Getting Crafty with Elmer's & Creating Fun #CBias

It was too wet to go out, it was just too wet to play, 

so we headed to our local Michael's to keep boredom at bay!

It may be Summer, but it hasn't acted like it here in Oregon. I am sure the flip side is it could be too hot to go out and play. Either way we headed in to the store to stock up on supplies for some crafting fun.

My kids were just a little bit excited! Anytime safety scissors and glue is involved, they are ready. I had the children sit with me on Pinterest and the Michael's website to look at project ideas. We couldn't decide on only one, but we all chose something we wanted to try.

After combing the entire store for Elmer's products, we had our cart filled with the classic school glue, glue sticks and the blue gel glue. For our big project I also grabbed some glitter spray paint and t-shirts for the kids. At home we already had construction paper and embellishments ready to go. You can view our entire shopping trip in my Google+ album.

We are getting all excited about the 4th of July and fireworks so we used the classic white Elmer's glue to make firework shapes on colored construction paper. Then we dusted them with glitter. My kids love glitter!

Then we used construction paper to create crowns for dress-up. I gave them a variety of things like buttons and pom-poms to embellish their crowns with. Of course getting to use their safety scissors and glue pieces of colored paper was also a hit. I really enjoyed the gel glue because it didn't run and was easy to wipe up afterwards.

If you are wondering about the paint and t-shirts, well I wanted to try out Elmer's glue to make reverse t-shirt designs. You can use either white school glue or the blue gel glue. The blue gel does a better job staying in place for more intricate patterns or squiggles. The white school glue did a better job spreading out within the stencil.

Since Elmer's glue washes off easily I used cookie cutters for stencils. I let the glue dry overnight, but it doesn't have to be completely dry. After spraying the shirt with glitter spray paint the glue will be washed off leaving a void for my pattern.

I let the kids spray the glitter paint over the star designs. The thicker the better with glitter paint and the kids were happy to do their best to cover the shirts. This has to dry for at least 48 hours.

I soaked the t-shirts in cool water for about 10 minutes before putting them in the washer. After drying I went back to re-apply glitter to my son's shirt and it is still drying. The t-shirt was lighter and it the glitter paint didn't show up as well. My daughter's shirt is laundered and ready to go though. I used a fabric pen to outline the inside of the stars to make it "pop".

Overall we had a blast with our glue projects. The next time the kids say they are bored, I know exactly what to do. They are already asking when they can get the Elmer's glue and craft supplies out again. It was a busy Saturday but I love the creativity it sparked and the fun we had!

You can also check out my diary on Uncram - http://uncr.am/axGmM5

*Disclaimer - I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are my own.