The kids and I thought it would be fun to try our hand at some tulip craft ideas. After all, nothing screams spring like bright colorful tulips.
And this easy paper tulip craft is no exception. It's so pretty have this suncatcher hanging up in the window.
I mean, easy spring tulips crafts like this suncatcher are so refreshing this time of year. The dreary brown and gray landscape as the snow melts and the ground thaws is so blah and depressing. And this tulip craft adds the perfect punch of color to the early days of spring.
Besides, suncatcher crafts are kind of our thing around here. My kids love to make them and, honestly, I love them too! They're easy to make and great for kids of a variety of ages. Plus, our homemade suncatchers always use simple materials that you can easily find at the dollar store. They're materials that I actually always try to keep on hand anyway because you just never know when you might want to make a suncatcher!
A version of this post originally appeared on the CBC Parents website.
Easy Tulip Craft for Kids: What You'll Need
By the way, this fun tulip craft idea is perfect for destructive kids who like to rip things. I know because that is the reason we even started doing these types of crafts in the first place. My youngest, K, was notorious for ripping things as a toddler so we started turning that ripping into something more beautiful: art!
Here's what you'll need to make a tulip suncatcher of your own:
- Contact paper - I actually use vinyl book protectors from Dollarama as it is super cheap. We used two rolls of it for this project. You may need more or less depending on how big or how many you want to make.
- Tissue paper, ripped into small pieces or cut into squares - We used pink and green, but feel free to experiment with other spring colors.
- Permanent marker - To draw the outline of the flower on the contact paper.
- Tape - To hold the craft in place while adding tissue paper to it.
- Scissors - To trim the final suncatcher.
On the non-sticky side of the contact paper, use the permanent marker to draw the outline of a tulip, including the flower, stem, and leaves.
Once the outline is drawn, tape the piece of contact paper to a flat surface with the sticky side facing up.
Keep in mind that kids of all ages can make these tulip suncatchers, even young toddlers. Depending on your child's abilities and skills though, you might have to prepare the tissue paper ahead of time. For instance, you could precut the tissue paper into squares for really little ones. Or, if like me you have a child who likes to rip things, just supply them with pieces of tissue paper to rip and tear as they please.
Now it's time to start decorating the flower!
How to Make a Tulip Suncatcher
For this craft, my five year old chose pink tissue paper for the flower and light green for the stem and leaves. Together, he and I ripped the tissue paper into small squares before starting the craft. You can see the two piles next to our contact paper.
Then my son simply placed the pieces of tissue paper on the sticky side of the contact paper, staying somewhat inside the lines of the tulip outline that I drew earlier. (Note: they don't have to stay inside the lines perfectly as we will be trimming it at the end.)
Repeat until the entire flower, stem, and leaves have been covered.
Once the entire flower has been covered, seal the suncatcher with another piece of contact paper. Then cut out the tulip and tape it up in a window. It looks especially beautiful in contrast with the white snow still hanging around outside. I know it's definitely making me wish that spring would arrive as soon as possible.
I absolutely love how this tissue paper tulip craft turned out! It looks lovely in our living room window. And I think your kids are going to love it too!
