Work in progress....

Here is my Cheshire cat that I've been working on for the upcoming Mad Hatter's tea party. I started with just balled up newspaper that I taped onto a foam core base, I formed the ears out of cardstock. I used some flat wooden stir sticks to give the legs and the tail some stability. If I'm going to put all this time & effort into something...I don't want it ruined if it gets dropped and a leg falls off! I used a mixture of equal parts of flour and water to make the paste to put on a few layers of newspaper covering the cats shape. Once that was dried I added the details onto the face and feet with paper clay. Lastly, I added a layer of torn up paper bags using a mixture of Mod Podge and water. The flour paste wasn't as thick as I'd of liked it to be...so the mod podge gave me a harder finished surface. Now I've just got to begin finishing it up. I am going to add some more paper clay to the eyes and maybe tweek the nose a little bit more.... then comes the painting! I am wanting- needing a thick paint to cover the lines created by the paper, I am wanting a smooth finish--- I am clueless as what to use! Oh well...it will come to me-- eventually!