Earth Day Glue Batik

Continuing with our "Big Blue Marble" theme here is a glue batik pillowcase we made in honor of Earth day.

Very easy for the kids to do and you get fantastic results.

I have a beginner glue batik post here.  For this project I took a piece of gator board (it's like a plastic version of corrugated cardboard) and I covered it with some wax paper.  You could use an art board or a piece of cardboard just don't forget the wax paper. 

You want it as close to the same size as the pillowcase as you can get.  My gator board is smaller so I'm making my design smaller to account for this.

Slip the pillowcase over top the board.  This keeps our design from bleeding thru to the other side.

It helps if you have a reference photo.  You also need washable gel glue.  I use the dollar store brand or Elmer's school glue.

To get a nice round earth I'm taking a large bowl and tracing my design in with pencil.

Don't worry too much about the pencil lines...as long as they are light the tend to get washed out later.

Here my helper Tika the cockatiel gets into the act.

Once you have traced out your design in pencil you can start going over your lines with the gel glue.  Draw it out just like you did with the pencil.  Any areas you want to stay white fill in with the gel glue.

Let dry....it will take about 24 hrs. Make sure to leave the board in the pillowcase.

Before painting just lift the pillowcase up a bit in case it is stuck to the board but keep the board in place for painting.

Using acrylic paint, paint in your design.   To stop the colors from mixing you can let one area dry a bit before painting next to it with a different color.

Here I painted the land parts first and by the time I went to paint the ocean the edges of the land area was dry.

Fill in your background areas.  You can water your paint down a bit to make this go faster.   I kept my border white as my board is smaller than my pillowcase and I like the way it looks.

Let the paint dry with the board in place.

When the paint is dry remove the board and soak the pillowcase in very warm/hot water for about 30 minutes.  If the glue has not washed away by then you can scrub it a bit.  Dry and you are good to go.


That's it.  I LOVE using the gel glue batik method and there are numerous applications.  You can even design your own fabric to then create with.

Give it a try.

Before I forget here is an updated "big Blue Marble" project I did with Grade 1.  We traced out our circles and then painted but I had them paint the entire Earth marble blue. 

Then using templates I made we traced out the land on green or brown contsruction paper.  We glued this on our blue marble and sponged on some clouds with white paint.  I found this was easier for them.

Click on the photo to see bigger.

Children's Day - Koinobori Windsocks

May 5th is Kodomo no Hi or Children's Day in Japan.


These Koinobori or flying carp windsocks are a great way to celebrate. I have 2 tutorials to share... the fabric version with the glue batik and a bit of sewing and a easier version using paper and pastel resist.

So let's get started

Fabric Version

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

some lightweight fabric, cotton works well

Elmer's gel glue

acrylic craft paint

paintbrush

sewing machine

12-14" length of wire

pole...we used a natural bamboo garden stake

fishing line

fishing swivel (optional)

I had the kids draw out their design first on paper. Because we are making a fish with 2 sides but folding it in half it's good to get them to practice how it is laid out.


Cut a piece of fabric approximately 24 inches long and 16 inches wide. Lay flat on top of some wax paper. We also have ours on top of an art board so I can move it easily.

Using Elmer's blue gel glue recreate your fish design on the fabric.


This glue works the best when doing this glue batik technique. It is the no run gel formula. I find the glitter version hard for the kids to squeeze and the clear version will run messing up your design.

We did half of ours using the glitter glue so you could see our design in the picture.


Put aside and let dry overnight.






Using watered down acrylic craft paint..put some color on to your fish.



Set aside to dry.

When dry soak in some hot water in a sink or bathtub...after about 20 minutes the glue will have softened and dissolved. You may have to lightly scrub or agitate it to remove the glue.

Let dry.



Fold over about 2 inches at the mouth of the fish and sew the width of the fish creating a pocket for our wire.

Insert the wire at this time.

Bring the ends together forming a circle for our gaping fish mouth. Twist the ends on top of each other... you may have to use some pliers.




Your fish mouth should look like this.



With right sides facing sew a seam the length of the body..sew up the tail leaving a small gap it the center of the tail to allow some air to flow thru your wind sock.







Here is the gap. Cut away excess fabric from the seams. Turn the fish right side out.




Your windsock should look like this.



Attach a 16 inch piece of fishing line to each side of the mouth. I find the fishing line is stiff enough that you can just poke a hole thru the fabric with it.

Try to get the places where you are attaching the line to be even to one another.

Attach to pole. You can use a fishing swivel to prevent the windsock from getting tangled in the wind.

Paper version

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

heavy brown kraft paper..I used a paper bag

scissors

pastels

tempera paint

paintbrush

glue

string

pole

Take your paper or paper bag and cut a piece 16 inches wide by 20 inches long.

Fold in half.

Trace out a fish shape. Cut out shape keeping as much of the fold on the top of the fish as you can.



Open up flat and start coloring in your fish using pastels.




When finished carefully crumple up.

Open up flat and smooth out a bit. Taking some tempera paint, paint over top the pastel. It will resist the paint and cause it to bead up making it look like your fish is underwater.

Cover your fish completely.

Let dry.






Take 2 pipe cleaners and loosely twist together.

Run a bead along the inside of the mouth edge of the fish.

Roll the edge up enclosing the pipe cleaner.

You can use some clothespins to hold it into place until it dries.

Run a bead of glue along the outer edge of the fish. Leave a gap in the tail to let the air flow thru the windsock. Fold the fish over.

You can hold it into place with some clothespins until it dries.

Bend the wire into a circle to form a gaping mouth.

Poke a hole into both sides of the mouth to attach the string.

Attach to pole.

Here is our paper version.

Give it a try and have your own Children's Day parade.

see you next time

gail

Pysanky - Ukrainian Easter Eggs

I have made Pysanky since I was about 5 years old. I continue the tradition with my own kids and this year the Grade 3's will be making their own as well. UPDATE: You can see the eggs they made at the end of my latest post here.



Here is a step by step tutorial on the simple design they will be attempting.



Pysanky supplies are readily available both at Michaels and on the web. Why not start your own Easter tradition by making Pysanky. My kids love to make a special egg for their teacher as well as close relatives and friends. It's really not that hard and the results are spectacular.

Pysanky is a form of Batik done on eggs. The symbolism is often religious. Themes tend to center around wishes for the coming seasons, (spring, summer) wish for a good harvest, prosperity, hope, charity, fertility, etc.

These eggs will not be edible. You can keep them for years and years. I have some my great grandma made.

Materials Required:

eggs, you want nice large eggs that are well proportioned with no marks, bring them to room temperature and if needed you can wash with a little warm water and vinegar
pencil
Kistka, these are the pens we will make our design with
beeswax, you can get little cakes from Michaels or you may find a natural beeswax candle with no dyes or scent
candle
color dye, also available at Micheals or on the web...you need YELLOW, RED, BLACK, GREEN
jars
plastic spoons
paper towels
cloth rag
oil based shellac
wax paper





Make up your dyes as per the packet instructions. I make mine up in pint sized canning jars. I put the lids on whenever they are not in use as the dyes tend to evaporate quickly.


I keep all the jars together in a plastic rectangular container so I can move them around quite easily.


Take your egg. We are using raw eggs..don't blow them or boil them. The inside of the egg will eventually dry up. Blowing makes them too fragile and boiling leaves water under the shell that will destroy your design over time, not to mention you will lose a lot of eggs to cracking during the boiling.

We are going to divide the egg off for the design. We will use pencil for a guideline. The pencil marks will wipe off at the end...use fine lines and don't use a eraser if you make a mistake, it will leave a residue that will resist the dye...just leave it.

I work on top of a thick foam sheet (you know that foam that they have for kid's crafts...they have 1/4 inch thick sheets). I then place a paper towel on top. The foam helps protect the egg a bit.



Starting at the top of your egg draw a line all around it lengthwise dividing it in half.

Start at the top again and make a second line lengthwise to divide it into quarters.

Now run a line in the middle of the egg all the way around. Your egg should now be divided into 8 sections...4 on each half.



Now divide it on the diagonal....make sure to continue on the other side.






Place a small dot in each section about equal distance from the center. Do this on both sides of the egg.




Connect the dots like this forming a star pattern. Make sure to repeat this on the other side.




Light your candle. Heat up your Kristka in the flame...be careful not to set it on fire...adult supervision is obviously required for this project.



Heat for about 30 seconds.


Place pointy end into the beeswax....the wax will melt and fill up the reservoir.


Some books will tell you to place a small ball of wax in the funnel end but this is the way we have always done it and I find the kids can burn themselves placing the wax into the funnel as it stays pretty hot between passes into the flame.


We use beeswax because it turns dark from the carbon in the candle flame. It also has a high melting point so the wax won't melt from the heat of your hand smearing the design.


Apply to your egg. Hold your Kristka like a pencil..I like to have end sticking into my palm...I hold it steadier that way. Try to only make one pass, don't go over it again and again or it will look scratchy. You can test it out on the paper towel covering your work space.

When drawing on the design work in small sections and draw the line away from you...due to the curved nature of the egg you will draw a straighter line this way than drawing it towards you.



Draw over all your pencil lines with the wax....your egg should look like this.


Everywhere we have put the wax will now stay white for the finished product.


Place your egg into the yellow dye...make sure it has cooled down. (you use boiling water to mix the dye).


Use your plastic spoon to carefully lower into the jar. I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally cracked my egg by putting it into the dye too quickly.


When your dyes are new your egg will catch the color quite quickly...check it after 15 minutes.


If you are happy with the color remove from the dye with the spoon and place on some folded paper towel. Blot the egg dry carefully.

Add a teardrop shape in each section of the star. This will now stay yellow until the very end.



Also add some feather lines on either side of your diagonal lines like this.

Repeat on the other side. The feathering of your diagonal lines should meet up like this.

We are using very little green dye for this egg design so, instead of immersing it I am taking a Q-tip and dotting on where I want the green. Place dots above the star tips.

If we were to immerse the egg in the green dye we would have to follow up with an orange dye "wash". Green is one of those funny colors that adversely effects subsequent dyes. By putting your egg in an orange wash you neutralize this.

Cover up your dots with wax...they will now stay green till the end.

Place the egg into the red dye.


When the color looks good remove and blot on a folded paper towel.

Fill in the star with wax...make sure to try and get a good coating...even on my finished egg you will see little spaces where I didn't cover with enough wax...It's all part of this art medium...the little imperfections are what make the egg real.

Cover the star completely on both sides.

Place your egg into the black dye now.


Wait until the color is acceptable and then remove and blot dry with a folded paper towel.

Keep your paper towels...let them dry out and then reuse...just stick to the same colors each time.

You are now at the reveal stage. Hold your egg into the candle to melt the wax...only do a small section at a time...don't hold it too long in the flame as you can singe it and burn the shell.

Wipe the wax off with your cloth rag. Continue working on small sections until all the wax is removed.

If you get some soot marks from the candle don't worry they will wipe off with the cloth.

You can now shellac your egg to get a real shiny finish. Use an oil based shellac. The dyes are water based and if you use a water based shellac they will smear.....trust me, not something you want to do to an egg you have spent some quality time on. Place on wax paper. When one side has dried turn over to the other side. When the egg is no longer tacky you can store it or put it on display.

Remember these eggs are not edible.

Ta da!

Here is an egg one of my kids made. It was their own design.

I don't have many of theirs to show you as they tend to give them all away.

I hope you give Pysanky a try....it is a marvelous art form.

see you soon

gail