The thin cardboard from cereal and snack boxes works great for this! If you don’t have thin cardboard or construction paper, try green cardstock instead. You can also use poster paper, but you’ll need to paint it.
A long stem with an oval-shaped head, like a brontosaurus or apatosaurus A long, tapering tail, like a skinny triangle 2 rectangular legs A mound- or lump- shaped body, like a semicircle but with rounded bottom corners.
Use a different color of paint or paper for this. Orange is a great choice, but a lighter or darker shade of green will also work. You can also make smaller rectangles for nails.
You’ll need holes in the following areas: base of the neck, base of the tail, and the top of each leg. Don’t use a hole punch. The hole will be too big and the brad will fall through. If you’re a child, ask an adult to help you with this step, especially if you’re using a nail.
Don’t poke the neck and tail holes too close to the top; make them closer to the bottom so that your dinosaur has a humped back. Don’t place the legs too close together. Keep them closer to the bottom corners of the body.
Repeat this step for the tail and both legs. Always add the limbs to the back of the body, not the front. Make sure that the limbs are facing up as well, otherwise your dinosaur won’t match! Brad prongs can hurt if they get under your nail. Consider using a butter knife to pry them apart.
If you made nails for the dino, glue them to the bottom of each leg. White school glue and glue sticks will work just fine for this. Hot glue is not recommended because it’s too bulky.
Give your dinosaur more character by adding eyebrows or eyelashes.
Set aside 1 of the paper plate halves; this will make the body.
Make the spikes about 1 in (2. 5 cm) tall and wide. Make the tail about 1 to 2 in (2. 5 to 5. 1 cm) wide at the base, and about 1/2 to 2/3 the length of the paper plate. If you don’t know how to draw a dinosaur head, tail, or spikes, look at pictures of cartoon dinosaurs online or in coloring books. Use the brim to make the neck, if desired. Cut it off first so that you get a C-shape, then cut it in half. Use 1 of these halves to make the neck.
If you’re using an empty paper towel roll, cut 2 1 to 2 in (2. 5 to 5. 1 cm) segments from it.
Slide the legs apart until they are on opposite sides of the plate.
You can take the dinosaur’s body off of its feet in order to paint it. Do the front first, let it dry, then do the back. Don’t forget to paint the eyes and mouth! Alternatively, you can glue on some googly eyes after the paint has dried.
The most popular papier-mâché paste is just 1 part water and 1 part PVA glue (white school glue). Start with just 1 or 2 sheets of newspaper; you can always make more strips. Don’t cut the strips, or the edges will be too sharp and create creases. Tearing them will give you a smoother finish.
Overlap the strips a little, such as by 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in (0. 64 to 1. 27 cm). Keep the balloon in a cup or bowl so that it doesn’t roll around. You may have to let 1 side of the balloon dry first before doing the other. Leave a coin-sized space at one end of the balloon exposed so that you can pop the balloon later.
Consider using white tissue paper for as a fourth and final layer. This will give you a smoother base and help the paint show up better. If you choose to use tissue paper, then make sure that you tear it into 3 by 1 in (7. 6 by 2. 5 cm) strips as well.
This completes your dinosaur’s body. Don’t worry about the hole left by the balloon. You’ll end up covering it with the dinosaur’s head or tail.
Don’t use clear tape; it won’t stick to the papier-mâché. You can also just cut 2 empty toilet paper rolls in half and use those instead.
Triceratops: cut a round, scalloped shape out of cardboard for the fan. Use foil to make the horns. Stegosaurus: cut triangles out of cardboard for the fins. Apatosaurus/brontosaurus: use a paper towel tube to make the neck.
Triceratops: tape the fan to the balloon first, then add the head (you may have to use hot glue to secure it). Finish by sticking the horns to the head. Stegosaurus: tape or hot glue the head to 1 side of the body and the tail to the other. Use strips of tape to add the fins down the back and tail. Apatosaurus/brontosaurus: tape the head to the long neck first, then tape the head to the body. Add the tail to the other side of the body.
You may have to tear more strips of newspaper and prepare more papier-mâché paste for this. Consider making some smaller strips for sharp curves and tight corners. If the hole from when you removed the balloon is still visible, cover it up with more papier-mâché.
For a nicer finish, paint the dinosaur white first, then let the paint dry. This will give you a clean “canvas” to work on. Don’t forget to add eyes and a mouth. You can paint the eyes, or glue googly eyes on instead. How long it will take for the paint to dry will depend on what type of paint you’re using. Plan to wait about 15 to 20 minutes, however.
