Suggestions for an Uncycle Art Project

Updated on April 22, 2013
A.W. asks from Saint Charles, IL
5 answers

Good morning mamas! We are beginning to plan my daughter's birthday party (her birthday is in June) and we've come up with an arts and crafts theme. (My kid loves, loves, loves art). We are going to do 3 projects with the kids. One will be a fabric art project where the kids will either decorate a t shirt or a canvas bag (like a beach bag), another we're calling the Pollock paintings- I'm going to tape pieces of butcher paper up and have cups with paint brushes and spray bottles of paint and we'll have the kids "throw" the paint. The 3rd project we have planned is an upcycle art project. I am having friends and family help me by collecting things such as buttons, ribbons, yarn, old greeting cards, magazines, glitter, stickers, etc that everyone has lying around and I was going to have the kids glue things onto a canvas and then paint over it. I was looking online and I can find canvas panels for a decent price but then I was thinking- for a truly upcycled art project the canvas itself should be something repurposed. So I was thinking about using foam plates instead. What do you all think? Is that cheesy? What do you think of the project overall? To off the wall for a bunch of 8 year olds? Any other ideas for an upcycled art project?
We are having the party at a local park that has a large pavillion. I'm going to write on the invites that parents should send their children in old clothes they don't mind getting paint, etc on and we'll have some old shirts of my husband's on hand just in case. I'm going to do it in the middle of the afternoon so we won't have to worry about food, other then the cake and ice cream and juice. I figure 2 1/2 hours should be enough time- about 1/2 hour per art project and then that leaves an hour for the cake, pinata, and some play time at the playground. I'm not going to have her open presents at the party- we'll do it at home after and I'll have her write thank you cards. Every party we have been too for her classmates- while the kid opens his/her presents, the rest of the kids are squirming around , pushing each other out of the way, and generally get bored. I'd rather her take her time to open the presents after and the kids all get time to play and we're going to have water balloons and bubbles and chalk and other outside toys for them to play with in addition to the playground. Then each kid will go home with the candy from the pinata and their 3 art projects in lieu of a goody bag.
So, in addition to your thoughts on the upcycled art project- what about our party plans overall? Sound like fun?

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So What Happened?

Thanks mamas! I knew I could count on you! We went to the art fair at my daughter's school last night and I got a great idea from some of the projects there. We're gonna take brown paper grocery bags and cut them into small canvases and then glue them onto squares of cardboard for sturdiness.

More Answers

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Althought the throwing paint project would be fun for kids - It's just too much mess IMO for an at the park party.
For the upcycle project, I would cover something that might otherwise get tossed out - thinking cardboard cereal box (use the plain inside part), cardboard or plastic type egg carton.........shoe box? or other small box or pieces of carboard. OH, you could use cardboard and encourge them to make a sign of their name to hang in their room or on their door!!! :)

3 moms found this helpful

E.N.

answers from Knoxville on

Glue does not adhere to foam plates very well and stays wet forever. I would use paper plates or cardboard. Make sure you have water available to rinse the paint off of everything after the Pollock painting or you could get fined by the parks and rec. dept. (if done in the grass, it will be all over shoes and tracked every where!
If you use color diffusing paper or coffee filters with watercolor markers (like Crayola), you can squirt the paper/filter with water from a spray bottle and the ink will 'fuzz' out and blend. FYI don't spray too much, the ink takes time to move and if you spray too much trying to get it to move faster is will just end up a big grey/brown blotch. We have done butterflies with this. after paper is dry just bunch it in the middle and twist a bright pipecleaner around the middle and bend the ends into antenna

2 moms found this helpful

X.O.

answers from Chicago on

That sounds great, but 3 art projects is a lot, even for 8 year olds. I'd probably cut it down to just 2 projects. It does sound like fun, but spending 1.5 hrs doing art projects while at a park seems to be a bit unrealistic. I think the kids are going to want to run around and play much more than they'll want to sit and do art projects.

2 moms found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from Miami on

LOVE this party idea!

I would use the canvases instead of a foam plate. A parent is more likely to "recycle" a plate, but would maybe display a canvas.

We haven't been to a party yet where the birthday child opens his or her gifts because it's pretty boring for the other kids and stops the flow of the party. I have also found that my son has a blast at his birthday, but likes to lay down for a bit after and then open his gifts with a piece of leftover cake later on in the day. Besides, then he can stop and play with something right then if he wants to!

1 mom found this helpful
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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Your party sounds great.

I wouldn't use foam plates though. Not recyclable & they may look cheesey (sorry). How about taking a old frame (no glass or backing) & putting it around a bulletin board. Then you take your old no longer used costume jewelry (think rhinestone necklaces & earring) & the kids hot glue them to the bulletin board. The finished product is a framed jeweled piece of art.

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