Summer is here, and you're bound to be spending more time with the children at the park, the countryside or the beach. While you are out and about, gather together some natural treasures to use in art and craft activities.
'Nature art' is a great way to make the most of all those lovely pebbles, shells and twigs that children love to cart home, as well as bringing back memories of your day out.
WEAVING
All age groups can create a 'nature weaving', and it will look fabulous hanging in the kitchen or hallway.
You will need: a rectangle of sturdy card (a large cereal box is about the right size); ready mixed paint; small sponges; several pieces of string or natural coloured wool; white PVA craft glue; a collection of long, thin items such as flexible twigs, feathers, flowers with stems, leaves, grasses, sheep's wool
What to do: make pencil markings at 2cm intervals along the top and bottom edges of the card, ruling faint lines between the two to make sure that the marks line up. Use the marks as a guide for cutting notches in the card, about half a centimetre in depth. Sponge-paint the card, choosing colours that will make a good background for your items. Tape the end of the ball of string to the back of the card and wind it around the card so that it fits into the notches. When the card has been completely 'stringed', tape the other end to the back of the card and cut off. Lay the card flat on the table and show the children how to weave their nature treasures across the card, working in and out of the strings. If necessary, secure items to the strings with glue. Tape a loop of ribbon to the back of the card so that you can display your weaving as a wall hanging.
A NATURE PLAQUE
A clay plaque makes a simple but effective way of displaying your finds.
You will need: modelling clay (available from art and craft shops); PVA craft glue; a collection of small nature finds such as pebbles, stones, shells, small twigs and bits of tree bark
What to do: roll out the clay to make a plaque, at least 1cm thick. Cut the plaque into a circle, square, rectangle or diamond. Smooth the surface of the clay with a wet finger and then simply press in your nature items.
Encourage older children to plan a design and think about what shape of plaque they will use. For example, a tall thin rectangle can look very effective with lines of tiny shells, or pebbles arranged in order of size.
The surface of the clay can also be decorated with small markings. Once the clay is dry and hard, add a blob of glue to secure any loose items, and glaze the whole thing with a solution of PVA glue (about two parts water to one part glue). Use a small plate stand to display your plaque, or tape a loop of ribbon to the back using strong packaging tape so that you can hang it up.
PRESSED FLOWERS
Preserve a bit of summer by pressing your own flowers to create pictures, greeting cards and gift tags.
You will need: sheets of blotting paper; a heavy book; a selection of freshly picked flowers and leaves (delicate flowers such as daisies or poppies will work best); coloured card
What to do: lay the flowers between sheets of blotting paper before placing them inside the pages of a heavy book. Small flower heads should be dry within a week, whereas leaves may take longer; if they still feel damp and cool, they're not quite ready. Once the flowers and leaves are completely dry, arrange them on coloured card and secure with a tiny amount of PVA glue. Encourage children to think about their design. They could make animals from different shaped leaves, or arrange flowers to form a bouquet.
ANIMAL MODELS
Turning nature finds into animal sculptures is a great way to challenge children's ingenuity and imagination.
You will need: shells, pebbles, small stones, twigs, bark, pine cones, Plasticene, PVA craft glue, ready mixed paints, string
What to do: let the shapes and colours of natural objects inspire ideas for different animals. For example, a snail shell can become a mouse with a string tail and ears made from shells, pebbles or Plasticene; attach Plasticene legs to a limpet shell to make a tortoise; turn pine cones into hedgehogs; paint smooth pebbles red and black to create ladybirds. Then construct a habitat for your animals by putting sand, twigs and other spare nature finds in a tray.
Note: Check that you are not contravening any by-laws by gathering wildflowers in a park or field or pebbles and shells from the beach.
