Craft for Kids: Paper Mosaic Candles

Mosaic crafts are a craft that will keep the kids busy for several hours. Gluing all the little tiles into place is fun, yet time consuming (a good thing for mom and dad!).

One mosaic craft your child can make is a paper mosaic candle. These candles can be made various ways using different supplies. The candles can be any size you want and the mosaic tiles can be as simple as bits of construction paper or as elaborate as shiny gemstones. It's all up to you and the kids!

Here is an image of paper mosaic Christmas candles. These candles are made using toilet paper tubes that have been covered with white paper and construction paper tiles. You can make candles for all holidays by simply changing the color scheme. Pastel color candles would be good for Easter. Red and pink candles would be nice for Valentine's Day. Black and orange candles would be awesome for Halloween. You can also make all pink candles or all blue candles for a baby shower.

To make any paper candle, you will need a paper tube. You can use an empty toilet paper or paper towel tube. You can also create your own tube by rolling up a piece of card stock using the color of your choice. If you are making your own paper tube, cut it to size but leave it flat to work on. It's easier to glue the tiles to a flat piece of paper, then roll and secure the tube after the art work is complete. If you are using a toilet paper tube, you can cut a piece of paper to fit the roll, decorate that flat paper with mosaic art, then glue the paper to the toilet paper tube when the mosaic art is complete.

For the mosaic tiles, you can use bits of colorful construction paper. Cut the tiles by stacking three or four sheets of different colors of construction paper then cut the paper into narrow strips about 1/2 inch wide (a paper cutter comes in handy for this step but is not necessary). Then stack some of the strips together and cut the strips into pieces about 1/2 inch long. You will be left with lots of 1/2 inch square pieces of paper to use for mosaic art!

You are not limited to using construction paper for your mosaic tiles. You can also use magazine pages, junk mail, computer paper, candy bar wrappers, newspaper, comic pages, gift wrap, foil, or any kind of paper you can cut into pieces.

Once you have your paper tube (or flat paper that will become a tube), all you have to do is start gluing on the little tiles. And easy way to do this is to spread some white glue on a small area of your paper then stick on some of the tiles, leaving small spaces between each tile. Then move over to another spot and add more glue and more tiles. It's okay if you get glue on the pieces that you already glued on. In fact, when you are completely done, you might want to cover your entire candle with some glue and let it dry. This will assure that all your mosaic tiles are glued down and will give your candle a glossy finish.

When your mosaic art is done, roll your paper into a tube shape (or cover your toilet paper roll) and glue it, tape it, or staple it to secure it. For the flame, cut pieces of flame shapes out of yellow construction paper or craft foam. Then secure the flame by gluing it to the inside of the tube. If you want to make the flame look like it's floating in the center, you can stuff a cotton ball into the top of the tube as seen in the image, then rest the flame on the cotton. You could also cover the entire top of the tube with a piece of construction paper then just cut a small slit and poke the flame into the slit.

You can also expand this craft by using plastic or glass as your tube. To make pillar candles, your tube can be a straight plastic container, such as the containers that the little tubs of drink mix come in. Then you can still use paper mosaic tiles to decorate the tube. Or you can make beautiful glass mosaic candles by using tall, straight glass vases and by using glass beads as the tiles. This not only makes a pretty "candle" but also makes a terrific mosaic vase!

Source: www.kinderart.com