Tell me more! My blender died a while back and I bought a thrift shop replacement, but it was in worse shape than mine. LOL!
I'm still waiting for santa to bring me a new blender; he must be delayed. LOL! We want to make smoothies and of course handmade paper, so we really need two. :-/

Anyway, I just discovered not long ago, rummaging through kitchen cabinets, that I have an old handheld mixer my grandmother gave me when I got married. I could use that? Tell me how this thunder stick thing works!
I think I caught the last bit of the woman on 'Carol' making the vessels. (Did she use a beach ball?) They were wonderful!

She used a beach ball and did you see her deflate it?
I don't think a hand mixer would work too good unless it already was a mash.
The "thunder stick" as she called it is one of those straight up and down things you hold in your hand and go up and down on whatever is in the bowl. They used to be advertised all the time on TV. They'd make mayo in a cup and whip up cream, and crush ice cubes etc. If you did a google on it something mightpop up.
When they first came out about 20 years ago they were around $99 now I think they're about $20. One might turn up at a garage sale once you know what they look like.

I saw her too and remember seeing something like that before on another show. The person doing it also used shredded paper and said that those coupon inserts from the Sunday paper are great because the paper has some sort of "clay" coating and it gives it body. So I saved mine for a while and borrowed a shredder and had about 3 bags full stuck in the back of a closet - and then last year "flylady" got me and they went out in a boogie fling. Now I regret it. I guess I'll have to start all over!

Oh, I thought that's what you meant by 'hand held mixer', Minnie --LOL at me! Now that I think about it, I remember the kind you're talking about from when I did some research a while back. What do you call the mayo maker thing?

lorraine, I had to part ways with the 'Sidetracked Home Executives' when I came to the part about getting rid of craft stuff. I can keep a clean sink without flinging my treasures and without shoes, too, thank you very much! ;-) LOL!

The trouble is I love all my stuff Why would I want to get rid of it. If I was paying storage on it I might.

I have one called a Braun Multiquick. It doesn't look like it would do much but since I don't have a blender it is what I use to make pulp. It works well even with heavy paper if I let it soak a couple of minutes and have it covered with water.

Lia, it makes smoothies too! It was strong enough for frozen blackberries and yogurt.

Lorraine, is a pitch campaign the same thing as a boogie fling? I do it far too often but just can't keep everything without losing my mind (what is left of it). If I have to choose it is that pile of egg cartons that is out of here rather than that $3 piece of paper I paid for!

Hmmm.... I gave DH a Braun something-or-other once for making milkshakes. I wonder if it's the same thing? I hate cleaning that thing so it's somewhere in the cabinet. Maybe I'll give it a whirl. hehe

Minnie,

That show was on again today and if it weren't for you I wouldn't have had the heads up to record it. She shredded mail order catalogs and then put the shred covered with water in an enamel pot and put it on the stove to bring to a boil. She used what she called an immersion blender (like my Braun thing) then poured the glop into a collander lined with fabric to drain. Then she kneaded the grey glop with wallpaper paste from a tub. It did look like a great clay.
Thanks! Paper mache is my favorite craft.

I finally got to see it today too, Kathy! The look of the pulp reminded me of Celluclay, but she had a nicer clay-like body to it and her surface was not as bumpy, but more like a pleasing sandstone texture. I loved her use of twigs and copper pipe embedded in the forms. What an inspiring show! I even liked Dee Gruenig's segment using resists to create images on the compressed stamping sponge.
So which is cheaper Braun or Thunderstick? Any other similar products? Guess this non-cook needs to head to the small appliance department, lol!

See gals, those kitchen appliances came in handy after all. When I was working, a client came in and said it was her 60th Birthday and she had just thrown every kitchen appliance out and she was going OUT to dinner from then on.!!!

Karen,

Check the thrift stores before you buy a new one. I have seen them quite often. You are right! That pulp was just beautiful and the copper elbows as legs!!! I was blown away. I'm not all that fond of grey and would probably use gesso and paint and maybe even sand it smoother. Sure was a great segment.

Oh, phooey! I didn't know it was coming on again and I was gone any way! :-( Missed the Dee Gruenig part the first time. How does this resist thing work? I have one of those compressed sponges.

What is the pulp artist's name and does she have a website? I loved the vessels I did get to see! Oh, maybe it's on the hgtv site...

Dee transfered her design to the sponge by the pencil on the back of paper technique and then used the resist right out of the bottle and traced the design on the sponge. Let dry and then she used dye based re-inkers in the to fill the areas. They had a great batik look and she got tons of prints. When the ink started to run out she would spray the sponge with water and got watercolor looks. I always enjoy her segments.

P.S.

It appears that the sponge will be that design forever. Dee had a collection of sponges like you would have stamps.

I bought some wallpaper paste yesterday. I thought I'd try my hand at it sometime. I don't have one of those hand held blenders though. I wonder if I could use my countertop blender? I just got through ordering a bunch of free mags. online LOL! Hope they send me a bunch. If this doesn't work out, I will have to come up with some new ideas for wallpaper paste! Can't I used this like decopage glue?

Lia, Next time VCR recorders are on sale get one. It is a good investment. I have 2 hooked up to one TV. I can watch tv and record 2 different shows and then I can play one tape and copy to another tape and cut out all the parts I don't want on the finished tape. I have over 30 Craft and Rubberstamp tapes like that. (I have most of them catalogued in the computer otherwise I'd never find anything on the tapes)
I know you need a "Y" connection for 2
VCR's your DH's would probably know what that means.
Sorry a little OT.