Paper, as stated in the name of paper mache, is the number one ingredient necessary to make your paper creation. Take scraps of old newspaper and tear them into strips, both length and width wise to create long and short strips for your object. Theoretically, you can use any type of paper you have available including old phone books, printer paper or junk mail, but newspaper is thin and mass produced.
In a medium-sized bowl combine one cup flour with two cups of water. Add a long squirt of white glue to the mixture to increase its stickiness. During a paper mache project, you dip each strip of newspaper into the mixture. Each strip should be wet but not dripping with the sticky mixture. If you get it too wet, place your thumb and index finger on each side of the strip and slide down to strip excess glue off.
You need to have a base figure for your saturated paper strips to stick to. You're going to thoroughly cover the item with paper, so it doesn't matter what it looks like. If you want to make a pinata, for example, you could model its basic shape in cardboard and then cover and decorate with paper. If you need to create something circular, a balloon covered in plastic wrap is an excellent choice since the paper mache hardens around it and can be blown up to be large or small depending on your needs.
Once you allow the paper mache to harden, paint the suface to look like the actual object. If making a pinata of an animal, for example, you'll want to paint the animal and paint its features on like eyes, nose and mouth. Make your paper mache creation look the best you can with details. Use different brushes for each feature. You'll need to use a small brush for tiny details and want larger brush stokes for painting large areas a single color.