
to bright for me, so I've started a wash with the a bit
of black paint added to the same green paint and watered
down. |
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The flash changed the color a lot, so I took it
outside to the natural light. All that's left is the
sealer. |
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It really helped stability to use hot melt glue at
the legs where they joined the body. To build them up a
bit without a lot more layers of mache, I coated them
with the hold melt glue. |
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Page 2
Click here to see the album of finished spiders.
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