WOVEN PLACEMATS

​This woven paper art project is a classic and fun art activity that teaches kids a number of things including:
-hand eye coordination
-the idea of repeating patterns 
-what a woven fabric is
-that in art there is no right or wrong answers, just exploration and self-expression.
 
The final product also makes a thoughtful gift during any time of year. Just coordinate the color of the paper to match the season and/or Holiday and you are set!  Or make a few different ones to serve as "placemats" for a festive dinner, sticking to the given Holidays color theme combination. Here we played with pinks and whites for Valentines' Day, but with Christmas approaching we are deep into the red and green color scheme.  
 
You will need the following tools and supplies:
- 3-10 sheets of colored paper, any size, color, texture or pattern you like
-ruler
-scissors , X-acto knife or paper trimmer 
-masking tape
 
optional:
- microscope
-a swatch of woven fabric
 
STEPS 1: Create an “art invitation”.  The Artful Parent Blogger Jean Van’t Hul coined this term and it involves setting up all the necessary materials and tools in an enticing way so that upon seeing it all a child will instantly feel drawn to come and participate in the activity. 
 
For our project you can have your colorful and textured paper already bought and cut up into strips of various widths, spread out in the middle of the art table. Most kids ages 6 and older can be taught how to make a series of parallel lines on their own using a ruler and cut the sheets of paper on their own.

STEP 2:  Create the “base”.
​Draw straight lines across a sheet of paper making the distance between each line somewhat equal.  Cut along the lines up until the end of the sheet, but not all the way through.
 
Tape this “base” to the table.  Then start to weave paper strips between the “base” rows repeating “over, under, over, under” until the child understands the patter.  

STEP 3: Once the weave is complete use masking tape to tape all around the periphery and seal in all the edges and cut off any excess pieces. 

STEP 4: You can now take this opportunity to make a correlation between the woven paper project and woven fabric.  In the world of clothing making the “base” paper that was cut and taped down to the table represents the threads that are fixed in place on a loom and they are called WARP. The thread that’s woven in between is the WEFT. Place the edge of a small swatch of woven fabric under a microscope to look at the frayed edge up close. We really like this portable microscope. 
 
STEP 5: The woven paper art can be gifted and hung up proudly or made in a batch and used as a festive placemat. 
 
Hope you have a blast paying around with this project. Share you creations on Instagram with us @flashanista. 
 
Have a creative day!