Crafting with Kids: Bubble Wrap Corn
With Halloween out of the way, it’s full-on turkey season at our house. Autumn decorations are gracing our mantel, and I’ve already started drooling as I dream of Thanksgiving dinner. Nothing says fall to children like harvest-inspired art projects, and this cute corncob is no exception! Bubble wrap is the secret ingredient; using it to print a circular pattern onto kraft paper makes for the most perfect kernels of corn.
Depending on the age and skills of your child, you can help them through, or try handing over the more difficult steps of cutting and gluing. While older children can probably complete most of this project themselves, little ones will likely most enjoy the coloring, painting and printing parts.
What you need:
- 8-1/2” x 11” sheet of kraft cardstock
- 8-1/2” x 11” sheet of green cardstock
- Piece of bubble wrap, at least 5” x 12”
- Assorted green markers, crayons or colored pencils
- Yellow craft paint (2 or 3 different shades,)
- Foam paint brush
- Low-tack tape
- Scissors
- Glue
Instructions:
- Start by protecting your work surface with newspaper, old unwanted wrapping paper or a vinyl table cover.
- Fold each sheet of 8-1/2” x 11” paper in half lengthwise. Unfold and cut in half along the fold line.
- Stack one of the kraft paper rectangles with one of the green paper rectangles. Cutting through both sheets at once, trim away the corners to round the rectangles into long, corn-shaped ovals.
- Separate the two paper ovals and set the kraft paper one aside. Cut the green oval in half using a curved “Y” shape, creating the shuck/leaves for the corncob (discard the top half).
- Let your child(ren) color on the shuck leaves using assorted green crayons, markers or colored pencils. Set aside.
- Lightly tape your piece of bubble wrap to your protected work surface, bumpy side facing up. Let your child use the foam paint brush to paint all over the surface of the bubble wrap.
- Place the painted bubble wrap face down on top of the kraft paper oval. Let your child pat it down to transfer the paint, then carefully help remove the bubble wrap, revealing the textured corn surface.
- Glue the green shuck leaves onto the bottom of the corncob.
Shannon Miller is a coffee-loving wife and mother of two who lives and works in the heart of Huntsville, Alabama. As the director of marketing for an e-commerce startup by day and owner of lifestyle brand Hettie Joan by night, she has managed the Rocket City Mom events calendar since 2014.