"Stained Glass" decorations

This is one of those crafts where a picture is worth a thousand words, so here I give you a picture tutorial! It is so simple to do, a three year old will enjoy the lesson in fine motor, while an older child will enjoy learning about blending colors. Older children can do the prep work, but with preschool children, you will need to prepare the craft yourself.

You will need:
- tissue paper in many colors cut up into squares. (You do save and recycle tissue paper, right? Here is a great use for it!)
- construction paper
- scissors
- clear contact paper
- markers (if you wish to write a Bible verse or message on it)



If you do not have a stash already, cut up some tissue paper into squares. The easiest way to do this is to cut long strips of folded tissue paper, and then snip off the squares. You can store these in a flat packed ziploc, but it is easier to have them in a large bowl while working on the project.



Draw the shape you desire on a piece of construction paper. Cut out the inside. Leave plenty of border around the shape to help stabilize the picture. Now would be the time to write any sort of verse or message on the front.



Cut out a piece of contact paper the same size as your construction paper. Peel off the back and lay flat with the sticky side up. Carefully lay your cut out design with the message side down on the sticky part of the contact paper. If you are doing this in advance, you can re-stick the paper part you peeled off back on the sticky area to keep it clean.

If you turn it over, it will look like this:


Ready to decorate?



Lay your project on the table with the sticky side up. Start pressing tissue paper squares down flat onto the sticky area. Be sure to cover every little corner. Overlapping pieces is fine... even encouraged! The colors will blend together in such a pretty way.



That's it! Now you can hang it in a sunny window, and enjoy it until you are ready to make a new one. We make these for all seasons, and they make nice crafts to send in a card for a shut-in. They also make a good "Coat of Many Colors" if you are talking about the story of Joseph. Other simple shape ideas: hearts, flowers, an umbrella (make the handle from a separate piece of construction paper), a butterfly... possibilities are endless.

Happy crafting!

Linking up with the Four Moms - Quick and Easy Holiday Crafts