Papier-mâché Two Delicious Pretend Pies!

My two fresh baked pies were hardened in the summer sun
 and look good enough to eat!

       Make a couple of delicious looking pretend pies to serve at a doll dinner party. I decided to shape a lattice top cherry pie and a simple blueberry pie from papier-mâché pulp for our playroom kitchen but you could make any pie you prefer from this old, familiar, classroom art supply.

Supply List:

• round box with both the top and bottom
• papier-mâché pulp (small pack)
• masking tape
• brown paper bags
• white school glue
• Mod Podge or clear acrylic sealer
• acrylic paints: reds, browns, purple
• paint brush (stencil brush is optional)
• newsprint

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. You will need a small round box container for this project. Something tossed our from the grocery store will be fine. I kept a brie cheese container for my pies. The container should be clean and dry, with no food residue. 
2. Open the box and keep both sides face up. Crumple some newsprint and add this to the openings. The newsprint when wadded will create an uneven surface which is good. The more berries you have in a pie, the more uneven the surface will look. This newsprint will act as the filling for our two pies and will support the papier-mâché pulp tops as we sculpt.
3. Cover or mask both open faced "pie" shapes entirely with making tape. Sealing off the top of the pie shells with the crumpled newsprint inside.
4. Shred the flimsy, paper bag paper into random shapes to apply with glue onto the both halves of our pretend pies. This step strengthens the sculpted forms. 
5. After covering the surfaces of the filled pie shapes thoroughly with the brown paper bag layer, apply a layer of Mod Podge. Let dry.
6. Now mix the papier-mâché pulp according to the directions. Start the process by adding only a little bit of water at a time, gradually working the pulp into a slightly stiff clay. Do not add all of your pulp into a bowl at once and mix. It only takes a handful of pulp to sculpt each pie top. If you need more, you can mix it as you go. The pulp may be layered and it will adhere to it's own surface.
7. Now you may shape this pulp on top of the bumpy pie surfaces only. Don't worry about whether or not the surface is applied evenly. Papier-mâché pulp is a very forgiving material and pies are lumpy on top anyway. So just sort-of apply approximately 1/2 inch of the sticky stuff to the entire surface of each pie. 
8. If you are a beginner, you will start by shaping the blueberry pie shown on my posting here. It has a simple, uniform surface with only a few finger holes on the top to reveal its purple juices after painting.
9. Shaping the cherry pie with a lattice top may prove to be a bit challenging for beginners. I did not make it with strips of pulp! I shaped the lattice work and pulp balls directly onto the top. Applying more white glue to ensure that the fake cherries stayed in place during the drying time. If you should take up this challenge, do not worry if you need to reattach cherry shapes a second time after letting this pie sculpture dry. (See photos below)
10. Shape the edges of your pies just as you normally would when sealing the edges of a real pie. You can do this with your finger tips or a plastic fork if you like. ( How to make decorative pie crust. )
11. Now set these papier-mâché pulp pies in the hot sun for baking... The hotter and sunnier outdoors or on a window seal, the better! It may take a few days for the pulp pies to harden up.
12. Paint the tops of your pies using quick drying acrylic paints. Mix up several variations of browns so that you can apply these randomly as you work. A stencil brush may help the process for those of you who have never painted a surface like this before. 
13. It helps to observe a real blueberry or cherry pie while painting your own. Prepare to get hungry!
14. After painting the pies let them dry thoroughly in the sunshine. 
15. Apply the acrylic sealer to the tops of your finished pie masterpieces. Let these dry again before serving them up to your doll companions.

Left, You will need a small round box container for this project. Center, The newsprint when wadded will
 create an uneven surface which is good. Right, Cover or mask both open faced "pie" shapes entirely with 
making tape.

Shaping the cherry pie with a lattice top may prove to be a bit challenging for beginners.

 More Pie Crafts:

• Papier-mâché Pie Teaser by JerrysArtarama 
• ceramic lesson plans: "An All American Berry Pie" by my former students  

I used Mod Podge to seal the lower half of each pie.
Brown paper bags were used to craft the pie crusts on bottom.

What the papier-mâché pies look like after drying in the hot sun.

Cherry pie and blueberry pie cooling on the stove top
after baking in the pretend oven, as seen from above.
Read about the play oven and stove-top, DIY here.

PuddingFishCakes makes a polymer clay blueberry 

pie for a miniature doll family.