Paper Mache Christmas Ornaments: Make a Hanging Heart
Shape a newspaper heart, anchor its hanging loop under paper strips, then dry and paint a small Christmas ornament with a simple dot pattern.
Make paper mache Christmas ornaments by shaping dry newspaper, taping a twine loop onto the core, and covering both with pasted paper. The heart below keeps its core inside: there is no balloon to remove or hollow shell to cut. Add paint only when the paper has dried, then check the loop close to a tabletop before putting it on a tree.
A source-informed guide, not a physically tested FindYourFidget project. Process images are AI-assisted illustrations; technical diagrams are identified separately.
What you’ll need
- Dry newspaper for the core and short torn newspaper pieces for the covering; masking tape
- Baker’s twine for one hanging loop; scissors
- For Satsuma Designs’ raw paste: 1 cup plain all-purpose flour and 2 cups water, measured by volume with the same measuring cup; 1 teaspoon salt, measured with a teaspoon measure
- Bowl, whisk and shallow paste tray; a separate drying tray lined with plastic wrap
- Water-based acrylic craft paint in muted red and cream; flat and small round brushes; palette
Shape the heart before wet work
Satsuma Designs uses crumpled newspaper held with masking tape and embeds a taped twine loop beneath the paper covering. Our example keeps that construction and uses a simple heart rather than adding separate limbs or fragile points.
Work at a size you can turn comfortably in one hand. To form a heart, compress a paper bundle into a broad wedge, round the two shoulders, and press a cleft between them. Wrap narrow tape strips around the shape without filling the cleft. These shaping details are an editorial adaptation; the finished silhouette matters more than an exact dimension.
1. Check the dry core
Turn it front to back. Both shoulders should be recognizable, and the bottom should taper without a loose flap. If the outline needs changing, do it now: a thin paper covering will follow the core, not hide a large lump.
2. Attach the loop
Fold twine into a loop at the top. Lay its two tails down separate shoulders of the heart, and tape them against the body. Leave the hanging portion free. Keep the tails spread along the core rather than ending both directly at the cleft.
The loop is installed before the wet paper. Both tails will be buried beneath the covering. AI-assisted illustration.
References: Satsuma Designs: newspaper-core ornaments, embedded twine and raw paste
Mix the raw paste and cover the form
Whisk 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt until thin and smooth; this is Satsuma Designs’ uncooked mixture. Do not heat it or substitute a cooked-paste ratio midway through the project. Salt is an ingredient here, not a guarantee against mold. Make only what you need for the session.
3. Fit short pasted pieces
Dip newspaper pieces, wipe off surplus paste, and overlap them across the core and taped twine tails. Cover the front, back and edge. Short torn pieces fit the cleft and point more easily than long bands; refit any strip that bridges a hollow instead of touching it.
Cover the anchors while leaving the free hanging loop outside. The paste should be smooth, without lumps. AI-assisted illustration. 4. Look for missed areas
Turn the form under the light before setting it down. Close uncovered gaps and press loose edges into contact, especially over the taped twine tails. Aim for a continuous fitted covering; the source does not prescribe a fixed layer count for this permanent-core ornament.
References: Satsuma Designs: newspaper-core ornaments, embedded twine and raw paste · Jonni Good: fitting torn paper to curved surfaces
Dry the underside, then add color
Set the heart on a tray lined with plastic wrap, leaving the free loop clear of wet paste. Avoid resting pasted paper directly on newspaper or cardboard, which can become part of the glued covering. The lined tray is a support, not a wrapping: keep the exposed face uncovered.
Allow more than a single craft session. The underside can stay damp after the exposed face feels dry. Once the covering holds together when handled, support the body and gently peel the liner away, then change the resting face so the contact area gets air. If paper lifts with the liner, stop and allow more drying before trying again. Wait if any accessible area is tacky, soft or visibly damp before painting.
5. Paint one face at a time
Support the ornament on the table and brush on a thin red acrylic coat. Let it dry according to the paint label before turning the heart over. Keep paint off the loop. If newsprint still shows, add another thin coat after the first has dried.
Support the body while painting; the loop is not a handle for a wet ornament. AI-assisted illustration. 6. Add cream dots
On the dry red background, touch down a small round brush to make scattered cream dots. Leave spaces around the cleft and edge so the shape stays easy to read. Try the brush on scrap paper first; a heavily loaded brush makes a raised blob.
Check whether paper mache is ready to uncover or paint →
Optional acrylic ground and product-specific varnish method →
Check the loop before decorating the tree
Once the paint is dry, hold the loop just above a clear tabletop with your other hand underneath the ornament. Release the body gradually. Look for sliding twine, lifting paper or a split at the cleft. This is a limited check of your own piece, not a tested load rating.
If the loop moves, set the ornament down. Do not try to solve the movement with paint or varnish. For a hanging version, remake the anchoring before covering a fresh core; the loose-loop piece can instead rest in a shallow display dish.
| What you notice | What to do |
|---|---|
| A wet strip wrinkles around the point | Lift it while workable and replace it with smaller overlapping pieces. |
| The back is damp where it rested | Give that face air before painting or packing. |
| The outline looks lumpy after drying | Keep it as handmade texture, or reshape a new dry core. Thick paint will not correct the form. |
| The loop pulls free or the cleft tears | Stop hanging it. Choose a resting display or remake the hanger construction. |
Hearts, round ornaments and hollow baubles
For a round ornament using this same permanent-core method, roll and compress the newspaper into a ball before taping it. Attach the loop and cover it as above. Expect the small surface irregularities of a hand-shaped core; it is not a mold for a perfectly round commercial bauble.
A hollow balloon bauble is a different build because its wet layers must later hold their shape without the balloon. If that is the technique you want to practice, the small balloon-egg guide shows removal and closing an opening, but does not add a Christmas hanging loop. Keep the heart method for this hanging project.
