Paper Maché Claw

Materials used:

*cardboard

*paper maché (newspaper, flour, water)

*acrylic paint (red, brown, black)

*scrap material (approximately 6 inches x 16 inches)

*hot glue gun + glue sticks

Step 1: Draw and Cut Out Claw Shapes

*Draw out the claw shapes making sure to keep the "thumb" separate so you can move it

*Trace out so you have a total of 2 of each piece

*Cut out your pieces along the lines

Step 2: Bend the Cardboard

*Bend the cardboard to make it more malleable, you want it to be a 3D item after you tape it together so it'll need to be pretty bendable

Step 3: Bend the Edges

*Bend the edges against the grain so your claw will have a more rounded edge

Step 4: Tape Pieces Together

*Use strong tape to tape all the edges together, making sure to keep your large claw piece separate from your "thumb" claw piece.

Step 5: Make Arm Piece

*The claw extends above the elbow so you will need another piece to attach to the rest of the claw

*I drew out a rounded heart-shaped piece and then continued bending and taping as before

Step 6: Paper Maché

*I put strong removable items inside of each piece to make it as wide as I wanted. I used old duct tape rolls. Once the paper maché is dry the items can be removed.

*Create a mixture of flour and water so it is about the consistency of thick cream.

*Tear up thin strips of newspaper to about 1 inch width, or to your own preference. Strips can always be torn more for tricky edges.

*Dip strip into flour and water mixture and run fingers along to remove excess liquid.

*Smooth strip along cardboard and overlap pieces until all the cardboard is covered.

*Let dry

*You may need to do this in several steps to allow one part of the claw to dry before applying paper maché to the other side.

Step 7: Paint the Claw

*Paint the claw using red, brown, and black acrylic paint, keeping the edges darker than the middle and blending in the colours.

Step 8: Cut and Paint Scrap Material

*Cut out a piece of scrap material long enough to go from where the claw ends on your forearm to where you want the arm piece to go on your bicep. This will allow your elbow to remain flexible. The material will need to be long enough to go all the way around your arm and attach to the inside of your claw and arm piece. For me this was about a 6 inch wide and 16 inches long.

*Paint the material with red, brown, and black acrylic paint so it matches the claw and arm pieces.

Step 9: Glue Together

*Glue the material to both the claw and the arm piece

*Glue the ends of the material to each other so there are no gaps

*Make sure you can bend your arm nicely afterwards

Step 10: Put on the Claw

*Put on your claw, and enjoy your handiwork!