Did the Mailman Bring Me Something Today?

I got my very first letter from a college girl in England, and her name is Rosie. She is a friend of my mom's friend, Paige. Four days later, I got a letter from a girl in Spain named Victoria, the cousin of my mom's friend Patricia. Victoria wrote me two letters -- one in English and one in Spanish! I was sooo excited to come home from school every day, and hoped I had gotten a letter or postcard in the mail for me that day.

My cat Oliver and me with my first letter from Rosie!

We Need a Basket

While the newspaper was drying, I realized my hot air balloon needed something. What was it? A basket! Every hot air balloon needs a basket.

Materials:

b  Wooden popsicle sticks
b  Tacky glue
b Wax paper
b Patience
b Steady hands!

The base of the basket was made out of six wooden popsicle sticks from the craft store. I glued them together and set the base on wax paper so it wouldn't stick to my table. Then I built the sides of the basket by layering them, as you can see in the pictures. Pretty neat, huh?

More Layers

The first layer was a success! It dried overnight and it was actually kind of hard. My mom said we had to add at least two more layers of newspaper and glue so it would be sturdy when we added the layer of postcards and letters.

Papier Mâché -- A Sticky, Gooey, FUN Mess!

While I waited for postcards and letters, my mom and I started on making the balloon.

This required a balloon, strips of newspaper, glue, water, and patience.

I blew up the balloon as big as I could. Then my mom and dad helped me cut strips of newspaper into thin strips. They told me the strips had to be kind of like long, skinny triangles. 

When that was done, we mixed up glue and water. Know what came next? I had to put on an old shirt and then dip my newspaper triangles into the glue mixture. It was a sticky, gooey, FUN mess! I had to smooth out the triangles as I added each one. My mom told me that when it all dried, we would add another layer. I had to do this again?! NOOOO! But actually, it was really fun. I couldn't wait to see what it would look like when it dried.

Step 2

Wait.

It takes a long time for letters and postcards to reach Minnesota when they're being sent from places like Spain, Germany, India, and Malawi.

So, I had to be patient. The mail lady would soon be delivering letters from around the world!

Step 1

When I decided that I wanted to try this project, I needed to get letters and postcards from around the world. But I don't know anyone from around the world! Luckily, my mom and dad know some. And they have some great friends who know people around the world! So I typed up a letter introducing myself and my project and my mom emailed it to some friends and family members. Some of those people passed my letter on to people in places like Germany, France, England, Australia, Holland, Spain, Italy, India, and even Africa! 

People emailed back and said they would love to help with my project! Yay! 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Maggie and I live in a small town in Minnesota.

I made this blog so I could share pictures of my project "Around the World in 80 Days" with my new friends around the world. 

For my school's Art Fair, I decided to create a papier mache hot air balloon and decorate it with letters and postcards I received from people from around the world. 

Here's the journey!