Easter Basket Collage Art

Here is a paper collage project suitable for any kid who looks forward to Easter, loves making things, and especially enjoys being super-creative!

This process art project utilizes cut paper and glue in new and exciting ways. First it's a collage, but really it's a whole lot more because it features some three dimensional elements. 

(Plus, a few chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps to make this basket really special!)

Once they catch on, young artists will figure out on their own how to add texture and other 3-D elements to their collages. 

Various scrap booking papers, stickers, and gold wrapping paper (for the ultra-desirable golden egg) can add to the fun!

We employed some interesting paper-working tools such as our handy grass-maker (okay, a paper shredder), a butterfly punch, and a paper crimper. If you have these, great, but kids can always figure out how to create their own special effects once they get going with their own ideas. 

We also used a variety of pre-cut cardboard egg templates, which were traced on various papers and cut out to make awesome decorated eggs!

One particularly challenging process is that of weaving paper. In the past I have had 12-year-olds who had never woven paper before! So below, I am including some basic instructions for teaching kids how to get started with weaving, until eventually the light will come on and bingo!  

"Oh, I get it!"

Basic Paper Weaving Instructions:

We start with 8 strips of construction paper, any color. Choose 4 to weave through the other 4, one at a time. It's okay if they are messy. Use these to practice until artists figure out the over-under-over-under process.

Next the paper strips are squished together until they touch and form what looks like little squares. Wow! This looks cool!  Next, weave more paper strips along the edges to make a larger shape or to change the square shape to a more rectangular shape.

When done weaving, artists carefully cut around the shape like the one below. To keep it from unraveling, put a spot of glue beneath each loose flap along the edges. We use glue sticks because they dry fast! If you want to, you can carefully flip the weaving over and do the same thing on the back.

A bit of texture was added to the top and bottom of this basket using crimped paper strips.

For more Easter Basket collage ideas, take a look at our previous post:

                                                    Awesome Easter Baskets