Making a Mommy
Texture crafting is great for little kids and little hands because it allows them to explore lots of new sounds and textures at their own pace. It allows them to use their imaginations, and they can move parts around until they are happy with them. It is definitely an activity that can get a bit messy when you are using a glue stick, so put a sheet down to protect your table, or just use sticky tape. My kids had fun using lots of bits and pieces of stuff that we had lying around the house, and I am sure you will find plenty of little bits you can use with your little ones too.
What Was Used to Make Texture Mommy
- A piece of colored card (to use as backing)
- Some poster paint and a paintbrush
- Sticky tape
- Pom poms
- Old packaging wrapping
- Straws
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Gems
- Felt
- Yarn
- Pipe Cleaner
- Corrugated card
- Tissue paper
Step 1. Get everything out and ready to use. Ask your kids to choose what they want, they will love the sense of ownership they get. Then get the colored card ready as this will act as a base for the project. Ask your kids what they want to create. Mine decided to make a mommy with a big tummy! Once they had decided what to make, they then started to cut and rip off bigger bits they were going to use, and I cut the smaller bits out such as the eyes because they were too small and fiddly (and I was worried about fingers being chopped off)!
Step 2. Take a step back and watch your kids use their imagination. Let them experiment with the textures, and let them move things around as they want. It can be difficult but try not to interfere. We glued things down as we were going (once they were happy with the positioning), however, this did get messy, and at the end of the project, there was more glue on fingers than on the card. Sticky tape should have probably been used from the start.
Step 3. Admire what your kids have created (and start tidying up). While tidying up we talked about what their favorite part was and why. The yarn hair was a favorite for us, and bubble wrap came close in second place. For future projects we are going to collect leftover bits of fabric, ribbons, buttons etc and then have another go. I found that getting them to explore different materials really sparked their imagination and helped them explore their creativity.