Contact Paper (or Sticky-back Paper) is generally used to cover books to keep them protected.
But, did you know that there are many more FUN and interesting ways to use this inexpensive and readily available material?
Here I've found 15 different ways that you can use contact paper with your child.
Craft Sticks and Straws
We used craft sticks and cut-up straws to create
patterns and pictures on our sticky easel.
Build with Blocks
Have a look at how Teach Preschool used Contact Paper
for their block building on the sticky easel.
Warhol Inspired Collage
The Domestic Goddesque uses contact paper to introduce
the artistic stylings of Andy Warhol with this amazing collage.
Contact Paper Art
Have a look at how Nurturestore
made Contact Paper Art
Contact Paper Flowers
You could whip up a beautiful bouquet of these
Contact Paper Flowers like they did at Hands On as we Grow.
Sensory Touch Collage
Have a focus on the sense of touch, like Crayon Freckles
and use contact paper for your touch collage
Sticky Tray Process Art
Make, do and friend made this cool sticky tray
for some process art fun
Cross Collage
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Train Up a Child uses fun glitter and more to make
a contact paper cross collage
Glowing Sticky Box
Growing a Jeweled Rose used contact paper to
make an ultra cool glowing sticky box!
Rainbow Colours
The children from Teach Preschool worked on their fine-motor skills
and colours with fun coloured paper strips on their sticky easel.
Tissue Paper Art
Use your contact paper for some Tissue Paper Art
like The Iowa Farmer's Wife did
Fall Leaf Suncatcher
Be inspired by Crayon Freckles to
make your own gorgeous leaf suncatcher
Baby Butterfly Collage
Even your baby can join in on some fun with contact paper
from Rainy Day Mom.
Very Hungry Caterpillar Sticky Table
We made a fun caterpillar sticky table for our Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party
after seeing Teach Preschool make these adorable little bugs.
Valentines Day Suncatchers
Make some gorgeous heart suncatchers
like Make, Do and Friend.
Note: Contact Paper (or Sticky-back paper/plastic) comes in a variety of styles and colours. The activities here tend to use clear contact paper. You can buy contact paper anywhere that sells school supplies, office supplies or art/craft supplies. Depending on the time of year, you can often find it even in the supermarket.
Happy playing,
Debs :)
Look where else we are. Are you following along? :)
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I love those bugs from recycled drink caps. So cute.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this blog post where we used contact paper combined with puzzles to add in some physical movement when completing a puzzle - http://yourtherapysource.blogspot.com/2012/02/twist-on-puzzles-idea-1.html.
Thanks, I'll check it out :D
DeleteI really love the sun catchers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for compiling the list.
Our dollar tree carries contact paper! I will be picking some up to try these in our classroom!!
ReplyDeleteFun! I love all these ideas! I'm going to have to try some of the others listed! Love the building with blogs idea! Thanks for including our art!
ReplyDeleteNice round up, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful round up! We will need to try these.
ReplyDeleteGreat list Deb...must admit the contact craft i have done with the twins now seems very boring, hehe! I am inspired to try a few new things now...thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteWe love contact paper in my 2's class. We've used it on a vertical surface with paper strips, straws and foam blocks as well as on a horizontal surface with torn paper (with torn blue tissue paper and construction paper sea creatures) and ribbon bits (inside a masking tape butterfly outline). But my favorite, by far, is when we cover the table in two long strips of contact paper and put out bowls of sugar (mixed with water to create a paste), spoons and cups of colored water with pipettes (eye droppers). The kids LOVED spooning sugar onto the contact paper, rubbing it around with their hands, changing the sugar's color by dropping colored water onto it, etc. And clean up couldn't have been easier -- we simply rolled the gloppy mess onto itself and since the contact paper was sticky, I merely threw it away like a ball. You can do the same activity with salt but I worry about it irritating boo-boos.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a lot of fun Andrea! :)
DeleteThank you! Now I know what is contact paper and what I have to ask for in Italy!!
ReplyDeleteI love both the posts! We made a birthday card using contact paper it is such fantastic stuff been using this method of creating ever since my daughter was 10 months! I am so going to try out some of these ideas and when we do will be sure to link back to your post I hope this is OK.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy, that's fine. Enjoy!
DeleteWe made some sand art with ours! http://lifewithmoorebabies.blogspot.com/2012/09/sand-art-pictures.html
ReplyDeleteSo many great ideas!
The sticky easel looks like an interesting project-- didn't know you could stick 3-D objects (like blocks) to it. I'd like to try that myself :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's silly to worry too much about these things, but even though I love these contact paper ideas I'm hesitant to buy it as I know it's teeming with phthalates and I try to keep those out of my home and especially from my kids. Do you know of any phthalate-free brands? I know the Con-Tact brand and Duck Laminate brand are both PVC (I contacted the manufacturerers.) Thanks for a great blog, it's my favorite of all the ones I follow.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your concern Alisha. It is actually not something I had considered so it's always good to have some food for thought. I've done a bit of research for you and this is what I've found. Here is a link to a whole lot of PVC free school supplies http://livingsafe.com.au/babies-and-children/395-back-to-school-the-pvc-free-way.
DeleteHere are the links to the 2 suppliers of PVC free contact paper that they found.: http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/School-Supplies/Book-Coverings-and-Labels/ES42317
http://www.raeco.com.au/documents/Bookcovering2.pdf
All the best finding them. I don't know where in the world you are (I'm in Australia) so these are ones available in Australia. If you're from another country, I would suggest googling "pvc free contact paper" and hopefully you can find some where you live.
Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to. :)
Thank you so much! I am in the USA. I have done an internet search awhile back but will try again now that I know that at least someone in the world is making PVC-free contact paper. You are so kind to look into this, thanks again.
DeleteAlisha,
DeleteI was worried about a similar thing - really just toxicity in general. Did you find a brand here in the US that you are comfortable with?
I love these ideas! My favorite is the collage we did something like that for crafts day at camp last week. The kids loved working with contact paper!
ReplyDelete