Preparation

• Recycle your paper into art.Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
  
  Tear the newspaper into 1-inch wide strips. If you are making a very small doll, you may want to use smaller strips. Tear your paper on the grain to keep the tears straight; otherwise they become jagged and uneven.
  
  Papier-mache is a messy craft, but it washes out with soap and water. To make clean up easier, take a large garbage bag and cut it open. Cover your work area with the bag and tape it down. Place a plastic shopping bag inside your paste bowl. Cover the edges and tape down. Mix your paste inside the bag. When you're finished, remove the bags, and your table and bowl will be clean.
  
  

Supplies

• The recipe for papier-mache paste includes flour, water and salt. The salt prevents mold. Other items that are helpful in creating your doll are masking tape and a head form. Recycle more household items to use for your doll's head and body. Useful items include plastic eggs, cardboard tubes, straws, two cups from an egg carton taped together or a ball of paper wrapped with masking tape to keep it together and give it shape.
  
  

Application

• Technique 1: Cover an area of your doll form with paste and lay a strip of newspaper over it. Continue covering the form and laying paper over it. Cover the first layer of paper with paste and then add another layer of overlapping paper strips. Continue until you've covered your doll form with four layers of paper and paste.
  
  Technique 2: Dip a newspaper strip into your paste first. Pull the strip through your fingers to remove the excess paste, then apply to the form.
  
  Prevent the newsprint from showing through the paint on your project by using blank strips of paper for your last layer.
  
  

Drying

• Drying time will vary on the size of your project. After you've created your papier-mache doll, be sure to let it dry with plenty of air circulation. This will prevent mold from forming. The papier-mache needs to be completely dry before painting or decorating. Test if it's dry by gently touching your doll; if it feels cool, it needs more time to dry.