How to Decorate Mardi Gras Floats

Mardi Gras floats often have a paper mache figure at the front.

The Mardi Gras, or Carnival, season on the Catholic calendar starts at the conclusion of Epiphany and ends before the start of Ash Wednesday. Today Catholics and non-Catholics alike participate in the celebratory parties and parades. In the United States, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, in particular host and are famous for their Mardi Gras traditions and parades. The parades feature elaborately decorated floats developed around different themes.

Things You'll Need

• Mardi Gras float
• Paper
• Pencil
• Pastels
• Wooden beams
• Saw
• Hammer
• Nails
• Wire mesh
• Bowl
• Water
• Flour
• Varnish
• Paint brushes or rollers
• Paint
• Faux gold leaf
• Industrial-strength glue

Instructions

Creation and Preparation

1. Create a concept and determine what your float will express. Do you want to comment on a major event of the year or commemorate something? Be creative, but ensure that the float concept is in line with the parade's theme.

2. Sketch the float's design. Think about how you can bring the float concept and parade theme to life through your choice of colors and figures, and then sketch it on a piece of paper. Color the sketch with the desired colors in pastels.

3. Prep the float for decoration. Scrub the float with large, hand-held brushes to rid it of any dirt, dust or faux gold leaf from the previous edition. Paint the float white as a base and to cover up any paint left over from previous years.

Statue Building

1. Examine the figures in your design. Identify the base shape of each figure. For example, is it a T, A, V or O shape?

2. Create the wooden frame. Saw the wooden beams, and then nail them together according to the desired base shape.

3. Bend and place the wire mesh on the wooden frame to create the skeleton of the statue.

4. Prepare the paper mache materials. Mix one part water to one part flour in a large bowl. Cut the paper into large strips.

5. Create the statue body. Coat a paper strip with the water-flour mixture, and place it on the wire mesh skeleton. Repeat until you cover the whole statue body. Let the statue dry.

   Create the definitive shape. Add another layer of paper mache strips, and mold until the statue has acquired its definitive shape. Let dry, and then coat with varnish.

Decoration

1. Outline the float design with charcoal. Following your design sketch, charcoal in the design directly on the float.

2. Place the figures or sculptures on the float. Glue them to the float with industrial strength glue.

3. Paint the float. Paint the sculptures in line with your design sketch. Then, paint the sides and the rest of the float. Add faux gold leaf touches.

References

• Mardi Gras 3D: How are Floats Made?
• Mardi Gras Day: Mardi Gras Overview