Tag Archives: twigs

Apr23

NATURE CRAFTS CELEBRATING OUR EARTH: NATURE COLLAGE

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NATURE CRAFTS CELEBRATING OUR EARTH: NATURE COLLAGE
SEE SAMPLE BELOW

The craft NATURE COLLAGE was adapted from the project “World of Nature/Spring Mural Collage” found in the Arts and Crafts Activities Desk Book by Joyce Novis Laskin and published by Parker Publishing Company in 1971.

MATERIALS:

White glue or glue stick

cardboard any size

Scissors

Any combination of: poster or acrylic paints, brushes, fabric scraps, newspapers, magazines, photos, pen and ink, crayons, construction paper, tissue paper, brown paper bags, ribbon, buttons, etc.

Objects from nature: leaves, twigs, bark, shells, pebbles, seeds from plants, etc.

1. A collage is a composition or picture made by attaching different found objects and materials to a surface. That surface is often (but not always) flat. Like all forms of art, the first step in making a collage involves thinking. What will the collage be about?

2. Decide the size of the collage. Glue, draw or paint everything on the cardboard so it is important to decide if you want a large or a small collage. Use a large sheet or cut it in half.

3. Next, decide if you want the design to flow across the cardboard (horizontally), from the top to the bottom (vertically) or from corner to corner (diagonally).To create depth, larger objects should stand in front of smaller ones. It is smart to work from the back to the front of the collage so glue the smaller objects first. This gives the person looking at the collage a feeling of depth. “Depth” means that you can see objects in back of the objects that are in front of the scene that you are creating.

4. Collect the materials that you will be using. Different materials make up a collage.  This collage project has one main subject (nature) so collect many objects from and about nature. Photographs, drawings of objects from nature (the sun, butterflies, bees, birds, clouds, etc.) can also be used.

Use cut paper, too. Cut the paper into different shapes suggesting nature (i.e., leaves and flowers) using scissors. This will produce paper edges that are wavy, zigzagged or straight.

Or fold the paper once. Turn the paper on the other side and fold again in the other direction. Tear the paper along the fold. Continue to fold and tear the paper into shapes. This creates ragged paper edges which will look different from the papers cut with scissors.

Glue the papers down and overlap them. The layers of tissue paper will show the color and shape of the paper or board underneath and create pretty designs.

5. Glue the materials to the cardboard. If you are not sure about the design, glue them to a piece of paper like construction paper. Then, decide if the materials can be added to the collage. If you decide that you can, glue the paper with the objects to the cardboard.

6. Frame the collage and hang on your bedroom wall!

VARIATION:

SEASHELLS: Find a couple of seashells. The kinds that are sort of flat are the best for this idea. Choose two or three colors of paint and squeeze some on a palette or piece of wax paper. Brush the paint on one side of the shell. Experiment with the amount of paint. Print the shell on a piece of construction paper by rolling it and pressing. Do this with the other colors and shells, occasionally overlapping some of the shells to create a pattern. To add another dimension to the shells, glue tiny seeds or pebbles on the ends of the printed shells. When the paint is dry, cut the printed shells and glue to the cardboard along with the other objects collected. (See the Summer Camp for Kids: Nature Prints tutorial on this website for more information.)

The collage below includes a drawing of a flower, a sun print of leaves and twigs, a part of a nature print of leaves and rubber stamped leaves. Assorted cut paper was used for the background

Nature Collage

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May13

RECYCLED CRAFT PROJECT: TWIG FRAME

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RECYCLED CRAFT PROJECT: TWIG FRAME

 

MATERIALS:

Twigs

cardboard or poster board

white glue

colored raffia (twine or string can be substituted)

scissors

pencil

ruler

photo

glue stick

 

PROJECT:

  1. Measure the photo. Measure and cut the board to the size of the photo.
  2. Collect twigs the size of the photo maybe a little longer. You will need three or four twigs for each side of the frame.
  3. Trim the twigs if needed with the scissors. Or get an adult to help you.
  4. Bundle three or four twigs and wrap the raffia around each end. Do this for all four sides of the frame.
  5. Glue the photo to the cardboard using a glue stick.
  6. Apply white glue to the bundled sticks and glue along one side of the photo. Glue the bundled twigs to the other sides. Allow to dry.
  7. Make a loop with any remaining raffia and glue it to the back of the cardboard. When that is dry, hang the photo.
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Mar17

WEAVING PROJECT: WEAVING WITH A SIMPLE FRAME

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WEAVING PROJECT: WEAVING WITH A SIMPLE FRAME

The craft WEAVING WITH A SIMPLE FRAME is an updated adaption of the project “A Simple Weaving Frame” found in The Reinhold Book of Arts and Crafts Techniques published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., a division of Litton Education Publishing Inc. in 1976. Many important events happened in 1976.

Challenge yourself and always use your imagination!

Materials:

Cardboard

String

Ruler

Pencil/eraser

Scissors

Yarn

Large-eyed tapestry needle (optional)

Ribbon, feathers,  wool and other strips of fabric, leaves, twigs, string

* At all times refer to the photo illustrations.

  1. Weaving consists of a warp and a weft. The warp comprises the vertical strings of the loom while the weft consists of the yarn interlaced through the weft. Take a piece of strong cardboard. Measure and cut ¼” incisions at regular intervals of ¼” to 1/8” on both ends of the cardboard.
  2. To make the warp: Take heavy string (i.e., kite string) and make a knot at one end. Loop the string from one end of the cardboard to the other and back up again. When finished, cut and make a knot in the back or tape the end of the string to the back of the cardboard. (Always leave a little extra string at either end.)
  3. To make the weft: Think of a theme or a design for the weaving. The design is up to you! Use a variety of materials to weave in and out as you did with the paper weaving. (The weaving below was woven with pipe cleaners and kite string but almost anything goes!)
  4. Start with about an inch and a half of warp at the bottom. Make sure strips of material alternate with each row. Roll the material into a ball if possible and pass it through the warp back and forth for several rows depending on the design. Tuck the end in the back of the warp. Do not tie a knot.
  5. Tips: Consider using a the tapestry needle to weave the yarn and string. A ruler will help you lift the warp so you can pass material through easily but you must lift every other string (see step 4.)
  6. When the weaving is finished, cut any loose thread in the back of the warp but don’t cut too close to the weft.
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Jul23

Two-Dimensional Ideas on Paper: Prints from Nature

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Two-Dimensional Ideas on Paper: Prints from Nature

The craft NATURE PRINTS was adapted from the project “From the Yard/Nature Prints” found in All-Around-the-House Art and Craft Book by Patricia Z. Wirtenberg and published by Houghton Mifflin Company in1968

Materials:

Leaves, bark, twigs

Printer’s inks or poster or acrylic paints in various colors (cheaper to use)

Drawing pencils (optional)

Rice or bond paper in white or various light colors (works best with poster/acrylic paints)

Brown wrapping paper or construction paper for use with printer’s inks

Brayer (or roller)

Piece of glass

Newspaper

Solvent for cleaning brayer and glass if using printer’s inks unless using water-soluble printer’s inks

  1. Collect fresh leaves from the trees or bushes in your neighborhood or yard. You will need some to experiment with and some for the last print. Other objects such as tree bark (if it’s easy to peel off) and even some twigs will work along with the leaves, too.
  2. Cover your work surface with newspaper. Lay down the glass and brayer on the work surface. Select the paints or inks that you will use. Acrylic or poster paints are less expensive than oil-based printer’s inks and easier to clean up after use.
  3. You can squeeze one color for each leaf or squeeze two or three colors side-by-side on the glass. The leaves in the samples shown used one or two or three colors at one time.
  4. Roll the paint or inks on the glass until the pigment covers the brayer. If you are using more than one color, let the colors run into each other. Roll the brayer over the leaf several times and turning the leaf over, lay it on a piece of paper like rice paper or bond paper. Use your hand to press the leaf so that it prints on the paper. Paper that is not too thick or too thin is the best to use if using acrylic or poster paints. Printer’s inks can use a slightly heavier paper like construction or brown wrapping paper.
  5. Remove the leaf and see how it printed on the paper. Experiment until you have a print that you like. Experiment with other materials from nature combined with the leaves.
  6. To create a mixed media design, color the whites of the leaves or the background paper or outline the printed leaves with colored pencils. See the two samples below.
  7. Frame the print or using old note card stationery, make note cards or poster cards of the printed leaves. They make a thoughtful gift for people who still write notes!
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