Kid-Made Art Material: Glitter Glue Yarn

Glitter plus glue plus yarn equals what? A completely kid-made art material! Not only will your little artist totally enjoy the mess-making sparkle party that erupts from this crafty activity, but she can use what she makes to create anything from a glittering alphabet to a glowing rainbow (and much, much, much more).

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Yes, I know – any kind of kids’ art activity with glitter is a bit frightening for those of us who are neat freaks. Even those of us who only marginally care about housekeeping still kind of fear the dreaded sparkles. They end up in the floor boards, embed themselves in the carpet and will probably stay in both your hair and your child’s hair for the next few washes – at least. That said, it’s just so much darn fun to play with glitter!

I’m always trying to think of new (or at least, new to me) ways of using the sparkly stuff. Awhile back we made ‘metallic finger paint’, which was really modeling clay mixed with glitter. Clay holds the glitter surprisingly well. This time I went with a glue-based activity. Your child can create sparkle yarn to use right away or save for some art-making later on.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Glitter (obviously)

·        Yarn

·        Clear-drying school glue

·        Scissors

·        Wax paper

·        A paintbrush

Here’s What to Do:

1. Cut the yarn into whatever size your child wants.

2. Pour a thin pool of glue (approximately earthworm size) into the wax paper.

3. Drag the first piece of yarn through the glue, coating the entire piece. Your child can leave the glue off of the edge that she’s holding on to (you can snip this off later on).

4. Coat any bare spots using the paintbrush to push the glue over the yarn.

5. Sprinkle glitter over the glue. Rotate, turn and twirl the yarn to cover the whole thing. Shake off the excess.

6. Let the yarn dry on the wax paper. Turn it as it dries, making sure that it doesn’t stick.

7. Repeat with other colors.

Now your child has mounds of extra sparkles that have landed on the wax paper. Create a funnel with the paper, emptying the excess glitter into a baggie or a paper cup (creating a rainbow blend of colors).

Use the kid-made art material, glitter-glue yarn, to do just about anything. Add more glue to the back and create a rainbow, make abstract free-form art or wind the yarn around a glue-coated mason jar to make a sparkling pencil holder. Tip: Use a paintbrush to sweep away any excess glitter that gets on paper or another surface. There’s no end to the creative uses!

Are you looking for more kids’ crafts? Follow our Pinterest board for ideas!

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