create (with kids): artwork weaving

I am pretty sentimental. Once upon a time we moved to China and sold everything we had, except for those special letters and my favorite shirt from high school and all of those photos (and negatives) from our pre-digital days. So it's  hard for me to not keep every artwork that Isia makes, but I'm learning to be discerning and store only what has real meaning. But what to do with the rest? We keep them on hand and try to find different ways to incorporate them into our lives. Such as weaving them together. 

For this project you need two artworks. They don't have to be the exact same size, but you do want their widths to be comparable. We had done two paintings on construction paper. Take your first painting and accordion fold it into one-inch strips. Then cut along the folds to create the strips for your weaving.

Your second painting will be your loom. Check to make sure your painting's turned the same direction as your strips so that your width will be the same. Then measure a one-inch border on the top, this will be your guide-line for where to stop your cuts. Measure one-inch margins going down your paper under this border. No worries if you end up with a little extra on the end like I did (on the right, below) just cut it off.

Weave them together, then fold all the ends to the back of your weaving when you're done. Tape them down so they stay put. 

 The top is a weaving in progress and the bottom is a finished work. Weaving with a just three-year-old means you will be doing most of the weaving and she'll be doing most of the helping- but it's still a fascinating repetition for all involved. Soon they'll be taking it out of your hands and finishing it "all by themselves"!

Sidenote: You can put a layer of contact paper on top of theses and they become pretty placements. If your child enjoys weaving you might consider doing additional weavings with magazine pages, photographs, newspaper or even creating a small cardboard loom for yarn. The possibilities are really endless- you'll probably start seeing potential weaving material everywhere you look (smile).