Papier-mache, that craft involving paper, a bit of paste and often a balloon, enjoys a long history. According to VintageImageCraft.com, the craft first originated in China in 100 A.D. The Chinese combined materials such as hemp, fishing net and bark with glue to make items like boxes and figurines. It was the French who gave it the name it's known by today---papier-mache. The craft still enjoys popularity among artists and crafters of all ages.
The most traditional recipe for making papier-mache is to combine flour, water and salt, which you add to strips of newspapers, discarded wallpaper and other bits of paper. The papier-mache mixture is supported by an armature, which can be as simple as a blown-up balloon or something more complex like chicken wire, wood or plastic foam. These secondary materials give the papier-mache its solid form, much like the skeleton does in the body. Modern crafters have discovered that adding a bit of liquid starch instead of the flour paste works equally well for fixing the paper to its armature. The advantage to using starch is that it comes ready-made at the store. You'll find it under names like Sta-Flo, Niagara or Linit.
Papier-mache primarily comes in two forms---pulping and layering. You make the pulp when you mix bits of torn paper with water until the bits disintegrate. Once this happens, you add the mixture to the glue. Layering involves pasting strips of paper onto the armature. Each strip creates its own interesting texture.
Sculptors have a variety of materials from which they can make their art. Papier-mache combined with other support materials gives a fine-art touch to the medium. Sculptor Dorothy Pizzuti made the abominable snow monster Bumble from the "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" kids' TV show from papier-mache. She built the frame for the snowman from wood pieces and used items like Bubble Wrap, cardboard and plastic foam chips along with papier-mache to create this Christmas character. Her work demonstrates how you can use papier-mache to bring a favorite holiday character to life.