10 Fun and Easy Collage Crafts for Kids

Collage is a fantastic way for children to explore their creativity and develop their fine motor skills. It's a versatile and affordable activity that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. With just a few basic supplies like paper, glue, and scissors, your little ones can create masterpieces that will spark their imagination and make lasting memories. In this blog post, we'll share 10 fun and easy collage crafts for kids that you can try at home.

Shape Collage

Introduce your kids to the world of shapes with this simple yet engaging collage activity.

Paul Klee was a Swiss-born artist known for his unique, abstract style that often incorporated elements of Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. His works are characterized by simple lines, geometric shapes, and bold, often bright colors.

To create a Paul Klee style collage with elementary school kids, you might follow these steps:

1. Introduce Paul Klee and his art: Start by showing the students some of Klee's work (you can easily find examples online or in art books). Talk about his use of shapes, lines, and colors. Klee's art is often quite playful and imaginative, which can help engage young learners.

2. Materials: You will need a variety of colorful construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, and markers or colored pencils. You may also want to provide some pre-cut geometric shapes to help students get started.

3. Creating the Collage: Ask students to start by drawing or cutting out different geometric shapes from the construction paper. Encourage them to play with different sizes and colors. Some of Klee's works, like "Castle and Sun," might serve as good inspiration here.

4. Composition: Once they have their shapes, students can begin arranging them on a piece of paper. Encourage them to think about how the shapes interact and how to balance different colors and sizes. They can create an abstract scene, a landscape, a cityscape, or anything they can imagine.

5. Adding Details: After they have glued down their shapes, students can use markers or colored pencils to add lines and details. They might want to add patterns to some of their shapes, or draw in additional elements.

6. Discussion: Once everyone has finished, have a group discussion about the collages. What do students notice about their own and others' works? How do the colors and shapes interact? How does the collage make them feel?

Remember, the goal is not to perfectly mimic Klee's style, but to encourage students to explore shape, color, and composition in a similar spirit of playfulness and creativity. Also, art is subjective, so there's no right or wrong way to create. The main aim is to have fun and learn in the process.

Magazine Collage

Recycle old magazines and catalogs for a fun and eco-friendly collage project.

Materials:

• Old magazines or catalogs
• Scissors
• Glue
• Large piece of paper or poster board

Instructions:

1. Allow your child to flip through the magazines, cutting out pictures, words, and patterns that catch their eye.

2. Arrange the cut-outs on the large piece of paper or poster board.

3. Once your child is satisfied with the arrangement, help them glue the pieces in place.

4. Display their unique magazine collage on the wall or fridge for everyone to admire.

Nature Collage

Take a nature walk with your kids and collect materials for a beautiful and organic collage.

Materials:

• Leaves, twigs, flowers, and other natural materials
• Glue
• Large piece of paper or cardboard
• Optional: paint or markers

Instructions:

1. Go for a nature walk with your child, encouraging them to collect interesting leaves, twigs, flowers, and other natural items.

2. Arrange the collected materials on the large piece of paper or cardboard.

3. Glue the items in place.

4. Optional: Allow your child to add paint or marker details to enhance their nature collage.

Torn Paper Landscape

This activity encourages kids to create a scenic landscape using torn paper, allowing them to practice their fine motor skills.

Materials:

• Colored paper or construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Large piece of paper

Instructions:

1. Help your child select a landscape theme, such as a beach, forest, or city skyline.

2. Tear or cut pieces of colored paper to create the various elements of the scene (e.g., trees, buildings, water, etc.).

3. Arrange the torn paper pieces on the large piece of paper to create the desired landscape.

4. Glue the pieces in place, layering and overlapping as needed.

Pasta Collage

Get creative with dried pasta shapes for a fun and tactile collage activity

Materials:

• Dried pasta shapes (e.g., macaroni, penne, fusilli)
• Glue
• Large piece of paper or cardboard
• Optional: paint or markers

Instructions:

1. Select a theme or subject for the pasta collage, such as a pattern, a scene, or an abstract design. I like abstract designs for pasta collages!

2. Arrange the dried pasta shapes on the large piece of paper or cardboard to create the desired design.

3. Glue the pasta pieces in place.

4. Optional: Allow the pasta to dry completely, and then encourage your child to paint or color the pasta for added visual interest.

Handprint Collage

Capture your child's growth and creativity with this sentimental handprint collage.

Materials:

• Paint (various colors)
• Large piece of paper or canvas
• Optional: markers or crayons

Instructions:

1. Pour small amounts of different colored paint onto a plate or palette.

2. Have your child dip their hand into the paint and press it onto the large piece of paper or canvas.

3. Repeat with different colors and hand placements, creating a collage of handprints.

4. Optional: Encourage your child to use markers or crayons to add details, such as their name, age, or a message.
   
5. Optional: Instead of making your collage all at once, you can make this a piece of art you work on every month for years! Each month, make a single handprint somewhere on the paper and label it with the month and year. Over the course of a few years, you'll see your child's hand and your piece of art GROW!

Collage Self-Portrait

Encourage self-expression and creativity with this collage self-portrait activity.

Materials:

• Colored paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Large piece of paper
• Markers or crayons

Instructions:

1. Help your child cut out various shapes and features from colored paper to create a self-portrait.

2. Arrange the cut-outs on the large piece of paper.

3. Glue the shapes in place.

4. Use markers or crayons to add details and personality to the self-portrait.

Texture Collage

Explore different textures and materials with this sensory-focused collage project.

Materials:

• Various textured materials (e.g., bubble wrap, sandpaper, fabric scraps, aluminum foil)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Large piece of paper or cardboard

Instructions:

1. Cut the textured materials into different shapes and sizes.

2. Arrange the cut-outs on the large piece of paper or cardboard.

3. Glue the pieces in place, encouraging your child to feel the different textures as they work.
   
4. Alternatively, find different textured materials around the house and make a crayon rubbing of those textured materials. Then cut up your rubbings to create your collage.

Family Tree Collage

Create a visual representation of your family tree with this meaningful collage project.

Materials:

• Photos or printed images of family members
• Colored paper or construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Large piece of paper or poster board
• Markers or crayons

Instructions:

1. Help your child cut out the photos or printed images of family members.
2. Cut out shapes from colored paper to represent each family member (e.g., circles, hearts, or stars).
3. Arrange the photos and shapes on the large piece of paper or poster board to create a family tree.
4. Glue the pieces in place.
5. Use markers or crayons to label each family member and add decorative details.

Fun Facts About Collage

Collage as an art form gained popularity in the early 20th century as artists began experimenting with new mediums and techniques. Here are five famous collages by renowned artists:

1. Pablo Picasso - "Still Life with Chair Caning" (1912): Often considered one of the first examples of modern collage, this work by Picasso includes oil paint, a piece of oilcloth printed with a chair caning pattern, and a rope frame. The blending of real-world materials with painted elements marked a significant departure from traditional art-making techniques.

2. Georges Braque - "Fruit Dish and Glass" (1912): This collage, or "papier collé" (pasted paper), by Braque features pieces of wallpaper pasted onto a charcoal drawing. Braque, along with Picasso, was instrumental in developing the collage technique within the Cubist movement.

3. Hannah Höch - "Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Beer-Belly of the Weimar Republic" (1919): Höch was a key figure in the Dada movement, and this satirical photomontage collage is one of her most famous works. It includes cut-up photographs and newspaper clippings, offering a critical commentary on Weimar Germany.

4. Robert Rauschenberg - "Bed" (1955): This is an example of what Rauschenberg called a "combine," a work that blends elements of painting and sculpture with everyday objects. "Bed" features a quilt, sheet, and pillow, splattered with paint in the style of Abstract Expressionism, and hung vertically like a traditional painting.

5. Romare Bearden - "The Block" (1971): Bearden's collage work often focused on African-American life and culture. "The Block" is a large-scale collage depicting Harlem, composed of cut and pasted cloth, paper, photostats, pencil, ink marker, gouache, watercolor, and pen and ink on Masonite panels.