Paper Power: Silhouette Cut-Outs

For this, we used tissue paper and glue to create a background on white cardstock. We used a paintbrush to spread the glue easily.

Then, a very scary part, we used craft knives to make cut out silhouettes to place on top. (Remember when I said we used lots of sharp tools and only I got hurt? It was this. I was adjusting a kid's blade and cut my finger.)

Quite a challenge on this soccer ball design! 

Their silhouettes had to have a border and everything had to be only one piece. I told them to imaging that we dropped a fish into the border; the fish has to be able to swim to all parts of their design. Beautiful results! This would be a great technique for a stained glass lesson.

Art of Craft: Chin Colle Printing

Like most things with the "col" prefix, this involves collages. Chin Colle is printing on top of colored or patterned paper in specific spots to add emphasis and interest. This was VERY hard for my wonderful group to conceptualize. 

We had made stamps earlier and they had no trouble understanding backwards designs. But, when we had to think of backwards and forwards and lining up their colored paper on their backgrounds....it was too much. After much frustration, we were successful! Some designs are slightly off from where they should be, but overall it was a great experiment and they definitely learned more about printmaking!

Styrofoam plate and the result.

Some chose to not use any colored paper, which is okay too. :)

One of the most successful chin colle pieces with this soccer field.

Art of Craft: Clay Beads

I needed WAY more pictures of these finished products! And by "more", I guess I mean any. :0

Very easy to do: We molded shapes from air-dry clay on wooden skewers. They could also used the skewer to scratch in some designs. I will get so many more finished pictures next week!

Art of Craft: Metalworks

I was very excited for this project. We started by making a collage of cardboard and pipe cleaners. I encouraged a geometric design, but they could make them however they wanted. While we waited for our glue to dry, they decorated colorful backgrounds with metallic markers and sequins. AFTER they did this I found some wonderful metallic mosaic pieces. :( Next week's kids will definitely use those; I think some of these went too colorful with those sequins.

I ordered copper tone sheets, not pure copper, for two reasons: first is the cost, WAY cheaper. Second is that it is only copper on one side, and silver on the other. So the kids had some options for their design. 

After the glue dried, we wrapped the collages in metal and burnished it down to hug the collage. They could also use metallic markers on their metal of they wanted to add different colors.

Art of Craft: Leatherworks

Using the skills we learned earlier from our embroidery lesson, we turned to a different textile: leather. This was a simple process. We could use any design we wanted, just as long as it fit in the small space. 

These "leather" bookmarks are sturdy and easy to work with and super cheap (12 for $6)! We ordered them from Oriental Trading. The project they are for on there is kind of hokey, but I saw their potential and used them for a better purpose. :)

We did use awls to poke the holes before our needles, so keep that in mind if you want to try this. These kids were great with sharp tools all week. The only one that got hurt was me. :D