Make Your Own Multi-Media Collage 

click to enlarge

• courtesy of trish van vliet
• Maggie and Aidan creating collages

When my kids were younger, they loved "free art" time, during which I gave them a variety of supplies and let them have at it. The process — finger painting, gluing, cutting and ripping — was always well worth the effort. But the product? It was often a muddy, brown mess. Here's a project that gives kids freedom to experiment but also provides structure through a monochromatic palette of materials. The best part? You'll likely find most of the items you need in your home!

Materials

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• courtesy of trish van vliet
• Materials

The Essentials

• Canvas or rectangular piece of cardboard
• Mod Podge (for a DIY version, shake together 1 cup of school glue and ⅓ cup of water in a container with a lid until fully combined)
• Acrylic or tempera paint
• School glue and/or hot glue
• Photographs

Drawing Tools

• Oil/chalk pastels
• Sidewalk chalk
• Crayons
• Fine-tip markers
• Silver and gold permanent markers
• Charcoal sticks

click to enlarge

• courtesy of trish van vliet
• "Shades of Blue" by Sophie, 11

Mark-Making Supplies (for creating different shapes and textures on your canvas)

• Paintbrushes
• Bottle caps
• Corks
• Wheels
• Forks
• Cotton balls
• A paper tube wrapped with rubber bands for rolled texture printing
• Eyedropper for dripping paint
• Bubble wrap
• Kitchen sponges
• DIY brushes made from items like sticks, leaves and grasses

Additional Supplies

• String, ribbon or twine
• Buttons
• Glitter
• Fabric
• Magazines
• Wrapping paper, tissue paper, craft paper
• Masking tape or painter's tape

Directions

click to enlarge

• courtesy of trish van vliet
• "Car Doing an Endo" by Aidan, 7

1. Organize a scavenger hunt: Look around the house for color-coordinated supplies and interesting items for mark-making.
2. Create a background: Paint the canvas or cardboard. Use mark-making tools like paintbrushes, bubble wrap, sponges, medicine droppers and the wheels of a matchbox car to apply paint to the background. This can be done over time, layering different shades of color. Once dry, seal the entire surface by painting over it with a layer of Mod Podge.
3. Build a border: Decorate the perimeter of your canvas with collected items. Encourage tearing or cutting paper or fabric into different shapes. Once the border is firmly in place, apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of it.
4. Add a photograph: Choose a special personal photograph as the focal point. Place on canvas and adhere with a thin layer of Mod Podge.
5. Affix details: Hot glue trinkets and treasures; place layers of tissue paper; affix beads and buttons. There are no limits here, just plenty of imagination.
6. Display!