Teaching kids how to make crafts is the best and one of the most constructive ways to keep them busy. Initially, you will have to devote sometime for teaching them. However, after your part is done, you can be sure that they will remain busy and out of mischief for a long time. A very popular form of craft is Papel Picado, the traditional Mexican art of paper cutting. It is very easy to make and the best part is that after your kid has made it, you can even use it to decorate your home for a party or otherwise. Check out the basic guidelines given below on the Mexican papercutting techniques.
Traditional Mexican Papercutting Technique
Items Needed
- Colored Tissue Paper
- Craft Glue
- Craft Knife/ Scissors
- Dowel Rod
- Iron
- Ironing Board
- Paper Clips
- Scrap Paper
Method
- Take a scrap paper and make a pattern out of it. You can do that by taking a square piece and folding it diagonally 2-3 times, in such a way that it forms a triangle. Cut shapes in the folded paper, unfold and it’s ready.
- Take three sheets of tissue paper and place them on top of each other. Place the pattern, made with scrap paper, on top of the tissue papers.
- With the help of a paper clip, join together the pattern and the tissue papers.
- Take the scissors or the craft knife and following the pattern, cut out the same shapes on the tissue papers.
- Add a border to three sides of the Mexican paper decoration that you have just made, by cutting the sides in a pattern.
- Remove the paper clip and separate the three tissue papers from each other.
- With the help of a warm iron, flatten the tissue papers. For the purpose, put each cut tissue paper between two plain tissue papers and then iron.
- Take the dowel rod and fold the plain edge (without the border) of the cut tissue paper around it.
- Now, run a bead of craft glue down this edge and with the help of the glue, attach the paper to the dowel rod.
- Follow the above step with the other two cut tissue papers also. Mexican paper cutting craft is ready.
