Things You'll Need:
- For small bowl:
- 250 yards of ribbon, string, or embroidery floss
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1 cup cold water
- 3 cups boiling water
- One envelope of unflavored gelatin
- Medium sized bowl or a partially inflated balloon
- Cooking spray or olive oil
- Spray style laundry starch
- Optional: White glue thinned with water
- Optional: Paintbrush
- Optional: Gold spray paint or clear acrylic
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Step 1
Spray bowl form with a light coating of cooking spray or rub with olive oil. Mix 1/2 cup corn starch into 1 cup cold water. Mix one envelope of unflavored gelatin into 2 cups boiling water. Stir well for 10 minutes to be sure gelatin is completely dissolved. Add corn starch mixture to hot gelatin mixture. Allow to cool slightly, three to five minutes. Do not cool so much that gelatin begins to set. If it does, put mixture into microwave on defrost setting or until mixture becomes a liquid again.
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Step 2
Cut ribbon, string, or embroidery floss into 2 to 3 feet lengths. Carefully soak it in the gelatin/starch mixture. Remove after two or three minutes, squeezing out excess moisture. Begin winding, wrapping, or draping ribbon or string over your chosen bowl form. For variations, try looping the string, winding it all the way around the bowl form, or just tossing it over the form spaghetti style. Pat into place on bowl, squeezing out more liquid as you go.
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Step 3
Continue to add string or ribbon until your bowl looks the way you want it to look. Some will prefer to keep a loose, just barely draped look, and others will prefer the string or ribbon be wound carefully, each row butted firmly against the next, with no open spaces. Both approaches will result in an interesting and beautiful bowl. An example of a loosely woven bowl is in the resources at the end of this article.
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Step 4
Allow starch and gelatin mixture to harden bowl in place. If desired, thin 1/4 cup white glue with 1/8 cup water and brush over bowl. Let dry overnight. This will ensure that your bowl will stay rigid under ordinary daily use.
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Step 5
Carefully pull bowl away from the bowl form. Spray with a coating of laundry starch. Collect natural objects such as pine cones, sycamore balls, chestnuts and buckeyes. Place them in a one gallon bucket of hot soapy water with a tablespoonful of bleach, rinse well, and allow to dry completely before bringing them into the home. This prevents mold and insect infestation. Be sure to use adequate ventilation when working with bleach. If you can smell bleach fumes, you do not have adequate ventilation. Place a variety of natural objects in your ribbon bowl. If desired, spray the objects with gold spray paint or clear acrylic before displaying them.
