For todays Kid’s crafts project we’re doing decoupage. Crafting for me has always been a therapeutic way to be thrifty and creative. Now I have the kids I find it’s also a great way to engage with them.

Feeling a little guilty that I was too ill to take them to a friends messy play birthday party, I decided to do some manageable decoupage with Theon. It’s a great way to dress up old yogurt pots, jam jars or even empty PODs containers. Repurposing and saving them from becoming pointless land fill.

What you’ll need

I always try to keep our projects simple. It’s no fun if I’m running around trying to prevent a potential war zone. Or if the kids are too nervous to touch anything. Theon is only 2.5 years old and this task was simple enough for him to quite literally get stuck into. To decorate our tubs all we used were:

•Glue

•Scrap paper

•Empty container

•paint brushes or sponges

•Glitter (optional)

Tip

Try not to be too much of a perfectionist. Find the beauty in whatever everyone makes. Some of the best collaborative artwork I’ve made has been with the kids. Letting them have free reign to be as imaginative as their brains can muster and then just tidy up the edges once they’re done! Even if you’re looking to do this as you actually need some nice looking space savers, have a go at working together. If not play follow the leader; you make yours and let them use you as a guide to mimic. You might be surprised at what you each end up with!

What we did

We used a basic PVA glue to coat the entire tub and then just covered it randomly with the scraps of paper. We then painted it over once more, smoothing as we went along and for added affect finished the last layer of glue with glitter.

Once we’d got the hang of it we also had a go at covering an old chocolate gift box, trying to replicate the colours of the rainbow with what paper we had to hand. Another great idea is to use old newspapers or photocopies of your favourite snaps.

You can pretty much cover any kind of material using decoupage. Once dry it will create a nice hard outer shell which is also somewhat water resistant. Perfect for accessorising your kitchen or arts and crafts station! And making them wipeable and easy to keep clean.

So, what you waiting for? Give it a go and don’t forget to send us some pics.

Happy sticking,

Berrit x