Alert
The library will be closed Sun, March 31 for Easter.

Your digital library is always open to check out ebooks, movies, music and magazines. Learn More

Close Alert
Skip Navigation
 
Leaf printing Leaf printing

Get Creative with Simple Surface Design

Leaf printing

Nature’s stamps! Use plant leaves and acrylic paint to create unique designs.

My creativity blossoms when I'm learning something new and exploring how it makes me feel. Maybe I'll become obsessed and it will be a springboard into a whole new world or maybe an hour is plenty. Either way is a success!

The library is the best place to explore new interests. It's free! There's also a treasure trove of ideas waiting in every book, ebook and especially in the new Creativebug online resource. Artist and author Susan Schwake has some great art idea books.

During these past few strange and unpredictable months I've been trying  printmaking and surface design. I've gotten the biggest kick out of using recycled and simple materials to play and create. Best of all, my preschoolers have been able to help with a lot of these projects.

Surface Design

Paper crafts

Before and After: Melted crayons, string art, stamping with lego toys and other bits and bobs.

We melted crayon shavings from broken crayons into interesting and unusual blobs that could look like flowers. All you need are bits of crayons, card stock paper, waxed paper and an iron.

One of my favorite projects is string art. We dipped a long string into various colors of fluid acrylic paint, laid it down as swirly as can be on half of a piece of paper or card stock with the tail sticking out just a smidge. We folded the other half over and pressed down tight while we pulled the tail of the string out so it created amazing designs on the paper. Open it up and check out your double image!

We had fun finding objects around our house and in the toy chest to stamp on paper with another project. Lego toys, bits of sponge, cardboard material, lids from the recycling bin and some acrylic paint were all we used to cover pages and pages of card stock with homemade stamps.

There's a short class on Creativebug, Intuitive Mark Making, where artist Flora Bowley uses flowers and vegetables to make art. She encourages experimentation and playing.

Monoprinting

Monoprinting. Do you need a gel plate? Nope, I used freezer paper. Do you need special ink? Nope, I used acrylic craft paint. Special paper? Nope, I used printer paper, drawing paper, and card stock.

It sounds fancy and hard, right? Well, the word monoprint literally means "one print" and it's unpredictable, but not hard. We taped down freezer paper and spread acrylic paint out with a foam brush in a thin layer. Using found objects or even the end of the paintbrush we made patterns and removed bits of paint. We had to work fast to take the print when it was still wet! Then we laid down paper on top and pressed all over to pick up as much of the paint as we could. Pull it back up and see what you've got! Every single one was a surprise. There are many traditional and nontraditional methods to monoprint you can learn about. Check out Creativebug for the Playing with Surface Design class and so many other fun classes to inspire you.

Using Your Art

There are lots of things you can do with these pages and pages of decorated and unique paper. Here are some ideas:

  • If you want to frame it then frame it. And love it! Art can be made by a novice as well as a pro.
  • You can turn almost anything on paper into a cool bookmark or a card for a friend.
  • Cut them up and make a collage.
  • Trim and glue one you like onto the cover of a simple notebook and it'll be a one-of-a-kind journal.
  • Use interesting parts in art journals or on scrapbook pages.
  • Keep adding layers of prints or stamps. Or let your kids color on it.
  • Use it as wrapping paper or make homemade envelopes.

What have you been creating this spring?

I would love to hear what you've been creating. Give me something new to try!

 
Back to Top