Paper Plate Hearts – Stained Glass Windows
Welcome back to a brand new series of 31 Days of Love! Today, we have the lovely Rebecca, from Here Come The Girls guest posting these darling Paper Plate Hearts – they make beautiful Stained Glass Window decorations for Valentine’s Day. You can keep track over the last crafts, as well as browse the Guest Posts from the last two years via 31 Days of Love, but I also try and group them into Valentine’s Day Decorations, Valentine’s Day Cards, Valentine’s Day Treats and Valentine’s Day Gifts for you browse, depending on what you are after! Today we have the wonderful Amber from Wee Warhols with a great Love Art For Kids Project!
Do you like crafts which are mess free and easy to do, with few materials? Then you will love these super easy stained glass window hearts made from paper plates. They are perfect for Valentines Day and will add a lovely splash of colour to your windows.
Paper Plate Hearts – Stained Glass Window – Materials
- paper plates
- contact paper (sticky backed plastic)
- tissue paper
- blue tack
That’s it! You will also need a pair of scissors. I find it is much easier to use a paper plate to make stained glass windows as they stay flat when you are making them. If you use a sheet of card then it is a bit fiddlier. You have to stick the contact paper to the table and it seems harder for the children. You can prepare a lot of these to make and then leave them, so it is a good craft for a school or play group. They also have a slightly 3D effect with the raised edge of the plate.
To make, simply fold the paper plate in half and cut out half a heart. If you have older children they can do this themselves, although you might need to draw the shape on it for them to cut. Then cut out a second smaller heart inside.
Cut a piece of contact paper a little bigger than the heart and stick to the back of the paper plate. You can find contact paper in the stationary section of most supermarkets. Cut the tissue paper into small squares. This is a great activity for younger children to practice their scissor skills as it doesn’t really matter how neat the squares are.
The next part is the fun bit. Left the children cover the contact paper with tissue squares. They can make a pattern or just use one colour. You could also use hearts instead of squares. When I first did this craft I was really focussed on getting the children to stick them neatly and not to go over the card, but actually when it’s on the window it doesn’t really matter.
When they are finished blu tack to the windows. This would look lovely with a whole class full of different hearts, one for each child.
For a different method see this post: Easy Heart Window Decorations
Look here, to see a round up of all the Stained Glass Window ideas.
Rebecca blogs about crafts and family days out at Here Come the Girls. She has three little girls, a full time teaching job, an extensive collection of cookie cutters and not enough hours in the day.