As some of you might know I've been riding the DIY wave for my sons jungle book party this year, primarily because we couldn't really find any original vintage cartoon jungle book stuff , I had to scour the Internet for hours to try to find things , and when we did, they were no longer available, collectors item, it was just something someone "pinned" sometime, so I basically just decided to make him his very own jungle book inspired stuff? So I decided to make his a jungle book inspired wall prop with his favorite characters and favorite scenes, this will be used at the entrance for his party then used in his jungle room. So here's what I used:

MATERIALS:

Stickers/images/print outs
Cardboard
Acrylic paint or tissue paper
Mod podge
Flour
Vinegar
Water
Salt
Newspaper strips
Sponge brush

Paper mache paste:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup water
Tsp salt
Tsp vinegar

All this stuff can be found around your house or kitchen, this is a little awesome project

Step 1: Free Hand Your Letters

Start by flattening out your boxes, I literally used a pen and a ruler , ok ok an envelope, make all your letters the same size or at least try too, Iam using these at my sons birthday party for a wall prop so make sure they're kinda in the big side

Step 2: Cover in Your Paper Mache

Mix up your paste, use newspaper strips and cover the letters entirely, this will give it a more uniform shape( edges) it will also make them super straight and stiff , let them dry a couple hours in a flat dry surface

Step 3: Paint or Cover in Tissue

Cover the entire letter in any acrylic paint or in tissue paper of your choice (several layers) sorry no pics of this I forgot too , I used green paint ( olive green)

Step 4: Arrange Images, Glue and Seal

Use your images, these can be anything really, pictures of animals, favorite movie , your theme for your party, grad pictures, print these out on regular paper, these can be color, black and white or some other cool effect, now arrange your images, if they're bigger than the letter that's ok, you'll be gluing them towards the back anyway, once your happy with your arrangement, use a little mod podge to glue down the images, once dry, use your sponge brush to brush on mod podge all over your letter ( lightly) wait till it dries, then do it again nice even brush strokes, be careful with this step you don't wanna go crazy with the amount or use too much of it or it can bubble and damage the pic( only if you go crazy) , now let them dry throughly and enjoy!!!

Step 5: QUESTIONS

Q: Can I use the DIY mod podge recipe for this project?
A: no. Ive tried it with the DIY version and it's just not the same, :(

Q: Can I use other materials to make the letters then apply same mod podge pics?
A: yes. You can use anything really as long as the mod podge stuff stays the same

Q: Will the ink from printer smear if I apply the mod podge on it?
A: nope.

Q: Do I have to let it dry between coats?
A: yes! Make sure each coat is dry before reapplying.

Q: Will it bubble, tear if I put too much mod podge?
A: depends, in my experience if you put more than 2 even coats , you might risk messing up the picture your working with.

Q: Can you hang these letters?
A: yes! Thumbtacks