Bubble wrap is a favorite material of mine for art making because 1) it’s FREE! (save that trash from your packages!) and 2) it makes amazing texture or design when printed!

But, it can also be the MAIN FEATURE of your art rather than your tool! Check out the steps below for these wall hangings that we made with some some cool shaped bubble wrap.

Supplies:

• Bubble wrap- they come in all different shapes and sizes! (small circle, large circle, oval, square, etc…)
• Spray primer or gesso
• Acrylic paint
• Spray gloss or matte sealer
• Large sheets of cardboard for your backing
• Hot glue gun
• Yarn Stick
• Hole punch
• Yarn or string for hanging and for yarn stick

 

Step 1-

Give your bubble wrap a quick spray with the primer to help the paint stick to the plastic. Let Dry.

Step 2-

Paint your bubble wrap.

We experimented here…the girls painted with tempera and I tried one with acrylic. The acrylic works great for adhering to most surfaces. The Colorations tempera we use doesn’t flake as much as long as it is not painted on too thick…but if your little one is like my Willa (see below) and likes A LOT of paint then proceed to the next step!

Lila dabbed her paint with a towel to give it a softer, blended look and to keep it from being painted too thick.

Step 3:

Let the bubble wrap paintings dry and then give them a couple coats of your spray sealer. This will help keep the paint from flaking off of the plastic.

Step 4:

Now gather your yarn sticks.

We had these already made from a previous activity but if you don’t have any made, just gather some sticks from your yard or a previous nature walk and wrap them with some colored yarn. That’s it! It is actually very therapeutic to sit and wrap a stick with yarn!

Step 5:

Plug in your hot glue gun and gather some sheets of cardboard for your backing.

Hot glue your bubble wrap paintings to your cardboard and punch some holes in the top with your hole puncher. Thread some yarn through the holes and attach them to your yarn stick. You can hang your bubble wrap painting by just the stick or add some extra yarn to hang it a little higher.

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