Under the sea art projects

This is a round-up of some of the projects we did in our Underwater Adventures week!

3-D Atlantis Maps

Another, with creative use of sticker salvage pieces

I find that little bits of materials like cool yarn, straws, and salt dough can really bring excitement and inspiration to a project.  My kids did really cool things with them!

What will these paper mache'd balloons become?

                         

Jellyfish hats!!!

Jellyfish hats for everyone!

In case it's not obvious, we cut the paper mache balls in half, cut eye holes, painted then, and then strung strips of fun things (crepe paper, bubble wrap, wacky yarn) around the edges as tentacles.  They were really fun to wear outside- the wind made the tentacles flutter!

Decoupage with tissue paper and watered-down glue

                         

A note about doing a lot of these projects in the summer- the moisture in clay, paper mache, and decoupage can get stuck in muggy weather and can sometimes even mold (especially if you make your own paper mache glue out of flour.)  Box fans overnight can prevent this, and make everything dry and take-home ready in a day or two!

Bubble Painting

Bubble Painting is fun and cheap and totally addictive.  Make little cups- a ramekin or little yogurt cups will do fine, though something short is better for bubbling-purposes here.

Mix about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water with a little squeeze of dish soap in each of your containers.  Add a LOT of food coloring.  Blow with a straw till you've got a nice dome of bubbles over the container.  Gently blot a piece of paper down on top of them to "catch" the bubbles.

This picture is dark but they do turn out very cool, I promise!

I recommend a smaller piece of paper (1/4 a sheet of printer paper) so you can catch your bubbles without worrying about picking up nearby bubbles.  Try layering one color on top of another!  Like the blow painting paper, this final product can be used to stationary, paper collages, etc.

These dry very quickly and will be touch-safe within a few minutes.

P.S.  My mom adds:  "for bubble painting, the adult who is not as familiar with the tendencies of participants might want to demonstrate/practice "blow" vs. "suck" and/or make a tiny pin prick in the straw, between the bend and the mouth!"