Image by Victoria Model from Pixabay
I have mentioned it before that I am a site director for a YMCA program. I have a lot of responsibilities, from supervising the kids and keeping them safe, serving them healthy snack, complying with state and local guidelines and providing the kids with fun activities. Let me tell you, that is not always easy.
The kids I work with range from kindergarten (5 years) upwards to 5th grade (10 years old). We used to have 6th graders, but not this year.
It is not easy to find a craft project or activity that ALL of the kids enjoy doing. Some ideas are too difficult for the younger kids, or they are too “baby’ish” for the older kids. It’s not easy to find a happy medium that ALL of the kids can have fun doing.
I also hate doing a craft project for one group of kids and have the other group of kids feel left out.
I had a fun idea to decorate tee shirts, but that didn’t pan out (I couldn’t find bulk shirts in a variety of sizes). Then I thought about having the kids decorate placemats for Thanksgiving, but I couldn’t find fabric-like placemats in bulk that were white or cream colored. Ugh!
As Christmas season rolled around, I needed something to do with the kids. Then it hit me – decorate stockings. I was even able to find fabric stockings in bulk (thank you Oriental Trading Co.).
Decorating stockings is something I know all the kids would enjoy – young and old. Plus we don’t have any students currently who celebrate Hanukah or Kwanzaa, so I wouldn’t have to worry excluding anyone.
Now that I have the stockings, how should they decorate them? I thought about gluing on things like pom poms and sequins, but the boys wouldn’t like that. Glitter was out of the question (I am “anti-glitter.” that stuff gets EVERY WHERE!). Then it hit me, fabric paint. PERFECT!
As luck would have it, I had a lot of fabric paints that were sent to me by Tulip a very long time ago. They sent me an amazing variety of fabric paints (including puffy paints and paint that glows in the dark). They also sent me paint markers. I never knew there was such a thing as fabric paint markers. Where have those been all my life.
As you can see, Tulip has different types of fabric paint markers. Some have bolder tips than others, and the colors are different.
I found that the fabric paint markers were a lot easier for the younger kids to use than the other paints. The other paints require a bit more of a steady hand. The little ones tend to squeeze things too hard, and they made a mess. Just like I tell them with the school glue, “just a dot, not a lot.” I told them to squeeze gently, and they didn’t listen, so I took those paints away and let them use the markers. They were fine with that.
The puff fabric paint was popular with the kids. They liked how the paint really did puff up, which is really cool. It adds dimension to a projects.
Here are some photos of the kids making their projects, and SOME of their projects. I had stockings drying ALL OVER the place. We share our space with the monitors and PTA, so I had stockings drying inside the cabinets, on top of our fridge, in with our snacks… you name it.
I had to fuzz out their faces for privacy reasons.
You can see some of the puff paint in the hearts (above) and the fabric marker on the white part of the stocking shown above.
This is a hodge podge of the stockings the kids decorated. Some were elaborate, and some were very simple (there is a lone snowman on one of the stockings pictured).
I do believe the yellowish-green hearts are also made with the glow in the dark paints.
This was an excellent project to do with my “work kids.” There are only a few pictured here. I had them take turns at the table using the paints. It would have been overwhelming with nineteen kids doing it all at once. It was easier to do them in small groups of kids.
The kids were thrilled when they were able to take them home the next day.
I think this is a special gift that they hopefully can look back on one day and remember all the fun they had creating it. Plus it’s always fun as an adult to see your artwork from when you were a child. Our son drew a “meat truck” once, and we still have it. Every time we show it to him he just shakes his head.
The only paints we didn’t use (yet) are Tulip’s Brush On Paints. I really didn’t think those paints would work on the stocking, so I am saving that paint for another project.
This was such a fun project to do with the kids. I can only imagine what adults can create with these paints.
Tulip has such a great variety of paints available for consumers. The Tulip website also has deals on many of their products, as well as painting techniques and project ideas.
If you are interested in learning more about Tulip paints, or checking out all their website has to offer, visit TulipColor.com.
Right now I see the brand is offering a mystery bundle for $25 that contains $75 worth of products. That sounds like a great deal. I might take advantage of it so I have more paints for my “work kids,” and even myself.
You should also check the brand out on social media. All of their links are found on the top left of their website.
What would YOU use Tulip fabric paints for? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
