Choose your color, choose your project and get started making tissue paper crafts.
Naturally there are many choices of materials to work with when doing art projects in the classroom or at home with the kids. Tissue paper is inexpensive, readily available and there is a wide variety of projects tissue paper can be used to create, especially because you can find it in so many colors and patterns. Tailor the projects to match the ability level of your children or students so everyone can make something they are proud of.
Paper Plate Fish
A simple tissue project for children to do without much guidance is a paper plate fish. Cut a slice out of the plate -- like a slice of a pizza -- and glue this onto the opposite end for the fish's tail. The hole it leaves will be the mouth. Have students glue tissue paper in different colors all over the fish. Older children can use specific patterns to make clown fish or Oscar fish, while younger children can glue them however they wish. Glue on wiggle eyes for the final touch.
Tissue Paper Bouquet
Tissue paper in pinks, yellows and reds will make a lovely bouquet of flowers that won't wilt. Cut tissue paper into circles, then fold them in quarters and try fluting the edges a bit with scissors. Stack up several of these circles and use floral wire to poke through the center as the stem. Bunch the circles up to look like petals and secure them in place by twisting the wire. Use green tissue to make leaves and stick the flowers in a bunch in a vase for an attractive Valentine's Day decoration or Mother's Day gift.
Paint a Picture
The dyes used to make the color in tissue paper is potent and will often bleed out if tissue paper is moistened. Instead of using the paper itself as the craft, you can use it to paint a picture. Give students cardstock to draw the outline of a large picture on and have them "paint" the picture with a brush and plain water. Stick tissue paper to the moistened cardstock using the colors that you would like the picture to be. Rewet the cardstock as necessary. Not all tissue paper dye will bleed, so try it yourself before doing this project with the children.
Stained Glass
A more advanced tissue paper activity involves cutting out black construction paper or cardstock templates in outline form. The key to making this project look like stained glass is to have a lot of open space in the shape you choose. For instance, if you make a butterfly outline, cut out lots of dots in the wings, or make a snowflake-type outline that has repeated openings. Fill each opening with a piece of tissue paper cut to fit the hole with a small border so you can glue it to the back of the opening. When all the spaces are covered, shine a light behind it for a stained glass window effect.
