A new post from my friend Katie over at A Friendly Affair for the holidays. Love this process art holiday wrapping paper . Thanks Katie! Katie has a sister post on how to wrap your holiday gifts over here.
Thanks to Meri and so many of the other incredible art moms, my children and I have come to really enjoy the simple process of making.
For those who follow Meri, you also have probably come to love and embrace her belief that the process is WAY more important than the product. There is such freedom in letting the little ones create and explore without hope or plan of what might be made. Over the months of following and working with Meri, I have further come to see that with a keen eye and just a subtle influence from mom, process art can become a truly beautiful and cohesive product. The only problem is what to do with it! Process art is usually bigger in scale than product-oriented art, and even though it tends to be so very pretty, it is hard to know how to cherish or save it. It usually doesn’t fit in a scrap book, and a frame simply wont do, plus there is typically a TON of it…so what now?
Ding, ding, ding! Wrapping Paper!
With a $10, 10 yard, roll of 90 lb craft paper and the same processes you have been using all year, your kids can make some awesome gift wrap. They can be proud to share and proud to see their work on display under the tree, plus they get to join in the act of giving and sharing. As an even greater, psychological bonus (I can’t resist), your kids get to bear witness to a mama that celebrates process (effort) over product (result). BAM!
Here are a couple of links to a comparable rolls – although I recommend exploring your local craft store because they are often on sale.
Canson XL Series Mix Media Paper, 36″X10 yd Roll
Boardwalk K1840900 Kraft Paper, 18″ x 900ft, Brown
Here is some holiday gift wrapping Meri did last year with brown craft paper that looks great!
I used 90 lb, which is heavy to fold, but easily withstands any process your kid wants to use. As you can tell, I also curated paint colors to match the season. Our favorite processes, which I have included pictures of, were definitely fly-swatter painting for the 16 mo (which my 3 yo later went over with some bleeding tissue), and scratch-board printmaking. The two stamps pictured, in case you can’t tell by the remarkable likeness, are of me and baby Jesus (be still my heart).
For other great process ideas to use, here are a few favorites:
Jackson Pollock splatter process
You can also cruise her Pinterest board for process art here.
Thanks for reading along and happy holidays!
For the holidays, I like to wrap presents first and then let them paint – my kids seem to love painting the different dimensional shapes! Just make sure you label it with the recipient’s name in multiple places…