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Just 2 of the 101 reasons you need lining paper in your life...
Disclaimer: this blog post has no work-related content from me. It's the school holidays and my days are tiring! Still, creativity takes many forms, right?
See this roll of lining paper? It's from Poundland, and represents one of the best value singe pounds that a parent could spend in the school holidays. It's 7.5m long and is strong enough to get it wet with gloopy glues, paint, etc. Seriously, do not waste your money on rolls of craft paper that are twice the price but offer half the options because they're pretty flimsy in comparison.
I'm all for encouraging creativity in my children, and try my hardest not to stifle it if it takes a form I wasn't expecting, but sometimes, when it all gets a bit messy, I'm as twitchy as the next mum. I think I'm pretty cool with mess for the most part - as anyone who's visited my house in the middle of the day will know - but I definitely have types of mess that are more acceptable than others. Motionless mess is fine, like the pile of paper and coloured pens you'll find surrounding Beatrix for approximately 12 of her 13 waking hours! Mess that moves a little way is cool too, if annoying. That's the kind of mess that Jasper makes; he fires cars off ramps, they fly through the air and land, usually in the kitchen, before travelling a few metres further. No problem, though, because it's fairly predictable. The kind of mess I'm not so good at is Abel mess: his mess is mobile. He carries pots of glitter, sprinkling their contents with every step. He stores sand from the sand pit in his trouser turn-ups and empties it when he lays on the sofa. His paint-covered hands go everywhere with him and he touches every single surface on his travels. So I like to contain mess, or more accurately, take it outside.
We have a dark-ish and relatively unused corner of our back garden that lends itself perfectly to mess: the grooves in the decking make it easy to wash dirty debris and the rest is flagged. There's no lawn to kill, and if it gets really messy, only our immediate neighbours are witness to the destruction because that part of the garden is completely enclosed. Lengths of lining paper cut to the height of the children's reach, plus a bit more to catch the bulk of the mess that drips down, simply attached to the fence with drawing pins, and ta-da! Messy fun outside. Fill your boots, kids, and when you're done, hose yourselves down under the outside tap!
Use old takeaway pots for the paint: you don't need a pot for each colour - mixing it up is half the fun!
It's interesting just to sit back and watch them get stuck in: when they went outside, they naturally placed themselves in age order!
And they left in age order, too! First the little man had had enough of bold moves, then the middle man had finished and filled his circles so it was time to leave, then the boss lady, who had used all of 'her' space for a masterpiece scene.
And when you need to contain an indoor activity? Stick the lining paper to the kitchen floor using masking tape, lay the children down and draw around them, then let them turn their own outline into a dress-up doll! This is really fun to do as a sticky activity, using scraps of fabric and paper to make clothing collages.
This is not Beatrix glowing: it's her hair! Check out her choice of dress, though - the girl is so Mama, it's scary!
We've also used the paper to write large picture menus for our cafe (which only sells wooden food) and to draw place settings for the diners. Do you use lining paper for craft activities? Please share your ideas!
See this roll of lining paper? It's from Poundland, and represents one of the best value singe pounds that a parent could spend in the school holidays. It's 7.5m long and is strong enough to get it wet with gloopy glues, paint, etc. Seriously, do not waste your money on rolls of craft paper that are twice the price but offer half the options because they're pretty flimsy in comparison.
We have a dark-ish and relatively unused corner of our back garden that lends itself perfectly to mess: the grooves in the decking make it easy to wash dirty debris and the rest is flagged. There's no lawn to kill, and if it gets really messy, only our immediate neighbours are witness to the destruction because that part of the garden is completely enclosed. Lengths of lining paper cut to the height of the children's reach, plus a bit more to catch the bulk of the mess that drips down, simply attached to the fence with drawing pins, and ta-da! Messy fun outside. Fill your boots, kids, and when you're done, hose yourselves down under the outside tap!
Use old takeaway pots for the paint: you don't need a pot for each colour - mixing it up is half the fun!
It's interesting just to sit back and watch them get stuck in: when they went outside, they naturally placed themselves in age order!
And they left in age order, too! First the little man had had enough of bold moves, then the middle man had finished and filled his circles so it was time to leave, then the boss lady, who had used all of 'her' space for a masterpiece scene.
This is not Beatrix glowing: it's her hair! Check out her choice of dress, though - the girl is so Mama, it's scary!
We've also used the paper to write large picture menus for our cafe (which only sells wooden food) and to draw place settings for the diners. Do you use lining paper for craft activities? Please share your ideas!
