Please subscribe to the Cool2Craft blog!
I’m delighted to announce that I made a guest appearance on the Today in Nashville TV show! With 2-days notice, I put my other creative projects on hold and kicked into high gear to create some Father’s Day projects that the kids will enjoy making (with adult supervision).
It’s been awhile since I created anything for the kids in mind, so I made a quick run to my local $1.25 store to gather some supplies.
In order of what I found: clay pots, poster stickers, rhinestone stickers, canvases, craft sticks. What I had in my studio: Aleene’s Tacky Glue, paints & brush and foam roller, pasta, paint pens, aluminum foil, wood cut outs, and wood box.
With a nod to Momma Aleene’s nostalgic crafting, here are the 4 projects I made.
Pasta Pots
One of my first crafting memories is gluing pasta on to a cigar box so I thought these Pasta Pots are the perfect nod to vintage crafting. If you are personalizing these for Dad, you can use stickers or the kids can write their sentiment with a paint pen. Always have the kids sign their creative work and date it too!
The first step is to paint the clay pot your color of choice. (I had to pick orange in celebration of Tennessee!) Let paint dry. Next, use your Aleene’s Tacky Glue to glue on the pasta. Place the pot face-down so the pasta pieces are held in place while the glue is drying. For the larger pasta, I spread glue on the pot rim and also dipped the edge of the pasta into glue. Let glue dry completely and paint to match the pot (or get creative and select other colors!)
For the smaller pasta, I spread glue onto the pot rim with a toothpick and placed the elbow macaroni pieces in the glue. Let glue dry completely, paint, and if desired, finish with ColorShot clear gloss spray. Set aside to let dry completely and fill with pens for Dad’s desk. PS. Is it just me or does the lighter orange look like mac & cheese :)
Kid’s crafting skills: painting, gluing
5 Things I Love About Dad
You have probably seen this cute project on Pinterest. This craft stick project was actually designed to be a “rolling card” that is tied with a ribbon but I wanted something more hangable.
You can use markers, colored pencils or paint pens on this project. Mark off the sides at about 1/2″ which defines the design space and leaves the center blank until you are ready to write. Any patterns will work for this project – just let the kids have fun with their creativity. This is a great interactive craft where you can ask the kids what they love about Dad while they are creating. Then when you are ready to personalize each stick, you can pick the favorite five for you or the kids to write. Glue the finished designs onto the canvas. If desired, you can add more decorations to the canvas. Be sure to have the kids sign the canvas front or back.
Kid’s crafting skills drawing patterns, gluing
Best Dad Box
In a definite nod to vintage Aleene’s crafting, this box is made with the technique of Look of Forged Metal with Aluminum Foil. I found a wood box at my local thrift shop and I cut the wood on my XTool laser.
The first step is to pick what you want for your raised design. I had this wood cut out for a Father’s Day kids craft I am teaching this Saturday at South Water Manor, so it was perfect for the box. You can also use foam lettering or cardboard to create a raised design. Glue the wood piece to the box.
Measure a piece of aluminum foil about 1-1/2 times the size of the box lid. Carefully start to crinkle the foil (but do not crumple it into a ball or you will never get it back open. LOL!) Press with hands to lay flat, keeping the textured design.
Apply a coat of Aleene’s Tacky Glue to the entire box (I use a throw away brush for this step because you need to shove it into every nook and cranny.) Place the foil on the lid and starting at the center, gently press the foil into the glue and into the crevices of the design. Make sure you center the foil so that you have enough to cover the lid edges. If you have enough crinkles in the foil, you should easily be able to press into the crevices.
Keep pressing until the foil is adhered to the entire top. Keep pressing with your fingers or a pencil eraser to enhance the raised design. This step is also easiest when the glue underneath is still wet as you should be able to manipulate the crinkled foil and slightly slide it if needed.
Apply glue to the sides of the lid and cut to miter or slightly wrap the corners. Cut away excess with scissors or craft knife. Note that I did not wrap the foil to the inside on the lid (or the bottom) because you need to be sure the box lid will close.
Measure foil for box bottom side. Crinkle foil and glue tin place using same technique as lid. Cut to fit and set aside to dry.
For antiquing, thin black acrylic paint 50/50 with water and then brush mixture over foil. Work a small area at a time and gently wipe back with paper towel. Repeat to antique entire box. Let dry. If you want a darker antique finish, apply 2nd coat of antiquing. On this box, I also used a teal color paint to stain over BEST DAD because I really wanted the design to pop! Let dry.
I also wanted BEST DAD to look shiny so I applied a coat of 3D Crystal Lacquer to the raised lettering. Let dry completely!
You can also use this technique on other substrates. Here’s an example of the technique on a canvas that shows the steps of putting the MY HERO wood lettering and sticky sequins underneath the foil
Kid’s crafting skills: gluing, stickers, crinkle aluminum foil, help with antiquing
NOTE: There are affiliate links in this post.
Best Dad Art Canvas
I don’t think I am supposed to play favorites but if I’m honest, this is my favorite! It was the quickest and easiest. With some poster stickers, canvas and paint from the $1.25 store, you can create customized art!
This canvas is as easy as 1-2-3! Place your poster stickers on the canvas. Be sure to gently press the edges of the stickers as they will want to turn up until you press them down. Pick three complementary colors of acrylic paint and drizzle them on the canvas in a pleasing pattern.
Starting in one corner, use the dry foam roller to roll the paint onto the canvas. Use a light touch because you don’t want to press too much paint under the letter stickers. Continue rolling until the colors are smoothly blended.
Grab an old toothbrush or a stiff craft painting brush, dip into the white acrylic paint and spatter on the canvas. While the paint is still wet, gently remove the stickers one by one. (I used a toothpick to gently pick up the corners.) Save the painted stickers because they may be perfect for another project!
I found that the paint seeped gently under the stickers so I used a damp cotton swab to run along the edge of the lettering and voila! it created the prettiest watercolor-ish look! And that’s it!
Kid’s crafting skills: stickers, rolling paint, spatter paint
I would love your comments and feedback and please let me know if you have any questions on any of these projects!
Leave a Reply