Collage Crafts for Kids
an Easy Rainy Day Project

A simple rainy day project! Collage crafts for kids are easy enough for preschoolers to do. All you need to provide is colored paper, muffin liners, magazines, or other household materials.

Click the pictures below to find the directions.

Quick tip:  Use a glue stick and put the glue on the paper, not on each small piece.

Collage comes from the French word that means to glue. It is an art technique where small pieces are glued together to make a picture.

Another form of collage is mosaic. Mosaic uses square pieces of tile called tessera. To make the design, the tesserae are glued down with a small space between each one.

Shape Book

One way to introduce preschoolers to collage crafts for kids is to provide an outline of an object so that they can fill it with shapes or small pieces of paper. Here is a FREE e-book in PDF form that you can download.
In the book you will find pictures of;

• Dog and Cat
• Bunny
• Fish
• Butterfly
• Sailboat
• Train
• Ice cream cone
• Christmas tree

Here are some ways to use the shape book to make collage crafts for kids;

Dog and Cat

Make a cute dog and cat picture.

The dog is made by cutting a circle and tear shapes out of brown paper. The dog uses the same circle as the cat. Copy the circle and tear shape on white paper to make a pattern. Then cut the shapes from brown (or your favorite dog color).

Glue the circle on the dog. Then glue the tear shaped ears on.

Use a hole punch to make eyes from black paper. Also cut an oval for the nose.

The funny lips are made by cutting two oval shapes and gluing under the nose.

The funny lips look kind of like a mustache. The dog breed Schnauzer kind-of has a mustache on its face.

Another way to use the shape book is to fill the picture with shapes. The cat is filled with small triangles.

Use a pink triangle for the nose. Glue three pieces of craft string under the nose for whiskers.

Fuzzy Bunny

Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear ---- um I mean bunny

Cut small squares of white tissue paper.

Roll the squares in balls.

Glue the balls to the rabbit.

Cut a pink triangle out of constitution paper and glue to the bunny for a nose. Also cut some pink paper for the inside of the ear to give your bunny some more color.

Make eyes out of black paper.

Glue on a cotton ball for a tail.

Scales on the Fish

How many scales does your fish have?

Trace the hearts and triangle on white paper to make patterns. Fold a piece of tissue paper in half. Place the patterns on the tissue. Use scissors to cut around each pattern.

Glue the tissue on the paper.

Cut circles out of construction paper for the fish's body.
Glue the circles overlapping them.

Did you know that Jonah in the Bible stayed inside a fish for three days and nights?

Butterfly

Tissue make great butterfly wings.

Cut squares from different colored tissue paper.

Glue the tissue on the butterfly wings. Overlap the pieces some.

Cut a rounded rectangle out of construction paper. Glue to the butterfly.

Sailboat

Sailing, Sailing over the bounding main;

Cut small triangles to cover the sail.

Cut small rectangles to cover the mast and the inside of the boat.

Glue the pieces to the sailboat.

Train

Chuga, chuga, choo, choo

Cut out rectangles and circles to glue on the train.

You could add a face to make Thomas the Tank Engine or another character in the series.

Ice Cream Cone

Don't worry, this one won't melt!

To make the waffle cone, cut a triangle from brown construction paper. Cut small rectangles from orange paper. Glue the triangle to the picture. 

 Glue the rectangles on the triangle, leaving a space around each rectangle.

Cut squares from pink tissue paper. Glue to the circle just above the triangle.

Rip strips of brown constitution paper. Glue to the top circle so that it looks like chocolate ice cream melting. 

Christmas Tree

Is it Christmas already?

Cut a green triangle to fit the tree. Cut a brown rectangle for the trunk. Use your favorite color for the package, or use a small piece of Christmas wrapping paper.

Glue paper pieces to the picture.

Add a strip of a ribbon to the package. Add a bow.
Use a hole punch, make holes in star stickers. Glue the circles to the tree.

You will need to use a glue stick, as the backing doesn't peel off easily after you make the circles. Or you could use sequins.

You can even make a collage out of the finished pictures! I used a computer program to make a photo collage. Your child can cut and paste his finished shape book to a larger piece of paper.

The shape book can also be used as a coloring book. Or laminate it and use as place mats for play dough.

Magazine Collage Crafts for Kids

Pictures and words from magazines and ads can be used just for fun, or use the opportunity to teach your child.

Bowl of Fruit

You will need;

• Magazines or Newspaper ads
• Glue stick
• Paper to put your creation on

Find pictures from magazines or ads.

Cut a circle from white paper. Glue the paper to a colored piece of construction paper to make your bowl.

Glue the fruit to the whiter circle, overlapping the edges.

Fill the Letter with Words

Here is a fun collage crafts for kids that will help them identify letters.

Supplies;

• Magazines or Ads
  
• Glue
• Scissors

Make an outline of a letter, such as the letter B.

Have your child find words that begin with the letter in magazines and ads.  If you don't have ads or magazines, you could type the words that you want the child to use.

Cut the words out.

Glue the words to the letter.

Cupcake Lines

The inspiration for this collage craft for kids came from a quilt design called Grandma's Flower Garden.

You will need;

• Different colored mini cupcake liners
• constitution paper
• Glue stick

Find different colored cupcake liners.

Flatten your cupcake liners. Place them on your constitution paper in an interesting design.

Glue them to the constitution paper.

Beans, Buttons, and Pasta

When making collage crafts for kids, almost any item can be used. Just arrange your materials in a pleasing shape. Using other materials instead of paper is called 3-D collage. It is best to use a firmer background such as cardboard instead of paper. Also, white glue needs to be used to stick the items on.

Beans

Flowers are easy to make with beans. Cut a piece of cardboard to glue your picture on. Arrange your beans and glue with white glue. Spread glue around the outside of the flower and sprinkle on rice.

Buttons

Buttons can also be used to make flower pictures.

Pasta

Here is a tree done with colored pasta. You can use the tree shape in the book. The link will open in a new window.  This page has the directions on how to color pasta.

Doing collage crafts for kids can teach preschoolers about shapes, words, and patterns. The different activities of cutting, picking up small pieces of paper, and gluing are important for developing fin motor control.

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