Poinsettia Mosaic Collage

The other day I set out the supplies for my son to make this great poinsettia craft. He's in Kindergarten, so I wanted to give him some tracing, cutting and other fine motor control practice--oh, and he made this nice little piece for the art wall in our dining room. A win/win, I'd say!

I first saw a version of this project this fall, I think, on the blog Panther's Palette written by Pam Speaker. Her version was colorful and I was instantly drawn to it--as was my son who was looking over my shoulder and said, "I want to make THAT!" As he was adding the tissue paper poofs to his original piece, I thought how we could change the colors of the project to make it look like a daffodil for spring. The more I thought about it, I thought it could also make a great daisy or black-eyed susan for the summer, and poinsettia for winter. I'd love to make four of these depicting the four seasons! I'll put it on the neverending to-do list! For now, here's the winter version:

Poinsettia Mosaic Collage

Supplies Needed:

• 1 9x12" piece of off-white construction paper
• Red, green, white and yellow construction paper scraps
• Scrap of card stock, optional
• Yellow tissue paper, cut into 1" squares
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Elmer's glue
• Little cup for glue

Directions:

1. Glue a strip of green paper onto the page for a stem. Add a circle of yellow in the center of the page for the center of the flower.

2. Create a petal shape on card stock. Trace the petal shape onto the red paper and cut out 6 petals or so. I showed my son how to fold the paper a couple of times, then trace the shape and cut through the entire stack to create multiple petals in one shot. Glue the petals on around the flower's center.

3. Cut some 1/2" strips from red, green and white paper. Staple the strips together at one end. Use the scissors to cut through all of the strips at the same time to make a bunch of little 1/2" squares. Glue these down in a pattern around the outside edge of the piece.

4. Pour a bit of Elmer's glue in a small bowl or tray. Take one of the tissue paper squares and wrap it over the eraser end of the pencil. Dip the tissue paper in the glue and then touch ot to the paper in the center of the flower. Release the tissue paper and it should create a 3D "poof" with the tissue. Repeat as desired. I thought my son would use the tissue paper just in the center of the flower, but he put them on the petals too. Whatever you like...

You can also look up the story, The Legend of the Poinsettia,  online if you wanted to add a literature/moral/spiritual aspect to this project. Enjoy!

Paper Mosaic Skull

Here's a quick little project that can be used in a variety of ways. These are 1/2" paper squares, but you could scale the pattern down to use 1/4" squares for a smaller skull. Mosaics have a definite art history link, but also tie in with math. This might be a good project to create when you have a couple of free minutes of downtime in your classroom or in your day (pack a less messy version of the project for your child to do at the doctor's office or in the car).

This skull was cut out and glued to two pieces of background paper--
a torn-edged orange and a black for a bit of contrast.

Here are the basic instructions followed by a couple of variations.

Skull Mosaic

Supplies Needed (for very basic version):

• Graph paper
• Pencil
• Sharpie
• Paper grid/pattern printed on copy paper
• 1/2" construction paper squares in white and black
• 1/4" strip of white construction paper
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Piece of construction paper (or patterned paper) for background (your choice of color(s))

Directions:

1. Using my example as a guide, create the skull "pattern" on graph paper. I made my squares 1/2" for my 5-year-old. Darken the grid lines with Sharpie so they will reproduce well. I used an ultra fine tip to show the division of the squares, but then a regular sharpie to bold the edges of the different sections of the design (edge of skull, eyes, nose, and mouth). Slightly shade the areas of your design that you would like to be black, so the children know to place black squares on those areas. I cut the skull pattern out and glued it to black construction paper so the children would know where the edge of the skull was and disregard the background.

The larger image in this photo is the pattern I made on graph paper,
cut out and glued on a plain black background so I could photocopy
it for the children. This keeps the background plain so they can focus on the skull.
The smaller image is a copy of my skull pattern, copied at 50% to make 1/4" squares
in the mosaic (good for bookmarks or a pin or something).

2. Photocopy the grid onto plain white copy paper.

3. Use glue stick to glue construction paper squares directly onto the photocopy paper. Light areas of the grid get white construction paper squares glued to them and shaded areas get black squares glued to them. Cover the entire skull pattern on the copy paper, but leave the negative space (background) around the skull blank.

4. When all of the squares of the skull are glued down, you can use the 1/4" strip of white paper to divide up the mouth area so that it looks like the skull has teeth. We just eyeballed this part. Attach the pieces with glue stick.

5. When all of your gluing is done, use the scissors to cut around the outside of the skull, cutting away the extra copy paper. Flip the skull over and put glue on the back. Place the finished skull on the background paper (this gives the piece a more finished look).

Other variations:

I used 1/2" squares for my 5-year-old to do this project, but you could use 1" squares and make a bigger skull (or increase the square size even LARGER and make one for the wall). Another option for older children, is to decrease the size of the squares to 1/4" to make smaller skulls to create a pin, bookmark, or to use as a decoration for a candle. 

If you want to create the mosaic to Mod Podge on a clear glass object (for a candle holder, etc.). Use your paper grid pattern as a guide, but layer some tracing paper on top of it and glue the paper pieces to the tracing paper. Then trim the excess tracing paper and Mod Podge the tracing paper (with attached paper mosaic glued to it) to the glass object you want. This is a process I've used a lot in my teaching, you can check out a similar post where we use tracing paper as a substrate for the paper mosaic pieces but we Mod Podge it to wood.

I hope you enjoy this quick little project with its many variations! If you use this project, be sure to send me your thoughts and photos so I can post them here--I'd love to see how YOU used this idea!

Mosaic Snowglobe Project Results

This past week I had the pleasure of visiting Mrs. Bevilacqua's second grade class at Wilkin's Elementary School in Amherst, NH. Mrs. Bevilacqua usually does a themed unit that involves snow globes and I thought the children would also enjoy doing the snow globe mosaics from my blog.

All 17 snow globes! Beautiful!

The second graders were very enthusiastic and creative! I started with a revised worksheet and had the students use a limited color palette (10 crayons) so that they could easily match up the paper squares with the colors they chose for their pieces. It was a two-session project, but it went quickly and the children were very happy with the results (me too!).

The revised worksheet has different labels than before.
 It is a bit easier for the children to understand: S = Sky, R = Roof, G = Ground, etc.
They use this worksheet to plan before moving onto the actual gluing.
See the original post for "how-to" info.

A detailed look at one of the mosaic pieces.

This project was a great way for the children to explore math concepts relating to a grid (each child had 100 squares on his/her piece!) as well as exploring color choices and value (in order for the sections of the picture to be easily read, the student needs to vary his/her value and color choices), learn the art of mosaics and, even within the set parameters, there was a chance for choice and creative expression.

What a fun way to spend the afternoon! Thank you, again, to Mrs. Bevilacqua and her students for all of their hard work and energy!

NOTE: I used 5" x 7" canvas boards from www.dickblick.com to mount the finished pieces on (24 for $7 or so). I then added a border above and below the mosaics with navy grosgrain ribbon glued on with hot glue. When done, I attached a paper label with the child's name. I justified the expense because these are "keepsakes." 

If you had less time and a limited budget, you could enlarge the project to 10" square (each square of the grid is 1") and have students do this project on thin white paper paper using 1" construction paper squares and glue sticks. Skip the Mod Podge and mount the finished mosaic onto a piece of construction paper. Very inexpensive, but still great!

Gifts From the "Art" Class

Last week I finished a mini course with students in 2nd through 4th grade where they create eight art-inspired gifts for giving. The course was fun to prepare for--I had to choose projects the children would love to make that resulted in gifts they would be proud to give! I think the class was very successful. 

The projects we created were:

Stained Glass Plate: based on rose windows of Gothic cathedrals, this project is pretty much a black snowflake-like shape decoupaged onto a clear glass plate with tissue paper squares added for color. These are striking displayed on a plate rack where light can shine from behind. We used Mod Podge to attach both the "snowflakes" and the tissue paper squares to the back of clear glass plates.

Faux stained glass plate

Watercolor coasters: The children used crayons and watercolors to create four pieces of art (Christmas images and the four seasons were popular). These paintings were then cropped and inserted into a glass coaster set.

One student's set of coasters with a holiday theme.

Mexican Folk Art-Inspired Ornaments: The original post for this can be found here.

Pillow Pals: The children drew an animal, doll or critter onto white cotton using permanent marker and crayon. The image was heat set and stuffed with fiberfil. The result was a unique stuffed animal for a younger sibling.

Coloring in a turtle Pillow Pal. We used black Sharpies to outline and regular Crayola crayons to color in the images. When done, heat set using a warm, dry iron and a pressing cloth.

Framed Silhouette: I took the children's profile pictures in the first class, printed them out, cut them out with scissors and then painted the shapes. The children mounted these on white paper for contrast and then on a larger piece of colored card stock and framed the piece. Mom is sure to love those! I'll have a more detailed post about this in the future.

Mosaic candles: We used the technique from the snowglobe mosaics post to create little mosaics (7x7 squares). The children could do a holiday image such as a tree or snowflake, or the initial of the gift recipient. The resulting mosaic was decoupaged onto a ready-made glass candle using Mod Podge.

Peg game: We used the process from an earlier post for a Valentine's Day peg game, but I changed the image to a tree. Dad will love that game!

Hand woven fleece scarf: We used a technique similar to one that I saw in Family Fun magazine, but substituted different types of yarn for a more artistic look and feel. The resulting scarf is sophisticated, and a great intro to weaving. Plus it used up some of the yarn I had in my stash!

Lots of great projects! I have had wonderful feedback from the parents and students! I think this course increased the students' confidence in being able to create a quality finished art piece as well as showing them that the best gifts really do come from the heart. Have a wonderful New Year!

Mosaic Snowglobes

So, using paper to make mosaics is not new, but using a grid with my students has really helped them "get" the idea of mosaics. This week, I had my after school art class create plaques with a mosaic snow globe scene inspired by a quilt I saw. This project has enough direction so that the children could understand the concept of mosaics and create a piece that they could be proud of in a short amount of time. It also allowed for creativity: the children could choose the colors they wanted and if it was night or day, etc. The projects came out great and were very gift-worthy!

 Supplies Needed:

• Pattern on graph paper (see below)
• Tracing paper
• Tape
• Glue stick
• Small amounts of scrapbook paper cut into 1/2" squares. Use whatever colors will work for your piece. I had the following colors available for the students:
• Pale Blue (for a daytime sky)
• Royal Blue (for a nighttime sky)
• White
• Brown
• Orange
• Yellow
• Red
• Teal Green
• Lime Green
• Pine Green
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Modge Podge
• Brushes/water bucket
• Wooden plaque large enough for your design to fit on (I bought mine at the dollar store)
• Hole punches (I had 1/8" circle, 1/4" circle, 1/4" heart and 1/4" star on hand for the children to use).
• Newspapers
• Ribbon to hang the piece with (ours came with ribbon attached)

Directions:

1. Using graph paper and a pencil, design your image. Darken the grid and image with Sharpie markers to make it easier to see. For this project, I used 1/2" squares of paper so I divided the graph paper into 1/2" squares (rather than the 1/4" squares that are standard). I used a fine tip Sharpie to mark the grid and a fatter-tipped Sharpie to outline the image of the house and snow globe. I also labeled each of the cells with a letter and had a key on hand in case the children got confused ("A" is the Background behind the snow globe, etc.). This helps the children be able to place the paper squares easily.

My original design was 5" square. This is a basic design for younger children or first-time mosaic artists.

Add I modified the design for my after-school art class since the plaques I bought were oval.

2. Once your image has been designed, decide on the colors of paper you will need and cut them into 1/2" squares. I needed lots of squares so I used a combination of Xacto knife and mini paper cutter to cut my squares quickly. If you are doing just one piece, you can use scissors to cut your squares. Don't worry if they aren't perfect!

3. You are ready to go! Tape a piece of tracing paper over the image on the graph paper. Using the glue stick, glue to squares onto the tracing paper using your image as a guide. You don't need much glue, so go easy! Don't worry about the snow or stars right now, we'll put those on later.

 I keep the little paper tiles in an ice cube tray or muffin tins.

Gluing the paper mosaic pieces to the tracing paper.

4. Once you've glued all of your paper pieces onto the tracing paper, trim off the excess tracing paper from around your piece. Go right up along the edges of your paper mosaic tiles.

5. Brush a nice coat of Modge Podge onto your wooden plaque. While it is still wet, place your mosaic (glued to the tracing paper) onto the plaque. Press down gently and then brush a nice coat of Modge Podge over the entire piece. These two coats of Modge Podge will secure the piece to the plaque. While the piece is wet, you can add the details to your design: stars if it is nighttime in your snow globe, snow,  details to the door, etc. We used hole punches to make these details. Just sprinkle them on or gently place them into the wet Modge Podge for now. Let the piece dry.

6. Brush the entire piece with another generous coat of Modge Podge. This will further protect the piece as well as secure the snow and/or stars you added. Let the piece dry.

7. It's done! Attach any hardware or ribbon to the back of the plaque if you'd like to hang the piece on the wall. The piece should be displayed away from direct sunlight and if you need to clean it, use a damp cloth (getting the piece wet will ruin it). 

I hope you try this project! It is fun for the kiddos (and grownups too!) and comes out so beautifully! ENJOY!

Another version of the project. Instead of a snow globe, make a winter scene.

Snowman & Bird Mosaic for PTA Auction

I am so thrilled with this craft! This past Friday, I went into my oldest son's fourth grade class to help the students create a piece to be auctioned off by the Amherst PTA this fall in their online fundraiser. Since the auction will be ending November 22nd or so, we couldn't create anything that had a Halloween theme. I chose an image that would be great to display through the winter: a Snowman and Bird (this image came from a magazine, it was intended to be a pillow).

The image was divided into 24 sections and each child was responsible for one section, or 100 tiles! It sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't all that bad once we divided it up! The children were amazed that the image was made from over 2400 little paper tiles! This was a great way for the students to recharge after a long week of standardized testing and learn something new! The lesson has a bit of math thrown in and next week the students will be learning about maps, so working with the grids was a nice tie-in.

The tiles are scrap booking paper and the final piece was mounted on canvas and framed so it is ready-to-hang. I think that will make the piece more marketable-it certainly looks good to me!

Here are some pictures documenting the process. I will be posting a tutorial for a similar project as soon as I can. Thank you so much to Mrs. Nagy for letting me come in and do this craft with her students and thank you to all of the boys and girls who worked so hard on this piece. It truly came out fantastic! ENJOY!

This board shows the entire piece on the grid, how the sections are divided and the steps to create the piece.

Each student was given a 10x10 block section of the piece. Students then copied the diagram with 1/4" squares cut from scrap booking paper.

The finished colors were much more vibrant than the original diagram.

This picture shows the piece in progress. Each section is attached to the canvas using Modge Podge. It's fun to see the image magically come together!