How to Make a Frog With Wire & Paper
Whether you are not ready to own a real frog or just enjoy having frog items around the house, make a realistic frog sculpture. Papier-mache provides similar detail and hardness to clay without the expense; used along with wire to shape details such as legs and toes, it makes an excellent material to create your miniature frog.
Things You'll Need
- 2-inch expanded foam sphere
- 4-inch expanded foam sphere
- Wire or pipe cleaners
- Pliers
- ½-inch expanded foam sphere
- Utility knife
- 1-by-4-inch newspaper strips, eight pages
- Flour
- Cooking pan
- Green, brown, yellow and black paint
Instructions
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1
Form the body of the frog using the foam spheres. Position the 2-inch sphere for the head in front of the 4-inch sphere for the body. Attach the spheres by inserting a 6-inch wire through the front of the 2-inch sphere, and pushing it horizontally through both spheres until it reaches the back of the 4-inch sphere.
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2
Insert a 6-inch length wire through the sides of the larger sphere, horizontally, through the lower half of the sphere nearest to 2-inch sphere. This wire is the front legs of the frog. Bend one end of the wire 1/4-inch over itself to make a toe, and then do this three times more to create make four toes. Spread the toes and position the wire that is connected to the body in the center of the four toes, using pliers. Repeat on the other end of the wire.
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3
Insert 8-inch length wire through the sides of the 4-inch sphere on the end farther from the 2-inch sphere, to create the back legs of the frog. Bend 2-inches of each wire backwards at a 45-degree angle, using pliers, to form the knee joint of the frog. Repeat the second half of Step 2 to give the frog's back feet toes.
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4
Cut the ½-inch expanded foam sphere in half, using a utility knife. Position the half-spheres on the front of the head in a way that approximates where a frog's eyes would be located, and then insert wire through the center of the half spheres to attach them to the head.
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5
Rip 1-by-4-inch strips of newspaper, using about eight sheets of paper, and place them in a large container.
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6
Pour 3 cups of flour and 3 cups of water into a cooking pan. Heat the mixture at a simmer for 3 minutes. Stir the mixture until it thickens, then remove the mixture from the stove and let it cool for 5 minutes.
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7
Dip the newspaper strips into the flour mixture until they are fully saturated. Use these to cover the body, head, legs and toes of the frog. Let the papier-mache dry for 12 hours.
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8
Paint the body of the frog, using green paint. Paint brown spots along the sides of the body, using brown paint. Paint the eyes of the frog, using yellow and black paint. Let the paint dry for 5 hours.
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Tips & Warnings
Substitute the size of the spheres and colors of the frog to your desired dimensions and colors.
