As part of our welcoming of the New Year, we started to make a variation of our “Words & Wishes for the New Year” bunting (from The Artful Year book) and then decided to take it in a whole new direction. There are still words and wishes on this one, as well as doodles and drawings, but it turned into a super-colorful stained glass bunting for the window.
Here’s how we did it:
How to Make a Stained Glass Bunting for the New Year
MATERIALS
- White paper, not too thick (we used 80 lb white sulphite paper
)
- Sewing machine OR ribbon + glue gun
- Cookie sheet
- Old towel
- Oven mitt
- Crayons
- Liquid watercolors (or regular watercolor paint)
- Paint brush
- Vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS
1. First make the paper bunting: Cut the paper into triangles and sew together along the top with a basting stitch on the sewing machine. (OR, if you prefer, you can glue them along a 1/4 ribbon.)
2. Preheat the cookie sheet in the oven at 350F. While the cookie sheet is heating up, protect your work surface by setting laying down an old towel, folded over.
NOTE :: If you want to skip the melted crayon drawing part of this, use oil pastels instead of crayons.
3. Set the hot cookie sheet on the towel, warn the kids about the heat, and give them an oven mitt to protect their non-dominant hand. Lay the paper bunting over the cookie sheet and draw and write on the paper with the crayons. The crayons will melt as they draw. Once the crayons stop melting, put the cookie sheet back into the oven to reheat. Repeat the drawing and reheating process as necessary.
Here’s Daphne’s bunting with finished drawings and doodles.
Here’s one of my buntings with words and mostly white crayon drawings.
4. Paint the bunting with liquid watercolor paints. Let dry. Press the bunting under a heavy book to flatten if necessary (the thinner paper will curl a bit as it dries).
How to Give the Bunting a Stained Glass Effect
5. Paint the back of the bunting with a thin coat of vegetable oil.
The oil brightens the colors and makes the paper more translucent…
…so sunlight can shine through all that colorful beauty.
I just love how the stained glass bunting looks in the window!
Maia did this activity as well, by the way, but put her own spin on the melted crayon bunting. She “painted” the paper bunting triangles with the melting crayon, covering all but the thinnest strip along the top with a rainbow of solid colors. As well as one special triangle holding all the colors of the rainbow.
I love it too and hung it within a frame on the kids’ art display wall.
Have seen on several of your projects calls for liquid watercolor and of course I can’t find any locally…would liquid tempura work the same if diluted??
Jean- Is there a clever way to cut the triangles using the paper most efficiently? I am so bad at that! What are rhe dimension of yours?
Also, thinking for a class room where there is no heat source this could be an oil pastel water color resist project? And the triangles could be sewn or glued after they dry? What do you think?
This is so lovely!
Kirstin, if you can’t find liquid watercolors locally and don’t want to order them, then I would use the watercolors in tubes as an alternative. You can get them at any arts and crafts store. To use like liquid watercolors, squeeze a little in a bowl or cup, add water, and stir. Apply with a brush or dropper.
What a beautiful project! Love it!
You can do the same thing with less risk of a burn with an electric warming tray, the kind you see on a buffet. They don’t get as hot and hold a steady temperature. Your bunting is beautiful.
Thanks, Lynn!
Yes, Lisa!
For cutting the triangles efficiently: I took a 8×12 piece of paper, cut it in half lengthwise, then started at one corner cutting triangles. I would cut from one corner, up to the opposite side, probably at a 45 degree angle or so. And just kept cutting that strip (actually a few strips stacked together) into triangles until I was at the end of it. Didn’t worry about them all being the same. Sometimes I cut a template out of a file folder or something to use if I want them all the same, but that takes longer.
Oh, and yes to your other two questions as well. You can definitely use oil pastels instead of melted crayon. We’ve done that for an effective watercolor resist a fair number of times and it works well.
And the triangles could definitely be sewn or glued after they dry.
Hope the project works out for you and your class!
Thanks so much for the tip on the watercolor tubes. Will give that a try. Love your ideas and cant wait to do more with my kids–one loves art and the other doesn’t.
This is beautiful Jean! I can’t wait to try this. It looks like the perfect way to spend a relaxing afternoon.
Sure! Also, you can always just use watercolor cakes (although the process will be a little different and the color won’t be as vibrant).
Thanks! And yes, warming trays would work as well. We don’t have one and I can’t seem to find one at the thrift store. It’s on my list to try, though, should I come across one!
Thanks, Ness!
These look stunning! we shall try making them this week. Would the vegetable oil have the same brightening effect if you used the oil pastels and watercolours? Many thanks!