Book and Story Decorations

Summer is coming and that means that kids will be home from school soon. That is why some of my posts this summer will be more about craft to do with reading and writing, because it might be nice to get creative with your kids this summer 🙂

Today’s activity is about making your own wonderful decorations using only (thin) paper and varnish glue. I will post a picture of a Pride and Prejudice style decoration I made myself in under an hour.

What do you need: 

– Varnish glue (decopatch has many varieties and it can be bought in any craft store)
– Napkins, old (picture) book pages and other nice (thin) paper
– Scissors
– Small paint brush
– A wooden or paper box, decoration, letter etc.

Steps: 

1. First of all you need to make sure the surface you are using is dirt free and dry.
2. Then decide what you are going to make and what kind of patterns you would like to use.
3. Then spread a thin layer of varnish on the surface and stick your paper onto it (small pieces of paper (patch work) is easier to manage than large pieces)
4. Then put a bit of glue on the brush and moving from the inside of your paper spread the varnish over your piece of paper towards the outside. Make sure the varnish is spreads nicely. At first it might look like it will leave some white glue stains on your project, but when it dries it will be clear.
5.  Keep on doing that until your whole surface is covered.

Tips: 
If you want to make this exercise more educational you can get the pupils to write words on the paper before varnishing it. For example, the decoration I made is made out of pages from Pride and Prejudice and a silhouette I drew. I could have put key-words about a character or about the book around it. Or, you can provide them with magazines and have them cut out key words that remind them of the book they have just read.

Another really nice project is to decorate the first letter of your name to hang on your bedroom door. The letters can be bought at many craft stores. I will post a picture of an example I have found online. 

These crafts also make a really nice present. You can varnish most surfaces. You could for example also use glass jars/vases. Check out Pinterest for many amazing ideas.