Musical Maracas

My first experience with papier-mâché involved a much-younger me, Halloween and a misguided plan to be a bunch of grapes. It wasn't my shining moment, but it did turn me on to the wonderful marriage of paste, newspaper and sticky hands. Twenty-five years later, when I passed this discovery on to my children, we made these maracas, and the kids were grinning to beat the band.

MATERIALS
A 10 x 22-inch rectangle of newspaper
Small plastic-lidded containers such as yogurt containers, baking-powder cylinders, or specialty-coffee tins (like the General Foods International Coffees cans)
Masking tape
Beans (or rice, a walnut, bells, et cetera)
X-Acto knife
Plastic adhesive putty (available at most drugstores and craft stores)
1 x 6-inch strips of newspaper
Papier-mâché paste

To make the papier-mâché paste: In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and 2 cups of cold water. Add that mixture to 2 cups of water boiling in a saucepan and bring to a boil again. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar. It will thicken as it cools. When it is cool, it's ready to use.

1. To make a maraca, roll the rectangle of newspaper tightly around a pencil to form a handle. (Start rolling from one of the short ends.) Slip the pencil out. Tape so the handle won't unroll. If needed, trim ends so they're even.

2. Partially fill the plastic-lidded container with anything from beans or rice to a walnut or bells (depending on the material of the container and the filling, the sounds will be different, so make a few!). Cut an X in the center of the plastic lid (a parent's job). Put a small ball of plastic adhesive putty (or even a small ball of masking tape) on the end of the handle that will go into the container. Wedge the handle into the hole in the plastic lid, pushing the putty against the bottom of the container. (Be sure to tilt the beans, rice, et cetera, to the side so they don't stick to the putty.) On the outside, tape the handle to the plastic lid. If the handle's too long, trim the end.

3. Dip a strip of newspaper into the papier-mâché paste, use your fingers to slide off the excess paste, and then affix the strip to the maraca. Repeat, covering the container and the handle entirely. To strengthen the handle, run newspaper strips from top to bottom of the maraca. Let the strips dry and then papier-mâché again. When your maraca dries this time, it's ready to shake. Paint is optional.