Our coffee hour at church tomorrow is becoming an informal celebration of the recent rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. Everyone is getting into the mood, volunteering to bring rainbow cakes, cookies and other such treats. I decided the kids and I were going to take care of the decor, so we're busting out the craft paper, scissors and glue to get our craft on!
 |
| Linking together the chain while his baby brother cheers him on! |
Rainbow Paper Chains:
This was, perhaps, the kids' favorite project. It's simple, fun, and the results are so pretty! All you need is construction paper cut into strips (if you cut the sheets width-wise, you'll get the perfect length!) and some tape. This is a great project for younger kids, though I suggest an adult be the one to cut the strips for them. The order for the colors should be: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple (Our paper pack didn't have purple... so we used pink. You can add indigo between blue and purple if you really want, but it's not always easy to find a pack of construction paper with blue and indio) Then just tape each strip into circles interlocking with the one before.
You can also make sweet heart chains in a similar way. To make the heart, take 2 strips about 4" long and tape them together at one end. Then, fold them away from each other and tape the bottom ends together. This creates a heart. Now to connect your hearts together, just tape the bottom of one hear into the top of another!
 |
Rainbow Clips:
This project is best done with the power of a hot glue gun, though tacky glue will work as well, it just takes longer to dry. You will need clothespins, glue sticks, and construction paper, as well as a pair of safety scissors for each crafter. Cut little squares (or if you have a special punch, you could use that!) to be the center of the bursts on your pins. Draw an "=" sign on each of these. Next, cut thin strips of each of your rainbow colors about 4" long. Have your crafters criss-cross these strips and use the glue stick to stick the middles together on the back of the squares you cut. Gently roll each of the ends of the strips up tight then just as gently unroll them so they retain a slight curl (a toothpick or matchstick can be helpful here!) Now, grab a bright colored permanent marker and write "EQUALITY" on the handle of your clothespin (depending on how capable your little crafters are, you might want to make that an adult job) The final step is to add a dollop of hot glue on the clip side of the clothespin and press your pretty rainbow decoration on the glue firmly. These are a lot of fun to pass out and can be worn without poking holes in clothes.
 |
| Our colorful, decorated rectangles ready to be turned into a pretty banner! |
You will need string, scissors, a hole punch or tape, and construction paper. Cut out triangles, squares, circles or some of every shape from rainbow colored sheets of construction paper. Either punch 2 holes about 2-3" apart in the tops of each shape to slide the string through or be ready to add 2 strips of tape to the back of the shape to hang it. Let your crafters decorate each shape with a word like "LOVE" or "EQUALITY" or "PEACE", etc. Alternatively, you could use each shape for one letter to spell out a longer message, like "EQUALITY FOR ALL." You can use symbols (chalices look great on these banners, cough, cough) and other designs to decorate them too, of course. Now fix each shape onto your string, either using the holes punched in the shapes or 2 pieces of tape on the back of each shape. Ta-da! You've got a beautiful banner ready to display!
 |
| We made over 50 pins! |
 |
| Our banners, full of positive messages! |
 |
| Lovely rainbow paper chain! |
- Jenn Blosser -
No comments:
Post a Comment