I just love this super easy and simple process art project for kids. The resulting art piece is bright and colorful, and the process itself is virtually mess-free. Best of all, you will only need four simple materials, and you can use either paper or plastic drinking straws – whatever you might already have at home. This project is so much fun that adults will want to join in too!
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This is what you will need:
Recycled cardboard
Scissors
Clear sticky contact
Drinking straws
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Cut a frame shape from a piece of recycled cardboard. I painted my frame with black acrylic paint, but this is completely optional. Feel free to either paint yours or leave it plain.
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2. Stick a piece of clear contact to the frame, making sure that the sticky side is facing up.
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3. Using scissors, very carefully snip the straws into different lengths.
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4. Next is the fun part! Start pressing the straw pieces onto the clear contact. Press them down in all different directions and angles. Be as creative as you like!
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5. Keep pressing the pieces of straw down until you have filled your entire sticky contact canvas. You may have to trim down some small pieces to fit into the really tiny spaces.
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I really hope that you have fun with this amazing process art project! It is such fun for kids of all ages – and adults too! Enjoy. Jacinta Xx
I am so excited to let you all know that my very first kids craft book is available for preorder! I am so proud of this book. It is bright and colorful, is filled with super fun crafts (with step-by-step instructions) and only requires easily accessible supplies. The colorful crafts are as cute as they are playful. And, while the kids enjoy making these delightful crafts, they will also be developing their fine motor skills, critical thinking, creativity and even STEAM understanding. This book compiles 60 new projects with step-by-step photos for hours of fun. I would LOVE to know what you think about it!
Here is the blurb:
Transform Everyday Materials into Effortless, Cute Crafts!
Turn your bin of ordinary crafting supplies into a day of happy, colorful fun! Jacinta Sagona’s 60 charming crafts use simple materials you already have at home in new ways to captivate your little ones’ imaginations for hours. These craft ideas will help children of all ages tap into their creative tendencies by encouraging experimentation, spontaneity and mindfulness.
Your kids will love the helpful step-by-step photos and variety of projects, ranging from sweet animals and decorative wall hangings to handmade toys and games, and you will love how easy the projects are to set up (with minimal cleanup!). Let them put recycled cardboard and common craft paper to good use with unique crafts like a Paper Lantern Garden and a Pom-Pom Blowing Unicorn. Watch them delight in toys and painting activities like Stained-Glass Windows and a Musical Guitar. Introduce them to the practice of mindfulness with calming projects like Gratitude Mini-Piñatas, Guatemalan Worry Dolls and Yarn Hearts.
Perfect for parents, grandparents, teachers and babysitters, this book is a treasure trove of super simple ideas you can dive into anytime you are looking for an art project for the kids. You’ll love bonding with them and witnessing their budding imaginations!
Here are reviews from some of my most favorite crafters!
“If you are looking for some fun, quirky and colorful craft inspiration, this is the book for you. Fabulous for any budding crafter!” – Maggy Woodley, @redtedart
“I love how this book allows children to learn playfully while creating projects they can enjoy for years to come! – Michelle Nash, @7daysofplay
“Who can resist a cute and colorful kids’ craft book? The best part is the super easy set-up so kids can help themselves to creating on a whim. I love that behind each cute craft there are lesson on learning and STEM.” -Agnes Hsu, @hellowonderful
“A wonderful book full of colorful ideas for all your little crafters!” -Jess Chu, @learnandbloom
“Jacinta’s easy to follow instructions and use of simple materials make it effortless to get creative with my kids. It’s a wonderful way to connect as a family while teaching practical life skills.”- Myriam Sandler, @mothercould
It feels a little strange writing this blog post about fall activities as it’s actually spring here in Melbourne. In fact, it’s a lovely sunny day! I do love Fall crafts though, especially ones I see coming out of the northern hemisphere where the falling leaves are beautiful reds and orange in color. Where we live, the leaves obviously fall, but we don’t really get the vibrant color changes. Mostly just green to brown!
We have tried a few fall crafts over the years, but this one was really fun! I do want to point out that it does require single use plastic bags – which from an environmental view – we hate using. To make the activity worthwhile, we added quite a bit of paint to each bag, so that it didn’t dry out and we could play longer, and we ensured that once we had finished with the bags, we disposed of them carefully. And you could always wash the bags out and reuse them again too if you like!
And please read through right to the end of post to find some fun FREE fall printables!
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This is what you will need:
Leaves
Zip-lock bags
Black marker pen
Paint
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Head outside to collect some leaves. Remember to always watch for car and bicycle traffic when you are walking your neighborhood, and make sure that adults accompany children at all times.
2. Trace the leaves onto the zip-lock bags with marker pen. You will have to make sure that you collect leaves that are slightly smaller than your bags. And if you can’t find any leaves that you LOVE, you could print some paper ones like we did!
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3. Then add some paint to your bags. I wanted to make our activity a color mixing activity as well as a fine motor activity, so we added two colors to each bag.
4. Once the paint is in the bag, you might like to tape the bag closed to secure. The last thing you want is little people opening the bags and spilling paint everywhere. My girls are older now and know not to open the bags, so I haven’t taped these ones!
I definitely recommend taping the bags though and supervising carefully throughout the activity to avoid any paint spills and damage to clothing and furniture.
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5. Once the paint is safely in the bag, squish it with your fingers. The idea is to both mix the colors together and keep the paint within the outlines of the leaves. This can be a little tricky for small children, especially when you are trying to mix the color evenly at the same time! See how you go!
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My girls really love this type of activity, and I love it because it’s relatively mess free! They get to use paint, which they really enjoy, and the paint stays in the bag for a quick and easy clean up!
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Have you seen this craft on my Instagram? These are leaves that we collected from our neighbors oak tree and colored with oil pastels. It looks much better over on Insta, but this is fun too if you are looking for a quick prep activity!
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And I nearly forgot to include these FREE printables! Enjoy! Jacinta Xx.
cintaandco.com 