These beautiful mosaics were created using some of Minnie's artwork & a floor tile!! Not only are they great for exploring patterns, shapes, & the properties of paint, but they're frugal to make too!
I can almost guarantee that at some point during the day Minnie will request a painting & sticking activity. Some days we have the paints out, other days we paint with water, or glue with sticky shapes rather than creating with lots of gloopy glue. This activity was ideal for some impromptu sensory play too!
We found some remnants of thick card & Minnie began painting with her chosen acrylic colours. She covered the entire card using a brush, before requesting another sheet & adding more paint.
This time the gorgeous thick acrylics were painted on by hand! She swirled the paint all over the card covering her fingers in the process. Backwards & forwards her hands glided through the paint blending the colours together. She was clearly enjoying the texture of the paint & exploring the 'new' colours she was creating as this activity lasted some time.
When Minnie had finished she moved to another sheet of card, added the paint with her hands again & initiated mark-making with her fingers. These patterns were covered over with paint & then a new set of patterns created over the top, a process which she explored again & again. The patterns she produced created ridges in the thick paint & when dry these offered another new texture to explore.
When using acrylic paint we find it best to wear old clothes/apron & cover the painting area with an old cloth. We washed our hands pretty quickly after using the paint & it was all removed with good ol' soap & water.
When the paintings were dry we cut them into strips & then small squares/rectangles to create our tiles. I had suggested to Minnie while she was painting that we could use her paintings for the mosaics & she agreed.
Here's one of the floor tiles that we picked up from a pound store, each tile costing just 25p - bargain!
On the reverse, I drew around a cookie cutter to create our heart shape & cut it out. I normally encourage Minnie to cut items like this, but the tile was just too tough for her to cut through.
Once the heart was cut out we removed the backing paper to reveal the adhesive surface. I love the fact that there is no glue needed at this stage!
Minnie created her mosaic by adding the hand-painted tiles to the sticky surface. Ideal for exploring; shape, size, fine motor skills, & design.
Once finished we added a layer of PVA (gloopy) glue over the top of the tiles to seal the design & set aside until completely dry. If you wish to use the mosaic as a drinks coaster, substitute the PVA glue with a layer of water & heatproof varnish, available from most DIY stores.
Minnie loved this process so much she went on to create a house tile too!
The remaining strips of the painted card were used in a collage which Minnie decided to make the following day!
Frugal, fun, & full of creativity!
These would make a perfect Valentine's Day keepsake for someone special.