Chelle in MO Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 First question: A friend of mine is making binoculars out of paper towel rolls for her 3 yo class at church. She is wondering about the best way to decorate them or let the kids decorate them. She was thinking about painting them herself or gluing on some kind of paper so they'd look nicer, then letting the kids put stickers on. Do you have any experience w/this kind of thing? What would be cute and fun for the kids? Second question: I have some canvas totebags that I'd like to have my kids decorate for their aunts and grandmas. My boys are ages 6-14. What kinds of non-challenging ways are there to do this? Thanks in advance for any help! Chelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 First question: A friend of mine is making binoculars out of paper towel rolls for her 3 yo class at church. She is wondering about the best way to decorate them or let the kids decorate them. She was thinking about painting them herself or gluing on some kind of paper so they'd look nicer, then letting the kids put stickers on. Do you have any experience w/this kind of thing? What would be cute and fun for the kids? My younger did this at a daycamp a couple years ago. They stuck the tubes together ahead of time, kids painted them (over a paper plate to contain the mess), and by the time she left it was dry. Then they punched holes in the end and put yarn on for a neckstrap. Second question: I have some canvas totebags that I'd like to have my kids decorate for their aunts and grandmas. My boys are ages 6-14. What kinds of non-challenging ways are there to do this? What about the many-colored Sharpies? Fabric paint can be a little more difficult for the youngers, but mostly comes in bottles with a writing tip so really isn't that bad. Or you can have them make a photo collage and/or drawing on the computer and print it onto iron-on paper (I've found it at Office Max and craft stores). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGirl Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Second question: I have some canvas totebags that I'd like to have my kids decorate for their aunts and grandmas. My boys are ages 6-14. What kinds of non-challenging ways are there to do this? I don't know how this would work with canvas but on 100% cotton it works wonders. You could do permanent marker tie-dying. It is NO fuss, NO muss. You just decorate the item in question, then either use an eye dropper or a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol on the decorations. Be sure to only use a SMALL amount at first. It spreads like crazy. You can also teach them the whys of the color seperation of the ink. My 4H kids learned a lot from this project on T-Shirts this weekend. The T-Shirts do need to be spread over a cup and rubber banded around the rim before using the alcohol. Otherwise, the colors spread like crazy to the back of the shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 The teachers for the 3yos in our church did a lot with the Fun Foam cut outs which can be glued on and are a bit more 3D than regular stickers. Regarding the tote bags, our 4-h club recently did t-shirts and since I have plenty of those I wanted a new canvas tote bag. I bought a blank one at the craft store. One of the other mothers brough some new fabric paints that were spray-ons and we cut out some silhouettes and used the spray. I love how it turned out. You could use leaves or initial letters or any basic shapes that your dc like. There are also some pretty neat fabric crayons available. You trace or draw your picture on a piece of paper and then iron that onto the fabric surface. Some of the kids used the crayons to outline their design and then filled it in with fabric paints. I was surprised at all the "new to me" things they have now for decorating fabrics. BTW, if the grandmothers are the type to wear those sun visor hats, you could do a matching visor and tote bag for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 You could do each kid's hand prints on the totebags--Grammas love that kind of stuff. Have them sign their names under in permanent marker. Or, you can have them draw a pic and iron it on with transfer paper. Or, you can use stamps to print some cool patterns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 Wow--thanks so much for all the wonderful ideas! I really appreciate you all! Chelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Fabric markers are very easy to use...draw like a regular marker and heat set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 For the binoculars at that age I would absolutely avoid paint. Some parents may not be happy if the kids get paint on them selves in their 'Sunday best'. Not all washable paints come out of all fabrics. A lot of people have plans after church and wouldn't want to go home and change before they go. Paint can also get dropped into shoes (a classmate ruined dds shoes in pre-k) or the wet item can get dropped on to them. Paint them a light/bright ahead of time, and let them decorate them with stickers, sequins, googly eyes, scraps of paper and markers. I agree that the foam stickers are cute and easier for this age group to handle. For non-sticker back items, a small puddle of glue and a little cheap paintbrush works good too apply glue to a round surface. Otherwise the glue runs Everywhere! Cut scraps of tissue paper may be cute to glue on allowing them to add a lot of color. The Dollar Tree brand stores has cheap foam stickers and paint brushes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherInWI Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I'd cut rectangles of colored construction paper than would fit around the rolls, then let the children decorate the paper with stickers, etc, then either roll the paper around the rolls and tape them on or use a glue stick to glue them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 Thanks for the additional great ideas! My friend will be so excited! Chelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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