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(These require adult intervention)
Sandpaper Prints (Family Circle 8-7-78)
Cut a sheet of sandpaper into fourths. Color a far-out design on one piece with waxed crayons. Fold an 81/2"x11" piece of construction paper in half and place sandpaper sqare in between, centering sandpaper. Place a towel on top of construction paper and iron firmly at "cotton" setting. Lift iron and wait five minutes. Remove paper, and you'll have two designs: one printed on the construction paper; the other a blurred, surreal design on the sandpaper itself. Hang them on the wall, with or without a frame. Experiment with coarse, medium and fine grades of sandpaper.
Potato Prints (Family Circle 8-7-78)
For each design, you need half a raw potato, three or more shades of food coloring, construction or typing paper, cookie cutter and sharp knife. Cut out star, flower or geometric shape (diamond, triangl) in center of potato half. Use knife point, VERY CAREFULLY, to dig out potato around the shape. Dip potato design in food coloring in shallow bowl and press onto paper. Repeat process with each color you want, overlapping shapes and colors to make variations in design. The potatoes can be used afterwards for cooking because food coloring is nontoxic.
Sponge Prints (Family Circle 8-7-78)
Use the same printing process as above, but use a sponge cut into six - ten squares. Dip into food coloring and print.
Thumbkins (Family Circle 8-7-78)
Fingerprint and animal. Using a stamp pad, your thumb and paper, you can make people and animals: Press your thumb onto the stamp pad, then press thumb slowly onto paper. Add touches of personality like eyes, feet, ears, and tail with felt tip markers. Then draw in a background.
Yarn Painting (Family Circle 8-7-78)
Dip a piece of yarn (or string) into paint and make squiggly shapes on construction paper by pulling yarn across paper. Use this method to make your own wrapping paper by painting on plain shelf paper. Or, make note paper: Fold small sheets of paper, then decorate the top and sides.
"French Impressionist Painting" (Family Circle 8-7-78)
One French Impressionist School of painting used dots all over a canvas which, when viewed from a distance, looked like a scene. Make yours this way: Place stencils - cutout shapes or leaves- on construction paper. Then dip an old toothbrush into poster or tempera paint and pull brush back and forth across a piece of screening. This will spatter the paint in a dot-like pattern all over the paper. Repeat process with other colors if desired. Remove stencils and hang your picture. The cutout shapes can be abstract or geometric, or actual objects like houses and trees.
Disclaimer: The ideas on these pages were obtained from a notebook that my mom gave me when I had kids. Most of the information in this book was cut from magazines in the 60's and 70's. When possible, I will credit the magazine and published date.
Most of the stuff on these pages require very little parental supervision/intervention. Some of the ideas require using an iron or oven, they are marked clearly (in red). Please supervise your children!!! Groovynet will not be held responsible for any accidents caused by your not watching/helping your kids! Please Be responsible.
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