Crafty Fun for (Nearly) Free: Shredded Paper {Series}

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Crafty Fun for (Nearly) Free, is a series that explores budget friendly craft activities for kiddos of all ages.  We will show you  how to maximize a few bucks and simple supplies for hours of fun and entertainment!

This edition of Crafty Fun is all about shredded paper!  All of the supplies used in the activities below were already in my house, so my total cost was ZERO dollars.  However, you can find all materials at the dollar store, except the shredded paper.

All activities below are geared toward preschoolers and young school-agers.  However, if you make the surrounding art materials more sophisticated, many of these projects would be great for older children as well!  Think substitutions like buttons for pompoms, oil pastels for markers, decorative paper for construction paper, modge podge along with glue, etc.

graphic

If you’ve got a paper shredder in the house and you’re like me, your bin is completely full and needs emptied or you have a stack of papers in a random corner that needs shredded.  I randomly came across THIS POST on creating winter animals out of shredded paper (and a snowman), and I was inspired to put my own shredded paper to good use!  (The animals/snowman in that post are way prettier than mine, but I rather like my kooky, frazzled-looking snowman.  He’s a good representation of my life.)  Have wipes or paper towels on hand because glue will get on your and your kiddos’ hands a lot with these crafts.


Snowman

snowman

What you need: Construction paper, glue, shredded paper, pom poms, googly eyes, scissors

What you do: On a piece of construction paper, make a the three circles of the snowman and fill with glue.  Cover the glue with shredded paper.  Cut out a hat and nose from construction paper and use pom poms for buttons.  Glue on your snowman accessories and googly eyes.


Tree

tree

What you need: Construction paper, glue, shredded paper, scissors

What you do: Cut out a tree stump from construction paper and glue onto a full piece of construction paper.  Make the top of the tree shape and fill in with glue.  Put shredded paper on top of the glue, and that’s it!


Texture Art

texture

What you need: Construction paper, glue, shredded paper, foam sheets, scissors

What you do: Generously cover a piece of construction paper with glue.  (For a sturdier surface, use card stock paper or cardboard.)  Put shredded paper on top of glue, and then cover with art of your choice!  My son wanted to do shapes, and we cut them out of foam sheets to add even more texture.


Winter Scene

house

What you need: Construction paper, scissors, markers, glue, shredded paper

What you do: Create a winter scene by cutting pictures out of construction paper and gluing them onto another piece of construction paper.  Use markers if needed.  Spread glue across the bottom and cover with shredded paper to look like snow!  Get creative with this one because there are a lot of possibilities!


Stocking

I know Christmas has come and gone, but my son and I made this before Christmas and I thought it was worth mentioning!  If your kids are still in the holiday spirit and are sad to see all those decorations go back into their boxes, making their own silly stocking might be just the ticket!

stocking

What you need: Foam sheets, construction paper, glue, shredded paper, scissors

What you do: Cut stocking shape out of foam sheet (or you can use paper or cardboard).  Glue shredded paper on the top to mimic the white top of a stocking.  Decorate however you wish with whatever you wish!  My 3-year-old is ninja turtle obsessed, hence the ninja turtle stocking.  This craft was actually his idea!


When you are done making your shredded paper crafts, don’t forget that shredded paper makes a great sensory bin!  The best part of sensory bins is that they don’t have to be complicated.  My preschooler loves just playing with the paper itself, and below I just added some pompoms and pipe cleaners for color and texture.  Even toddlers would love this sensory bin!

bin

 

Happy Crafting!

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Jesika Roy
I originally hail from the Land of Lincoln (Illinois), but I am happy to have called the Buckeye State my home since 2007! I have two kids (Milo, 5 & Dash, 2) that I just adore about 50% of the time. The other half of the time I’m dodging balls being thrown at my head while cleaning snot off of my shirt for the 3rd time and reminiscing about the days I actually slept. Also, I love cats. And I have mediocre crochet talents.

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