How to Make Your Own Paper Mache Shelf

I’ve been searching for a small vintage shelf for an assemblage piece I’m designing.  I’ve spent too much time looking for that perfect piece that was in my vision.  Then when I found a shelf that had the aesthetic I wanted, it was too expensive.  I had to come up with a new idea to get my shelf.  I decided to make it from paper mache.  After all, you can make almost anything with paper and glue.  Here are the pros:  I was able to make the shelf resemble the shelf in my sketch.  It was easy to make, light weight, and free by using paper and glue I already had.  It did take a few days to make it, but that was a small investment in time when compared to the time I spent shopping for a shelf.

After I finished the paper mache shelf, I painted it with brown acrylic paint.  I allowed the brown paint to dry and covered the shelf, section by section, with Folk Art Crackle Medium.  I followed the crackle medium with an off-white acrylic paint.  The beauty of this process is that the crackle medium camouflaged the paper mache finish.  I then glued scrapbook paper on the inside and have just started adding texture.

       Here's my first layer of texture I added to the scrapbook paper using a stencil  

Warning for Antique shoppers

 
I love visiting antique malls and am concerned about a growing trend I’m seeing.  Some antique vendors are selling reproductions from China, making these reproductions appear to be vintage or antique.  These vendors also remove the “made in China” stickers to add addition confusion about the age of these items.   I added this picture as an example of a stall in an antique store.  Since these items are in an antique store, you would assume they were authentic.   Most of the Items in this particular stall look like they came from the wholesaler, Creative Co-op. They are new, reproductions of antiques.  The best tip I can give is this:  All true vintage/antique items are heavy.  If you pick up an item and its light weight, it’s probably a reproduction.  Even vintage jewelry is much heavier than jewelry made today.