I'm currently on the couch in someone else's house, eating someone else's food, using someone else's WiFi. No, I'm not breaking and entering; I'm babysitting. It's a tough job keeping a 6 and an 8-year-old busy, especially when their parents don't want them watching too much TV. My friend Mara, the kids' usual sitter, got accepted into a program at the Mayo Clinic (!!!) so I'm only filling in for a few days. But I've got big shoes to fill since Camp Mara usually consists of tons of crafts and activities.
I came prepared with an awesome, inexpensive craft that I knew the kids would love! They're called window stickers and all it takes to make them is some colorful glue and some creativity. Turns out, the kids had a blast so I thought I'd share the how-to!
Here's what you'll need:
- Elmer's School Glue (one bottle for each color you want)
- Food coloring
- Elmer's Glitter Glue tubes
- Gallon size plastic bags (page protectors work too!)
- Sharpie (optional)
How-To:
First, you'll need to make the colored glue. Drop about 30-50 drops of food coloring into each glue bottle. The more you add, the darker and truer to color your glue will be. Shake vigorously! You may want to allow the color to work its way into the glue by letting it sit for a couple hours. You can also use a stir stick to mix the color in yourself if you're short on time.
And that's pretty much all the set-up that's required! Now is the time to use the glue to create shapes on your plastic bag and let your imagination run wild. 6-year-old Avery decided she wanted to make one sticker for each season/holiday which I thought was such a clever idea! I helped her by drawing the shapes for her with Sharpie. Just be careful when doing this: if the layer of glue you cover the Sharpie with is too thin, the Sharpie marks will show through on your sticker.
I recommend making sure each sticker is made with a thick layer of glue. Use it all up, there's plenty more than you'd think in the bottle! It may be helpful to create an outline with the glitter glue tubes, then fill it with the Elmer's glue. The sparkly glitter glue does not stick to the window as well as the Elmer's glue, so try to use it just for decorative purposes. Whatever you do, just make sure your entire shape is filled with some kind of glue! Anything that isn't covered in glue won't be a part of your sticker.
Check to make sure all holes are filled and voila, you're done! Now comes the tricky part: leave the bags in a dry place and wait at least 24 hours. Once that's over, the stickers should start to peel off the bag on their own. Carefully remove them the rest of the way and you have made yourself personalized window stickers!
Enjoy!
