The neat thing about this beautiful “glass” sculpture is that it is flexible and can be re-shaped again and again! Emily was so proud of her sculpture, and they are simple and frugal to make using materials you probably already have on-hand.
I cut a long piece of thin-gauge wire, and bent it into a hoop shape, then laid it on top of a sheet of clear contact paper with the sticky side facing up.
Emily spent a long time sprinkling bits of bright tissue paper scraps on top — so colorful!
She didn’t need any encouragement from me to cover the entire circle!
When she was done with that, I trimmed about a 2 inch border around the wire, and made slits every 3 inches or so to wrap the contact paper around the wire as shown.
Arrange your sculpture any way you like!! Like most sculpture projects, this is a fun hands-on way for kids to learn about form and balance.
They look even prettier with a flashlight shining through!
Try re-shaping your sculpture to make different works of art over and over!
Added bonus — very little clean-up!
Have fun!!
I linked this post to:
Frugal Fridays @ Life As Mom
Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello
Made by You Mondays @ Skip to My Lou
Get Your Craft On @ Today’s Creative Blog
August 12th, 2010 on 3:53 pm
I’ve used tissue paper and clear contact paper to make suncatchers, but never seen using the wire and creating a sculpture. What a cool idea!
August 12th, 2010 on 5:13 pm
Thanks, Scott! I think I’m going to make my own sculptures too. I can’t let Emily have all the fun!
August 20th, 2010 on 12:17 pm
This is one of the most delightful and amazing art ideas I’ve run across in ages. Thank you!!!
August 12th, 2010 on 3:57 pm
Very cool!
August 12th, 2010 on 5:15 pm
August 12th, 2010 on 4:26 pm
Great idea but can I ask did you put more contact on the back or is that side still sticky?
August 12th, 2010 on 5:14 pm
Since Emily covered almost the entire thing with tissue paper, I didn’t need to use contact paper on the other side. If it’s still too sticky, you can always use more on the back. Hope this helps! They are super-fun to make!
August 12th, 2010 on 4:46 pm
This is such an original idea – I love it, and I think we will try it for one of our weekend craft times.
August 12th, 2010 on 5:15 pm
Yay!!
August 12th, 2010 on 5:50 pm
Great idea!!! Thanks for sharing! Did you put a piece of contact paper over the top so that there wasn’t any “sticky” left? http://www.icanteachmychild.com
August 12th, 2010 on 5:51 pm
Oops…I didn’t read the other comments. YOu already answered my question.
August 12th, 2010 on 5:53 pm
No problem! The important thing is to wrap the contact paper around the wire, not just sandwich it in-between, or the wire will poke out when you try to re-shape it. Depending on how much tissue paper is used, you can get away without having to add a backing. Hope this helps! They are a lot of fun!!
August 12th, 2010 on 7:03 pm
I was going to ask the same thing as Deanne, but I see that you already answered the question. Very cool idea! Love it!
Tricia
P.S. Thanks for your kind comment on my last post.
August 13th, 2010 on 11:38 pm
You’re very welcome, Tricia. I hope you are feeling a bit better. I’ve been thinking of you and keeping your friends in my prayers.
August 12th, 2010 on 7:34 pm
what a lovely idea, thanks for sharing..
Christina
August 12th, 2010 on 8:07 pm
That. Is. Cool! I love it:)
August 12th, 2010 on 8:20 pm
LOVE the color, LOVE the freedom for the kids to go wild, LOVE the price to make it. Thanks. We can’t wait to do this one.
August 13th, 2010 on 11:39 pm
Yay!! That makes me very happy!! Would love to see how they turn out — it was a big hit at our house. After Emily made this one, she made another one just for Clara to play around with. So cute!
August 12th, 2010 on 10:10 pm
I’ll be linking!
August 13th, 2010 on 11:40 pm
Awesome! Thank you for all the wonderful linky love, Lenetta! I really appreciate it! xoxo
August 12th, 2010 on 11:51 pm
Salaam ya’ll. I love your ideas using contact paper. My daughter (2) loves to work with glue sticks but it’s kinda nerve wracking. This is a much better idea. I need to run out and get some tomorrow. We have heaps of tissue scraps from the Ramadhan flowers we made earlier in the week.
Thanks for the great tips!
August 13th, 2010 on 11:41 pm
Clear contact paper really comes in handy for arts & crafts. It’s perfect for no-mess projects! Have fun!!
August 13th, 2010 on 12:32 am
gorgeous! I can imagine that cellophane would look stunning as well. Thank you for sharing – I will be definitely saving this one for inspiration
August 13th, 2010 on 9:10 am
I first tried this using cellophane, but it didn’t work nearly as well. I think the clear contact paper holds up to the shaping/re-shaping much better. Have fun with it, and thanks so much for stopping by!! xoxo
August 13th, 2010 on 1:05 am
Very fun!
August 13th, 2010 on 8:16 am
Oh, how clever and wonderful! I love it!
August 13th, 2010 on 9:32 am
Oh this would be too much fun for words. Now where is my contact paper?
August 13th, 2010 on 11:06 am
oo this turned out super cute! I have the hardest time finding contact paper!! Any tips?
August 13th, 2010 on 11:42 pm
Hi Lindsay! I can almost always find it at both Target and K-Mart. It’s usually with the shelf liner. One roll will last quite awhile!
August 13th, 2010 on 1:55 pm
This is a really neat idea that I will have to try with the kids! I have to say, thanks, you have been a huge inspiration, and I have shared your blog with many! We use some of your ideas in the local mom’s group that I run.
August 13th, 2010 on 11:44 pm
That is FANTASTIC!! I’m a former Activities Coordinator for my local mom’s club, so I know how difficult it can be to find things for the kiddos to do that don’t cost a lot of money. I’m so glad you found our little bloggy-blog!
August 14th, 2010 on 2:09 am
so creative I love it. I’ll have to remember this my boys would luv this. Super cute
August 14th, 2010 on 1:19 pm
Cool idea!
August 14th, 2010 on 4:44 pm
This is lovely, I really like sculptability of it, too =)
August 15th, 2010 on 7:24 pm
Love this! We have been trying to keep busy inside to escape the heat, this will be a fun craft today and the best thing is I already have everything! Found your blog this morning, love all your ideas. Thank you!
August 17th, 2010 on 11:37 pm
Fantastic!! And welcome to FFFB!
Have fun!
August 16th, 2010 on 7:28 am
That is so pretty. We have done a lot with contact paper and tissue paper, but this is just amazing!
August 17th, 2010 on 11:38 pm
Thanks Christy! The wire really adds a whole other dimension to this project — it’s a lot of fun! I want to make one too!!
August 16th, 2010 on 7:33 pm
That came out great!
August 16th, 2010 on 10:24 pm
OoooOOo, Totally stunning! Thanks Valerie!
August 17th, 2010 on 11:02 pm
That is just gorgeous! How fun, simple and stunning! I found you through oneprettything and can’t wait to try this!
-Kara
http://littlelearnerslounge.blogspot.com/
August 17th, 2010 on 11:38 pm
Yay!!! Welcome to FFFB — I’m so glad you found our little blog! We are big fans of One Pretty Thing too!!
August 20th, 2010 on 1:05 pm
Thanks for the idea! I used it with my children and blogged about it, with a link to you, here:
http://created2bcreative.blogspot.com/2010/08/one-crafty-crew.html
August 20th, 2010 on 10:27 pm
beautiful , i will be doing it with my 2 and 4 years old tomorrow . thank you for sharing
August 21st, 2010 on 8:12 am
Genius!!! Love it as always Valerie. : )
August 21st, 2010 on 9:12 pm
i love this! will be on the lookout for wire and tissue paper around these parts so we can do this!
August 24th, 2010 on 1:02 pm
I love this! It’s absolutely beautiful!
August 26th, 2010 on 3:59 pm
You’re so creative. … I’m sure you already know that, but I had to convey my amazement
) Great idea! Thanks. .. and thanks for making it easy!
February 21st, 2011 on 10:50 pm
This is a great idea! LOVE contact paper!!
Jamie
http://handsonhouse.blogspot.com
June 29th, 2011 on 10:02 pm
I love the idea! I have a question though…do you attach the two ends of the wire–wrap it around each other or leave the circle open ended?
June 29th, 2011 on 10:16 pm
I wrapped the ends around each other.. Hope this helps!