Mosaic Tiles
Spend time with your children participating in arts and crafts activities you both will enjoy. Decoupage a picture frame, make a mosaic stepping stone or color a stained glass picture to hang in the window. You'll have as much fun as they will when you put together a scrapbook page filled with family photos and embellished with fun.
Decoupage Picture Frame
Let your children decoupage a picture frame with cutouts from magazines. This eco-friendly craft activity is a great way to recycle paper media and a fun project for children. They'll have as much fun selecting their images, words and phrases as they will have placing them on the frame. You can find inexpensive frames at the dollar store and decoupage mediums at your local craft store. Teach the children to apply the decoupage medium first with a paint sponge and then to place the paper. They finish by smoothing the decoupage glue over the top of the images and phrases. The glue dries clear and provides a protective coating for the paper and the frame.
Mosaic Stepping Stone
Children will love making a mosaic stepping stone to place in your yard or garden. You can buy kits at the craft store to make the stepping stone, or buy a mold and pour thinset to create your own. After the mold sets up according to the manufacturer's directions, the children can make the mosaic by pressing colorful marbles and ceramic tiles into the top of the stone. Older children can work with broken tiles, as they understand to be careful of the edges, but younger children should only work with smooth edged ceramic or porcelain tiles to be safe. Mosaic art projects can be messy, so make sure the children wash any thinset off of their skin quickly or have them wear gloves as they work.
Stained Glass Pictures
Find coloring books at your local craft store with vellum pages that simulate stained glass when the children fill them in with color. They can use colored pencils, permanent markers, crayons or paint pens to bring life to the pages. This is a great art activity for schoolchildren if the classroom has a wall of windows. The children can hang their stained glass pictures in the window and enjoy them all year long.
Scrapbook Page
Teach your children make a scrapbook page with photos and mementos from their school year, your family vacation or the holidays. They'll enjoy reliving the event as they decorate the page with stickers and colorful paper. Scrapbooking is a crafts activity they can enjoy throughout their lives; it's never too soon to help them get started.
