Tissue Rainbow

You will need:

• Tissue paper in all the colors of the rainbow, cut into small squares (about 1 inch by 1 inch)

• Sturdy piece of card stock or cardboard, cut into rainbow shape
• Glue

Optional (if making a pot of gold):

• One piece black construction paper, cut into shape of a pot
• Gold stickers or gold paper cut into circles

How to:

1. Sort tissue paper by color. Ball up each piece into tiny wad.

2. Working through each layer, glue pieces on to make colors of the rainbow.
3. Glue gold stickers or paper onto black pot and glue onto end of rainbow.

Thoughts:
Elliott seemed a bit bored while we were doing this, and yet he remained at the table the whole time to keep working at it, so I'm not sure what to make of it. He claims he enjoyed it, so that's good enough for me. While working on each color, I would quiz him on animals or food that might be that color. (His answer every time? "Gummy fish." True enough, I guess.) The finished rainbow is a bright pop of organic color during our dreary winter weather.


Have I mentioned to anyone that my sister's least favorite saying is anything that "pops organically"? That one's for you, Michelle.


I really do love seeing the bright colors first thing every morning.

Elliott's Evaluation:
This was fun! I liked putting all the paper on. Mommy couldn't ball it up fast enough so I had to wait on her. I don't want to pose for a picture with it today. Maybe tomorrow.

Easter Egg Nest

An egg-cellent Springtime craft

You will need:

• Colored tissue paper
• White paper
• Balloon
• Newspaper (to protect your work area-this is a messy one!)
• String
• Jar lid
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water
• Ribbon (15-20 inches)
• Glue

Items for interior of egg:

• Birds (see Easter Chicks posting on this blog)
• Paper grass
• Plastic egg

How to:
1.   Cut the tissue paper and white paper into 1 & 1/2 to 2 inch squares.
2.   Inflate balloon to desired size. Knot it. I tied a string to the balloon and hung it from our light fixture, so that it was suspended right in front of us. You could also try to set the balloon in a small bowl to keep it still.

3.   In a bowl, stir the flour and water together to make a paste. Working with one piece at a time, dip tissue paper squares into paste and smooth it onto the balloon. Cover the entire balloon, making sure the squares overlap slightly. This will be the inner layer of your egg.

My poor friend Kim came to town for a last minute visit and got roped into helping out.

4.   Using the same method, add two layers of the white paper on top of the tissue paper layer.

5.   Add one final layer of tissue paper.

6.   When the egg is completely dry, (We let ours dry overnight.) use a pencil to draw a window opening on one side of the egg, then cut it out with scissors. Pop and discard balloon.

7.   Ball up individual tissue squares, dip into glue and place around the edge of the opening.

8.   Tie ribbon into a bow and tuck knot into hole left by balloon knot.

9.   Decorate interior of egg with grass, birds and plastic egg.

10. Display egg by placing on an upside-down jar lid.  

Thoughts:

Nothing craptastic about this craft; the final result is so adorable. My husband thinks I should make more and sell them for 15 bucks a pop at a craft show. The tissue paper layering is a messy and tedious process.

Elliott thought his messy hands were a riot!

Elliott lost interest after a while, and I was stuck doing most of it on my own. I actually found it to be very relaxing. El particularly enjoyed assembling the nest.

Our nest is still sitting on Elliott's bookshelf and he takes it down to play with it quite often. He loves to hear stories about the Mommy and Daddy bird preparing their nest for the arrival of their baby bird, who hatches at the end of the story. Elliott has recently been asking if he could do this craft again, next time making a hot-air balloon, so keep an eye out for that in the future.

Tissue Paper Mural

Wondering about my blog name? This artwork is a prime example of craptastic!

You will need:

• Cardstock or construction paper
• Tissue paper (or construction paper) in different colors, torn into pieces
• Glue
• Paintbrush

How to:

1. Water down the glue slightly.
2. With the paintbrush, "paint" the glue mixture onto paper.
3. Place tissue paper wherever!

Thoughts: I was soooo disappointed with how this art turned out:

But, seriously, what was I thinking it would look like?  Apparently I was picturing this amazing , frame-worthy, 3-dimensional sculpture. Uh, not so much. So, here's the point: Elliott loved tearing apart the paper, mixing the glue and water and especially painting the glue mixture onto the paper. Placing the tissue paper lovingly and thoughtfully in artfully arranged scenes was supposedly not on the menu. After patting, OK, slamming a few pieces on, he called it a day. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Do I have this "art" framed anywhere in the house? Uh, no.

Optional: Want to make it more craptastic? Before the glue dries, add glitter, pom poms and googly eyes.

Want to be rid of the artwork but not throw it away? Crop the art, being sure to include any parts with googly eyes and add sayings like "Eye hope you're feeling better", or "Eye am thinking of you", etc. Fold paper in half and send to that unsuspecting relative who won't have the heart to throw away any of Junior's art. Suckers.