Kids Crafts: Découpage-style Cards

This is not typical découpage, of course... but, it uses paper cut-outs glued on cardstock paper in a specific simple pattern; and it is not finished with special lacquer or glue or paint, just left raw and plain.

Items used: craft paper glue stick, construction paper of various colors, kid's craft scissors, card stock paper.

Ana used to like tearing and gluing tissue papers onto card stock when she was little - about a year ago, actually, at 2½ . We don't do arts and crafts stuff every day, but, when we do hit upon an activity she likes, we end up doing more of it to give her a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Over the last couple of months, Ana has shown some interest in doing this paper craft. It seems like she finds it both relaxing and stimulating at the same time - to cut the paper with the scissors on her own, to pick the color paper bits of her choice and to glue them on as she finds fit.

So we do one card at a time, on weekend mornings usually after breakfast when she is full of energy and looking for activities to keep her occupied till lunch time. It takes her over an hour, maybe almost two, to finish a single card to her satisfaction. I know... I know... she is only 3½ and I realize that that long an attention span on one activity is not common at that age, so, I do appreciate her dedication when she is in the mood.

I sketch the general outline for her to fill with paper bits based on her requests. The Robot, Flowers, and Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Head seen in the pictures were all her requests for the cards.

I do guide her gently, and toss some ideas so she can pick up on what catches her fancy. And I closely supervise her scissors usage. It is kids' craft scissors, with blunt ends and blades just sharp enough to cut paper, so, it can't cause serious damage via deliberate or accidental misuse... but, I am a paranoid kind of mom when it comes to scissors and knives and such around kids.

Also, once she is done with a card, we let it dry, and with her permission, I simply draw the black outlines to make it stand out a bit.