Tuesday, September 16, 2008

making monsters


Monsters have been a popular topic with my 3 1/2 year old. The fascination seems to be based on curiosity rather than fear. With questions like " Are they real?"..."Where do they live?"... "Can we meet one?" We decided to paint some of our own and I was happy that my son wanted to join in. I'm always looking for ways to bridge their 6 year age difference...I'm extra-pleased when it happens spontaneously.


We used a blow paint technique and I had fun making them also...if you want to try it, you'll need:

Materials:


-card stock (we also tried it with construction paper, but the card stock was better for very liquid paint)
-assorted colors of tempera paint
-straws
-glue stick
-scissors
-paint mixing container (yogurt lids worked well)
-googly eyes (optional)

Make:

-On a good work surface distribute paper and paints.
-Dilute paint with a little water to give it a consistency that's easy for blowing.
-Put a spoonful of each color in different locations on each child's paper. Each one will represent one monster.
-We liked blending several colors per monster.
-Snip straws in half and begin.
-Blow each little pool of paint in many directions with straws. Try to see how far you can make it spread. Watch little monster limbs and tentacles magically appear!
-After monsters have dried add eyes on top of the tentacle-like points. We used googly eyes, but drawing them in would have worked well too. My daughter loved this part the best...note her abundance of eyes.

My son chose to cut his out and make them 3 dimensional by using little accordian strips of paper strategically attached to the back of each monster.


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21 comments:

  1. Maya, this is a great idea. Simple really and fun! I love the ones that your little ones came up with.

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  2. who would've thought a blob of paint and googly eyes could be so cute? but then, googly eyes can make anything cute. I love it!!!!

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  3. Absolutely adorable. What a great idea.

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  4. Wow!! It truly amazes me the things you come up with!! This is such a cute idea!

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  5. Cute. I love that they worked on this together.

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  6. B and I really need to give this a try...he is way into monsters too...must be a 3-year-old thing....I love this project!

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  7. I love this craft! You're so right--both boy and girl friendly, and great for so many ages and ability-levels. Of course, it may just be that I'm a sucker for wiggly eyes :)
    I really like the way you displayed them, too! Thanks for sharing Maya!

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  8. What a FANTASTIC idea!! I'm all inspired to get my girl onto this one - just worried she'll SUCK instead of blow...

    You know, I couldn't see the pics for this post yesterday, and I can't see todays post pics today. I'm not sure why this happens...?

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  9. Hi maya made - these are so lovely - great idea... that turned out so well!

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  10. This is great and we plan on trying it after school today.

    Lauren, pajama girl , has given you an award for your great blog and cool stuff for kids

    I am not sure how her link will work but please go here to fetch the award.
    http://beelieve.typepad.com/pajamagirl/2008/09/i-got-an-award.html

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  11. I like the 3d one. I may have to use that with my head start kiddos.

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  12. Wow! I hesitated for a moment before posting this...wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in our wacky little monsters... I'm so happy you all enjoyed reading about this project as much as we did doing it. Let me know if you try it.

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  13. Maya, I love the wacky monsters. If your kids liked the painting with straws method check out the Fall Trees we did on my blog.
    gail

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  14. What a cute idea! I think I just might have to try that one soon with my little one. If you don't mind, I'm going to list your blog on my blog today. Everyone likes a shout-out!

    Great blog, I'll have to stop by more often!

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  15. So cool! I've got to make this with students at school!

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  16. Oooh, we're going to try this tomorrow! I'm glad you dropped in to my blog, I'm adding you to my reading list so I can see what you come up with next :)

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  17. These are so adorable! I wonder if Jayden will be able to blow through the straw, I know Jaylene will love this project. I'm looking forward to seeing your other multi age projects!

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  18. http://crafty.littlerockmamas.com/index.php/2009/08/19/craftystraw-paint-monsters/

    here's the link to your post! thanks for the GREAT ideas everyday-

    leigh at crafty.littlerockmamas.com

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  19. I blogged about your idea here:
    http://kidkapers.blogspot.com/2010/09/blow-paint-monsters.html

    Great idea!

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  20. Thanks for all the info. on this project! I did this with my second grades and had a great time. I linked this page to my blog to give some examples of others who have done this project.
    Thanks!

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  21. I love the monsters made with straw blowing!!!! We made them yesterday and loved it. I added it to my fun list of crafts on my blog and left linky love. Thanks for the fun.

    Gianne at cowsgomooandducksgoquack.blogspot.com

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