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January 5, 2012

Tinfoil and Sharpies

Kiddos are back in school after a wonderful break.  I was sad to see them go, but i’m thankful for all the memories that were made.  I’m a few days late in posting this, but better late than never right?  I love the Tournament of Roses Parade!  The floats are AMAZING, there is so much detail on each one!  One day I would love to actually see it in person…well if I was to be completely honest, I secretly dream of decorating one of the floats someday.  I can’t even imagine all the work that goes into each one.  I love listening to the announcers describe all the organic matter that is used to create each detailed float.

My magical Rose Bowl Parade morning viewing went like this… just me and 8 kiddos, a cup of coffee (OK maybe 2) and a mini trampoline with lots of cheering and giggling.  It might not be front row seats in Pasadena, but we had lots of fun.

Once the parade ended we decided to make art work inspired by all the colorful floats.  I have been wanting to revisit creating art from tin foil and sharpies for a while and this seem like as good of time as any.  We made wonderful Easter eggs using this same technique a few years ago, but that was before I started this blog so no pictures sorry.

We started by digging through the recycle bin for a cereal box.  This was the base for the kids art work.  The kiddos did a quick sketch of their design.  They were really eager to work with the glue gun, so they did not spend too much time sketching.  I encouraged the kiddos to keep their designs simple since they will be tracing over the sketch with hot glue.  We choose hot glue for this step since we were excited to finish the project and did not want to wait for white glue and string to dry.  Plus the kids are always excited to use the glue gun:)

Once everything has cooled, cover the cardboard in a sheet of tinfoil.  Gently burnish the tinfoil with the back end of a paint brush.  We found that even when the kiddos were being super careful some areas of the tinfoil got holes.  We repeated the process one more time with another layer of tinfoil.  No more holes!  Fold the raw edges to the back of the cardboard and color with sharpies.

Color all the indented areas with colored sharpie and trace the raised glue gun lines with a black sharpie.  The end results are stunning!  This type of art work is often called faux stained glass.

I love how they turned out!  Now I have a sweet little reminder of the Rose Bowl Parade that I can look at all year as I wait for next years parade.

Posted in Kid Art and tagged Cereal Boxes, Kid Art, Sharpie, Spring.

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30 thoughts on “Tinfoil and Sharpies”

  1. Mandy on January 5, 2012 at 7:24 am said:

    That is wonderful! My son is a little too young, I think…but we can try it. Thanks so much. I found your site via pinterest (ooblek) this summer, and I have been following since. 🙂

    Reply ↓
    • Amber on May 3, 2012 at 7:46 am said:

      I found it on pinterest too!!!!! (Also with the ooblek) hahaha. I love your blog so much! You seem like such a cool mom, always doing crazy fun activities with your kids. I can’t wait till my son is old enough to try these!!

      Reply ↓
  2. Steph on January 5, 2012 at 3:48 pm said:

    What a great idea! AND with things we actually have around the house! Ill have to give this a try with my kids this weekend.

    Reply ↓
  3. Jamie on January 5, 2012 at 11:34 pm said:

    You seem like such a great mother. You should be teaching other mothers how to interact with their kids.

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on January 6, 2012 at 1:18 am said:

      Thanks for you sweet comment!

      Reply ↓
  4. Cheryl on January 21, 2012 at 6:16 pm said:

    I love these! These are going to be a hit both at home with mine, and at work with my teens! I had forgotten all about tin-foil art, so thanks for the (gorgeous) nudge!

    Reply ↓
  5. Pingback: Tin Foil and Sharpies | Emily's Healthy Living

  6. Samantha on February 4, 2012 at 7:23 pm said:

    I did this with my kids this week! I LOVE them. I am SOOOO glad I found your blog. You have such awesome and affordable crafts and art projects with the kids. And you’ve created a Sharpie Love Monster in me! 🙂

    Reply ↓
  7. Kelli on February 7, 2012 at 2:47 am said:

    What kind of Sharpies did you use? Water-based or Oil-based or other?

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on February 8, 2012 at 4:13 am said:

      We used regular permanent Sharpie markers, not the sharpie paint markers. Hope that helps.

      Reply ↓
  8. Miep on March 20, 2012 at 2:48 pm said:

    Hi! I love your site! so much inspiration!! But only one problem: i’m Dutch, and i don’t know what sharpies are. Do you have another word for it or maybe a picture of a sharpie? I would really love to try this at home!!
    byebye!
    Miep

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on March 21, 2012 at 3:23 pm said:

      Sharpie is the brand name of my favorite permanent markers. They come in a wide variety of colors. Hope that helps.

      Reply ↓
  9. Ann on March 25, 2012 at 10:57 am said:

    You have got to be one of the most creative people I have come across on Pinterest. I am not very good at pinning things and I pinned your ideas to my site. I tried to give you credit. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas. Ann

    Reply ↓
  10. Maryke on April 16, 2012 at 1:50 pm said:

    Your ideas are amazing! I’m going to be an au pair in the US in a few month’s time and your blog is providing me with awesome projects I can do with my host kiddies 🙂 Thanks so much!

    Reply ↓
  11. Ladybugsumm on April 22, 2012 at 9:19 am said:

    This is so cool and it has such a WOW!! factor! I am a current education student and I think that I will be doing this for my teaching children aret project

    Reply ↓
  12. Angela on April 28, 2012 at 3:13 am said:

    Hey what a great site I’m a childminder here in the uk the children and I love doing craft’s keep up the good work x

    Reply ↓
  13. Cassie on May 4, 2012 at 10:56 am said:

    I love your site! I have one granddaughter and we love crafts/art/projects. Thanks for your creative ideas!

    Reply ↓
  14. gaby on June 5, 2012 at 8:58 pm said:

    school we did it in schiool

    Reply ↓
  15. Pingback: Sharpies, glue guns, and tinfoil (oh my) | bunkers down.

  16. Hiedi on November 15, 2012 at 11:20 am said:

    As always, your projects are fantastic! Where did you get the frames that the finished pieces are in? Those are great too.

    Thanks for taking the time to post your ideas and projects. That is a lot of work in itself. I appreciate the awesome resource you are providing through your blog.

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on November 15, 2012 at 11:51 am said:

      Thanks for your sweet comments! I love sharing our crafts, and I’m so glad that you enjoy creating along with us. I bought the frames a while back at IKEA. I’m not sure if they still carry them. Have a wonderful day!

      Reply ↓
  17. Pingback: Stained Glass Nativity - Housing A ForestHousing a Forest

  18. charl shaffer on December 27, 2012 at 5:41 am said:

    I wish directions were more clear

    Reply ↓
  19. charl shaffer on December 27, 2012 at 5:42 am said:

    Directions weren’t too clear

    Reply ↓
  20. Pingback: The ABC's of Crafting on a Budget - Letters K-O - Housing A ForestHousing a Forest

  21. Pingback: Sharpie Love Affair (Project & Roundup) | CrapAtCrafts.com |

  22. Anca on February 24, 2013 at 7:32 am said:

    Tammy your activities are amazing…love them all and the kids enjoy them the most!!!

    Reply ↓
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  24. Pamela on December 19, 2013 at 8:52 pm said:

    What do you mean by burnishing with the back of a paintbrush? What do you do exactly?

    Reply ↓
  25. Tinalasa on June 24, 2014 at 8:58 am said:

    Wow those activities are amazing!!!!! This has truely inspired me on my own teaching practice.

    Reply ↓

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