Peep show!
Finished! Meet Peep in Boots
It’s Peep Show prep time again!
Last year I took a much-needed hiatus (www.persimmonlife.com/choosingtobehappy/recoveringoverachiever), but decided to get back in the show this year.
I very much enjoy the creative outlet of making my peep sculptures. It can be such a stress reliever when I don’t let the process become stressful. There is a deadline of course and it is marked on the calendar, but I have been working through my plan.
Still a work in progress
I decided this year to design and create Puss in Boots -he’s a favorite in our house for a variety of reasons. The name is a work in progress.
I was able to use some of what I started last year, so I wasn’t starting completely from scratch, but the sculpture still takes lots of time, imagination, and patience.
Puss and Boots with my helper, Toby
Paper mache almost finished. He’s also painted - looks rather orange, like a big Cheeto, but it will help to blend the coloring of the peeps later. Next we start cutting and gluing on the peeps!
4/20/2022 This year’s Peep Show was a huge success! HoneyPEEP placed 2nd out of 115 entries - very exciting!
Time to start stocking up on Peeps for next year’s sculpture and start brainstorming ideas.
Until next year!
3/26/2022 Put the finishing touches on my bee. The wings are made with a hanger that I cut and shaped and then covered with Glad Press and Seal and drew on veins with a sharpie. Love how they turned out. Attaching the bigger leaf to the side was a challenge, but I settled on weaving fishing line between the leaf and the flower.
This year’s sculpture took over 457 peeps total, including the ones from the re-used base. That’s a lot of peeps!
If you make it to the Carroll County Peep Show, please give us a vote or two!
3/20/2022
Added the yellow peeps and working on making everything fit together!
3/17/2022
We have cut over 400 Peeps and glued many of them on. You can see the different colors before they are painted - no, the bee will not be pink as you can see in the second picture! Next step for the bee is to cut the yellow peeps to fit between the painted black ones.
I do not plan on painting the yellow ones at all which saves time. The flower is finished, as is the center piece. Next are the leaves which you can see in the background here. Only 11 days until it’s due! It’s crunch time.
No, the bee won’t be pink!
You can see the completed flower in this picture though
3/8/2022 Step Three: Painting Paper Mache and cutting and gluing on Peeps!
I paint the Paper Mache so that if the Peeps don’t touch you still see color behind them. I use acrylic paint and a regular paint brush for this purpose.
My son is a pro at cutting the Peeps so this is his job. So far he’s cut just over 200 of them! We have a technique involving a large knife and cutting board. I underestimated the number of white Peeps I would need for this project so I’m trying to locate some inexpensive ones to add to the pile. Important rule to follow is that you always need more than you think you will! I thought I located them on sale on a website, but instead of being able to send me 27 packages, they only have 5. I’m still on the hunt for more.
I use a small craft glue gun for gluing on the Peeps. The Peeps can’t be too sticky or the glue will not stick properly. I allowed the first batch to dry out too much and had to put them in a box with a wet rag overnight to soften them back up. Gluing Peeps takes a long time! Another rule is that everything takes WAY longer than you think it will. My family will agree that this is one rule I often forget.
2/20/22 Step Two: Paper Mache
I love working with paper mache. There is something about seeing my ideas come to life using paper and warm paste that is very satisfying. Paper Mache is also easy - this is the recipe I use:
2 Cups flour
4 Cups water
Whisk the flour and water together in a large pot over low heat. Allow the mixture to thicken slightly and then cool until you are comfortable with the temperature.
2/10/22 Step One: Design and cut cardboard frame
Design portion always has lots of mistakes and extra pieces of cardboard. We finally decided how to build the flower with a cardboard frame. Most of the flower and leaves will be paper mache which is next. We are going to reuse the base from last year so we have a 2 ft. x 2 ft. footprint to fill.
2/9/2022 - We decided to stay in theme and are going with a Persimmon flower and a honey bee! Construction starts this week, so we are collecting cardboard, magazines and peeps. Keep checking back for updates.
1/30/2022 If you know me, you know I will try almost anything. Several years ago this included entering a sculpture made of Peeps in a local contest. The rest is history! For the past five years we have entered a creation in the contest. We did win 4th place one year out of about 150 entrants, so yay! But that’s not why I enjoy them so much. I enjoy creating something unique from something we all grew up eating (I like mine stale, how about you?) The question every year is what to make? Any ideas?
My plan is to share the process under this blog with you from start to finish. Hope you enjoy as much as we do!
This is “Peepington Bear”, he was our first entry and first attempt at Peep sculpture
How do we make them? They are made from cardboard which is then covered in paper mache and painted. We then cut the Peeps, hot glue them on and paint the finished product.
Meet “Peeper Rabbit”. He won 4th place overall
It takes hundreds of Peeps to make a Peep sculpture, so I buy them after each season and store them. They now have Peeps for almost every holiday!
“Dumbo the Flying Peep” was my favorite and placed in the top 10!
Peeps are best cut when they are a little stale, so they aren’t quite so sticky. My boys have perfected the cutting of the Peeps, so that’s their job.
“Spring has Peeped”
This was our Covid entry. In 2020, they only had an on-line competition which wasn’t as much fun of course. In 2021 they allowed us to enter the same sculpture. This one wasn’t my favorite, but my first attempt at something larger-it was 4 feet tall!
