Geometric Bottle Cap Prints

We've heard there are endless ways to re-purpose plastic bottle caps so we have been saving them for a while now.....time to put them to re-use!

We were inspired by We Heart Art : Luli Sanchez Dot Paintings to use some of our caps as stamps for a print featuring circles in different colors and sizes.

You will need:
acrylic paint (we tried tempera and the paint just puckers and doesn't leave a smooth print like acrylic)
art paper
plastic bottle caps in various sizes
paint brushes

For younger artists you may want to mark with pencil where the circles will go, if they decide they want a uniform, grid like print. Otherwise, children can place circles wherever they like on the page.

Have children select 4 or 5 different colors.

Apply paint to the top of the bottle cap with a paint brush then press onto the paper.

Re-paint and press again. Repeat until they are satisfied with the results.

Children may want to vary colors in the first layer of circles. We used large circles in the first layer and smaller circles in the second layer, but there is no reason kids couldn't mix sizes as well as colors between each of the layers.

Be sure to have a small and large bottle cap and paint brush for each color so you don't have to wash between colors.

It is best to press the first layer of circles and allow to dry and then move to another layer to avoid smearing colors.

Be sure to wash your brushes while waiting for the painting to dry. Acrylic paint is more difficult to remove from paint brushes than tempera paint.

Apply second layer of circles.

The best part about this project, besides the stunning prints, you can wash off the bottle caps and use them again for another project. 

Magazine Flag Collage

Remembering Patriot Day, we wanted to create some flags to display on September 11. We found our inspiration from Crafts by Amanda and her Magazine Mosaic Flag.

You will need:
White stock card
Glue sticks
Red, White and Blue images from magazines
Scissors

With our first flag, we used the recommended size of 4" x 6 ". A smaller size requires less clippings but does require a great deal of fine motor dexterity.

 With our subsequent flags we just used a letter size piece of white stock card.

To make it easier for kids to pattern the flags correctly, we drew light pencil marks. First we laid the paper as a landscape and drew a horizontal line through the middle. Then we make a box for the blue and stripes.
This is not a true reflection of a US flag so there are less than 13 stripes and no stars on the blue.

Now you have a flag to display in your window on Patriot Day. 

Printing from Fresh Fish

Last week at the Summer Reading Program, Amy with the Alpine County Wellness Program, had a great, low-cost art activity for the kids, keeping with the week's theme
"What Kind of Animals Swim?"

This activity uses real fish from the meat market! Amy purchased two tilapia from our local carnirceria at $4 for each fish. Tilapia is great for this project because of the pronounced scales. You could use any whole fish for this project. Surprisingly, not one of the dozen or so children who participated shied away from this activity.

This type of printing is called "gyotaku". It is a form of art created over 100 years ago by Japanese fisherman. They would apply ink on one side of their catch and press onto rice paper. This served as a way to keep track of which fish they caught as well as how big they were. Then they would rinse and clean the fish and eat. You can use this art activity as an opportunity to talk about the anatomy of a fish.

You will need:
a whole, fresh fish- patted dry with towels
washable paint
paint brushes- wide foam preferable
a plate, tray or pan to place the fish on
finger painting paper

A tilapia is naturally a silver color. As you can see in the photo below, the children have already painted these fish. The children took turns painting the fish and making a print. They did not wipe the paint off of the fish between turns and each print was markedly different.

Once the child is happy with their paint layout, gently and slowly have them press the paper over the fish and slowly peel back.

Since you are using non-toxic paints, you can rinse off the paint, clean the fish and fry or grill for a seafood supper.
Waste not, want not!