Over the last week I’ve been doing some really fun craft projects with the children.
And guess what? Even the Little man has been getting involved!
I wanted to do something that each child would find both interesting and fun, something we could do together as a family regardless of everyone’s differing interest. I needed the activity to apply to each child’s interest, something they really love therefore needing little if not any encouragement from mum! Basically participating because they want to.
Little man is by far the hardest of my children to engage in any type of activity, especially that of arts and crafts.This basically means that when thinking up an activity I always need to think outside the box! More than not my ideas are inspired by little mans overly intense interest (aka, special interest). This used to be just transport, however, WWE (wrestling) and Lego have now been added to the list.
The idea I had was one that meant little man could incorporate anyone of his interest (all three if desired). It was important for me to have him involved. Throughout this years summer holiday little man hasn’t shown much motivation towards anything we’ve done.
Alice-Sara would also love this free style idea as she’s naturally very creative and engages herself well when drawing or crafting.
So… Just what was my idea for a fun and engaging art project?
Plate Decorating: Yep, that’s right! Having done something similar as a child as part of a school project (using a much more complicated process mind you) Plate decorating is actually a lot fun!
I’m not taking about drawing a picture onto a paper plate… Oh no!
I wanted the children to have something of a keepsake. I wanted them to have something they could keep for a long period of time, looking back on their creative flair with pride. As mentioned I did something similar at school (well, it was at nursery actually). We were given a special type of paper to take home. We were instructed to draw our design on it and then bring it back once complete. They then sent our designs of to have some company transfer them onto these plastic plates. I was 4-years-old and remember that activity like I did it just yesterday. My Grandmother had my plate displayed on her living room wall up In-till the day she died.. I think my father has it now!
The above was the inspiration for my idea, though I wanted to do things a little differently from back in the eighties so went shopping for some plain white dinner plates which I found easily enough in a local pound shop meaning I got a total of 4 for the bargain basement price of £4.
Later that evening myself and the two eldest children sat down ready for work. Little man was reluctant to begin with but once I’d explained there were no specific designs, he could design as he liked he was more willing to try. He doesn’t like colouring because his a perfectionist and finds it hard to stay within the lines of his drawing. This is due to his poor fine motor skills and often causes him problems.
As we were drawing our designs directly onto porcelain plates we need to use some special types of pen (normal felts would just rub away). For this we used Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens, Acrylic Deco Pens and I also used on mine PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens all from the fabulous Baker Ross.
The children had fun and even sat by one another for a full 10 minutes before bickering (believe me thats a long time)!
Little man’s design was focused around his interest in wresting and this mostly consisted of a selection of different words written in different colours. As some of you may know, little man stopped writing for a good year and a half of his life, only doing so on a computer. To see him now writing and of his own free will, is most pleasing.
Little man didn’t spend a great deal of time adding his design to his plate. He did lose interest pretty quickly! As I’ve previously stated, his very hard to engage. Nonetheless, I’m dead proud of his contribution to the project and love his wrestling plate.
Alice-Sara designed a Monster High plate. This consisted of the monsters high logo with a couple of funky eyes placed on either side. She then added some funky lips and fangs before finally adding lots of different coloured speckles to finish off.
I absolutely loved it.
The pens are really easy to use as opposed to using paints and brushes. By using the pens the children have a greater control over their design. Alice and Little man mainly used the Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens on their plates. The only thing you must ensure is that they don’t press down to hard as then too much paint gets released and the design will run. Once the children had both finished their plate I sealed their designs in the oven at 160’c.
I also got in on the action and having no idea what I wanted to do, I just messed around a little. I ended up with this funky enchanted forest design that I doodled around my twitter handle.
I also used PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens that can be applied to almost any surface and even washed at 30 degrees (I’m also currently using these on a pair of jeans I’m customising for my daughter) in this case I used the PicTixx to add a little sparkle to my plates finished design.
We also decorated some glass with Deco and Porcelain pens and though we haven’t quite finished yet here’s a little taster of how it’s going.
This made a lovely evening of crafting and the project is easy to do with really effective results.
You don’t have to buy new plates to personalise, you could always up cycle old ones you already have. I’m currently doing the same with some old jam jars and a vase thats seen better days (I’ll be sure to share with all once I’ve finished).
Recap; What we used for both our plates and glass painting.
Large white plates from pound store (£1 each) (brought 4 so total £4)
Old jars and glasses we already had in the cupboards
PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens from Baker Ross (5 pack) £9.99
Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens from Baker Ross (6 pack) £10.99
Acrylic Deco Pens from Baker Ross (6 pack) £10.99
Baker Ross online store can be found on line. Just click Here
A boy with Asperger's 
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