The word collage is from the French word “coller”, which means “to glue”. Collage is one of my favorite projects to do with children. Most kids really get into the project once they figure out that there isn’t just one right way to do it. At first they may glue five or six pictures that don’t even touch on the page. Show them examples of collages with tilted pictures and images that overlap. Once they get the idea, most kids almost tend to overload the page.
To start you need is a board to glue things to. Pick something heavy enough to hold up to lots of paper and glue. Particularly with younger kids who tend to use a lot of glue. I like thick cardboard or foam boards. Leftover mat boards are great too, but are harder to come by. I have found the average poster board sold now is not sturdy enough. It tends to buckle under the weight of glue and paper.
Magazines are a good place to start. Let the kids rip or cut out pictures, words, or even letters. You can also print out clip art and other images from the computer. If you have duplicate photos, or scraps from cropping photos, you can use those too. Any scraps at all from other projects can be used too. Thing about tiny bits of paper from scrap-booking, wrapping paper, postcards, tourist brochures, even bits of aluminum foil can be cut into interesting shapes. And don’t stop at paper. Think about scraps of fabric, yarn, and ribbon, too. You can even make the collages more 3-D with things like twigs, bottle caps, buttons, and small pebbles. It’s a great way to use up the things in the junk drawer or project box.
Collages can have a theme. You could do a whole collage with favorite things, or things that begin with the letter “E”, or things that fly, or favorite animals, a favorite color, or different seasons, or holidays. But collages don’t have to have a theme. You can put on anything that seems interesting or fun.
Time to break out the glue.
More on Collage:
Collage Tips for Scrapbookers
Create a Collage
Make a Collage or Montage