Education Category: Creative
Ages: 4-8, 8-12, 12-16

Want a fun craft project in which children use their senses?

Create a colorful, abstract piece of art: besides being an exercise for the senses, it's a perfect way to reuse old clothes. You know those cherished things in your closet that you'll never wear again, but can't bear to give away because they bring back sentimental feelings? Recycling them into a work of textile art is truly as easy as cutting them up and grabbing a bottle of glue!

What You Need:

• Small pieces of fabric from old clothes, towels, etc. (You can also get
• fabric scraps from friends or your local fabric store)
• Cardboard reused from a cracker or cereal box
• Glue

What You Do:

• Cut small, free-form pieces of fabric from old clothes, towels, etc. This can be done ahead of time, or involve your child and let him choose and cut the designs and textures he likes best.
• Lay the pieces of fabric out on the table. Discuss the different prints, textures and types of material that you have. If you pre-cut the fabric, see if he can guess where they came from (a piece of a kitchen towel, Dad's old Hawaiian shirt, an outgrown pair of jeans).
• Ask your child to describe how each piece of fabric looks and feels. Next have him close his eyes and see if he can identify each piece based only on the feel. Carefully arrange and overlap the fabric pieces to cover the cardboard, holding each piece down with a few dots of glue on the back before adding the next.
• Finish this project by sliding it into an inexpensive frame or hanging it on the wall. 
• Display your finished textile collage, or consider giving it as a homemade gift!

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