Hands On Crafts for Kids

By Prudy Vannier

Japan

The cherry blossom is loved by the Japanese people and is even used sometimes to symbolize Japan. Wall hangings are used often in homes and schools to celebrate seasons or occasions. This wall hanging not only has a cherry blossom painted on it, but the Japanese word below is the writing for “cherry blossom”.

Painting lesson: easy doubleloaded brush stroke petals, brush tip dots, line work with a round

When you see the “helping hand” symbol on a project, it means you may need adult supervision to do the project. Always use care when using tools or a heat source. Be careful and safe!

Main supplies:

DecoArt® Paper Perfect™ Natural PP40
Paper Perfect™ Accents Red Natural Fibers PPF07
Paper Perfect™ Accents Celestial White Glitter PPF01
Royal® Palette knife
Sheet protector
Japanese alphabet (from internet translations sites)
Fiskars® Scissors
20” gold cord
Fiskars® Paper punch
DecoArt® Americana Acrylic Paint: Boysenberry Pink DA29, Titanium White DA001, Marigold DA194, Ebony Black DA067
Royal® Brushes: ¾” flat, #4 rounds
Painting supplies: Royal® water basin, graphite paper, tracing paper, paper towel, Royal® palette paper, Royal® stylus, pencil

Instructions:
1. Following the directions on the back of the Paper Perfect jar, spread the liquid paper onto a sheet protector with a palette knife. Spread it thin and shape into a rectangle approximately 4” X 8”.
2. While wet, sprinkle a small amount of glitter and a few red threads to decorate. Print a Japanese alphabet from the internet and cut some out to place into the wet paper to decorate. Dry for 12 to 24 hours before peeling off the sheet protector.
3. Lightly pencil or transfer the patterns by tracing them onto tracing paper. Position the design, then slide graphite paper under it. Hold in place while you go over the lines with a stylus.
4. Using the ¾” flat, load Titanium White on one side and Boysenberry Pink on the other. This is called doubleloading. Palette blend slightly then paint a petal with the white toward the center. Repeat for all petals.
5. The center is Marigold brush tip dots. Use the handle of the brush to dip into Marigold than place in the center to make a dot. Repeat the process until the center has lots of dots with none of them overlapping.
6. Use slightly thinned Black and the round brush to paint the letter and to outline the petals.
7. Punch holes in the top and run gold cord through them to hang.