Make cutout crafts and other construction paper projects.
Construction paper is a colorful, and inexpensive, arts and crafts material with many different uses. Crafters and artists of all ages can use this easily accessible product to make a variety of imaginative projects, from simple collages to more complex works with added materials. Whether you are looking to make your own art project, or seeking an activity for your young artist, construction paper is a option with nearly endless possibilities.
Paper Cutouts
One of the best known paper cut-out artists, Henri Matisse, used this medium to construct colorful, organic feeling shapes. Re-create the work of this famous figure in the art world by using construction paper as a means to design unique shapes that can be glued to other pieces of paper, hung on a wall or left alone as independent art works. Draw a shape or simple figure onto the construction paper with a pencil. Try an organic or free-flowing, nature-based shape, like Matisse did. Poke the end of a pair of scissors through the paper on the pencil line and cut around the shape. This activity can also help the artist to explore positive and negative space, with the cutout being the positive form and the space left in the construction paper as the negative.
Collage
The word collage comes from the French coller, or "to paste." Construction paper collage is a simple project in which the artist can cut or tear the paper and glue or paste it to a background or base. This easy-to-make craft is a favorite of preschool and early childhood educators looking for a way to introduce basic art concepts such as color and shape, as well as to increase the fine motor skills needed to cut, tear and glue. Older children and adults can create more complex construction paper collages that depict scenes, include portraits or explore shape in innovative ways.
Faded Prints
Most brands of construction paper easily fade when placed in direct sun. Take advantage of this property and create a sun-faded print. Place a dark or bold color of paper on a flat, sunny surface. This can be inside on a windowsill, or outside. Make a thick cardboard cutout of a shape or use an object such as a rock, shell or household item to cover an area of the paper. Leave the partially covered paper in the sun for at least one day. Do not move the object. After the sun goes down, remove the object to reveal the print.
Paper Weaving
Kids can learn the basics of weaving by using cut strips of construction paper and glue. Use scissors to cut shorter 2 inch wide by 8 inch long and longer 2-inch-by-10-inch strips. Turn a plain piece of 8-by-10 construction paper on its side horizontally. Start at the top left corner and glue the edge of one of the longer strips to the base paper horizontally. Glue a shorter strip on top of the first going vertically. Space another vertical strip approximately 1 to 2 inches from the first. Do the same for the second horizontal piece. Repeat with subsequent strips, weaving the paper over and under for a basket look. Use small dots of glue to hold the weave into place.
