Valentine's Cardboard Collagraph Prints

Boy oh boy do we have another Valentine's treat for you. Lisa from The Art Garden is sharing a great hands on way to get printing with recycled materials. She's a former art teacher who loves sharing fun ways to inspire children's creativity, especially ideas that include nature. Please take the time to visit her vibrant Instagram and Facebook accounts, as well as her blog which is bursting with inspiration!

Hi! I’m Lisa from theartgardenblog.com! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and Creative QT has asked us to share a fun “Love”  project with you all. Printmaking is a favorite art method of ours, so I’m going to share a simple and inexpensive printing project using recycled materials for you and your kiddos to do. If your kids are like mine, and love to use stamps, then they will enjoy making these easy prints.

The advantage of printmaking is that you can print one image as many times as you want, like a stamp, and can change the colors to create a different look. The method I will be showing you is a printmaking technique called, Collagraphy, which are materials or textures glued to a printing surface or plate.

Just a handful of materials are needed:

• Cardboard (thicker is best, NOT cereal boxes)
• Cardboard scraps or pieces cut into shapes
• Old book pages (we used on old encyclopedia.  You can find these at second hand stores and yard sales or you could even use those unused phone books or newspaper!)
• Watercolors or watered down food coloring
• Paint (we used Colorations Tempera but acrylic would work great too)
• Glue (we used Elmer’s)
• Brayer
• A tray or paper plate

Instructions:

1. Tear some pages out of your old books and give them a quick paint with some watercolor. Let them dry.

2. Gather your cardboard and select a sturdy one to use as your base. Choose some “love” themed images to create (hearts, flowers, arrows, etc...) and, if desired, draw it out first on your base.

Use a little glue with your small cardboard scraps to fill up your shape, sort of like a mosaic, or use larger pieces for a simple shape print. Wait until the glue is completely dry before moving onto the next step.

3. Squirt a little of the tempera paint onto your tray or plate and get a nice even layer on your brayer. If needed, adding a little white paint helps make your color more opaque and show up better on your painted paper. Roll your brayer onto your collagraph, making sure to go in different directions to get all of your pieces coated.

4. Gather your painted book pages and get ready to print. The printing step can be done in two ways:

1. Lay your paper directly on top of the cardboard collagraph and rub gently, making sure to press all areas of the cardboard underneath.
2. The other way to print is to flip your collagraph over and place it on your paper like a stamp. Rub over it gently. I like this way if I am trying to center an image.

It’s fun to use the same collagraph with different colors to create a series, or print the same one several times on your paper.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Printing, I hope you love doing this project with your kids too!

Wow- we think these prints are absolutely stunning! How darling would they look displayed in your child's bedroom?! Thanks so much Lisa for inspiring us with such a great project. Be sure to check out Lisa's other ideas by following her on Instagram @theartgardenblog!

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Creative QT designs quality + innovative toys that declutter homes and inspire creative play. Founded by parents of five, Adam and Dana Sue Hinkle, Creative QT’s vision is to empower parents and encourage a culture of families that Make Time Together. All products are designed to enrich families’ lives through active, creative play and play based learning. Creative QT products are laboratory tested for compliance with CPSC requirements and are free of lead, cadmium and phthalates so you can play with confidence. So, go ahead … today is the day: be your kid’s hero.

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