| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 25/02/2012 : 19:55:24
Made this cheap hide for under fiver (even cheaper when doing a few)
Heres how I made it
Tools required
Soldering iron
Stanley knife
Scissors
Paint brush
Materials needed
Plastic mixing bowl (£1.20)
Wood glue or Pva (£1.00)
Masking tape (60p)
Newspaper (free)
Varnish (£2.00)
Now you need to make an entrance hole in your bowl use the soldering iron to burn through the plastic (tried cutting with a knife but found out the bowl just splits)
Next take a sharp knife and remove all the burrs from where you burnt through the plastic
Take a piece of newspaper roll and twist into a sausage shape
Use this to create a rim around the hole you have made stick in place with masking tape
Take another piece of paper roll and twist into a sausage shape use this to disguise the rim of the bowl again stick in place with some masking tape.
Next roll some newspaper sheets into balls
Use this to create shape to the bowl stick on with masking tape
Mix some Pva glue with water and tear strips of paper and paint your bowl with the Pva mixture then stick your strips on to bowl painting the strips of paper as well.
You need to cover your bowl with a few layers for the entrance hole and edge of bowl use a long piece of paper to wrap over.
Don't forget to do the inside of the bowl as well and make sure all your edges are pasted down fully.
You should be left with something that resembles this
Allow your hide to dry fully.
Once dry you can add additional features with paper mâché again allowing to dry fully.
When your happy with your features and it's fully dried you can paint it with acrylic paint not forgetting the inside and then seal it all with polyurethane varnish to make water tight.
Allow to dry and air until all the smells have gone
To add foliage etc just pierce through paper mâché and seal with silicone sealant
You should have a happy snakey now
The only drawback I have found with this hide, is the hide is very light so larger snakes may tip it over instead of painting it you could cover with sand which would add some weight but again you would still have to seal it with polyurethane varnish to protect it from moisture.
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| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| carlycorn |
Posted - 27/02/2012 : 14:08:45
I bought some air drying modeling clay for my daughters project that we never used, i didnt just want to create a straight edged home though, the bowl and paper idea is great to give it some texture...thanks for the great idea :) I may do mine in red and white spots like a toadstool :) |
| Lorraine |
Posted - 26/02/2012 : 12:59:48
I like that. |
| Tawfik47 |
Posted - 26/02/2012 : 11:32:20
Very nice, simple and creative  love the idea |
| n/a |
Posted - 25/02/2012 : 20:11:03
I'm looking into making a background out of mdf using the same technique not sure wether to use polystyrene or thick card to create features will post when I've made it |
| n/a |
Posted - 25/02/2012 : 20:05:57
Cool - I've been doing much the same thing with salt dough - great when you can make stuff at home far more cheaply than buying reptile products, and also great to recycle newspapers etc - you could also use the free containers that come with veg and meat as well - congrats and looks very good. |
