Cool project! By crumpling newspaper and taping it you should be able to create a "lump" shape resembling and island. I would tape it to the center a thick piece of cardboard which you could paint blue to simulate water. Cover the crumpled paper in strips of newspaper dipped in diluted glue, or for a really enviro friendly paste use boiled flour. It won't be as long lasting as glue, but for a school project it should be fine. You can find the recipe here on this site or just about anywhere on the web. A piece of coat hanger fleshed out with crumpled paper  and tape then covered in pasted strips wire can become a palm tree or 2 and little balls of paper mache can be coconuts. You can add real seashells to the shore line and maybe even rig a hammock between the trees. Ouila! Paradise from paper!

PS Just thought, for the trees, check out Dan Reeder's (Dan the Monster Man) method of making fingers, would work really well for palm trees I think.

Last edited by paper soup (2012-03-22 16:49:17)