Toilet sign _ DIY

Hi!

Today I had this idea for a toilet sign and thought I'd make a prototype. These two rotated exclamation marks resemble the boy and the girl. I made these easily and quickly out of Forex, which already has a red plastic film on one side. I decided to let the girl have a red dress and a white head and the boy a white body and a red head. I don't know if its been done before but I thought it was quite clever. Cute, aren't they? I wish we had better looking doors at home and this would look even better.

DIY _ Recycled paper mache lamp

I really love creating things to have in my home. Design my own clothes, furniture and other objects. If I'm able to make them by myself, all the better. I actually had no idea if this would actually work, but I decided to give it a go anyway.
This paper mache lamp is a great way to use old newspaper you have that would just be thrown out anyway. Paper mache is an easy technique that even children can learn how to do. In fact, making this lamp isn't very different from making a paper mache pinata!
The main difference is that the pieces of paper are cut up in small pieces rather than put on with strips. I wanted the lamp to have a rough "cement" like feeling. I wanted there to be a lot of texture and I also wanted the bottom opening of the lamp to be very uneven, almost like an egg shell.
Follow these steps in order to make a lamp of your own.
You will need:
- a ball or balloon (I used a yoga ball that has a diameter of 55cm)
- newspaper (it's hard to say exactly how much, but i filled a 15L bowl with torn up pieces
- 750g of white paper glue
- water
- Paint if you want it to be a certain colour.

Time required is approximately 4 hours plus waiting time (4 -5 days. Be patient, it needs to be really dry before painting it or you'll have to wait even longer). 

Newspaper in all colours, etc.

After the paper had soaked overnight I ripped the paper even more, making the pieces almost invisible, just a big mush.

I squeezed out most of the water before mixing the glue in. You need approximately 1/3 water and 2/3 white glue. 

The mush with the glue mixed into it.

I prepared my home with some plastic bags underneath so that the glue and water wouldn't drip straight down onto the floor. I also placed the ball on a bucket so that it would be more stable. If you're using a balloon you can hang it up. Remember that it gets rather heavy as you put more of the wet paper onto it, so make sure you tie it up well and that the balloon is strong enough.
I made one layer with paper strips in order to give it a slight base to put the paper mush onto. I will be painting the inside.

This is what it looked like when I started putting the newspaper mush onto the ball. It isn't as thick as it looks here, about 0,5-1cm.

Here it is before drying on the balcony. I added some keywords afterwards: Arte, Libri, teatro, architettura, cultura, ballare, etc.

A close up of the lamp. Note that I wanted it to look quite rough. You can easily smooth it all out as much as you want creating a very smooth surface. It's completely up to you.

I painted the inside turquoise (it seems darker than it is because the paint was still wet here). I LOVE the result!

Check it out! So cool! I'll put up photos soon when it is up. I have to get an electrician (neighbor) here to help me adjusting the light. We have a roof lamp now so the bulb is literally attached to the ceiling and I need it too hang down a bit in order to get the lamp at the right height. Yay. Can't wait!