Students young and old love to make Mother's Day Cards. As a class project brainstorm ideas that help to make cards that are different, original and fun to create.
Tying ribbon through cardboard can be an effective way to incorporate collage materials into drawing exercises. Together with the students think of ideas to make classy mothers day cards that express love and appreciation. As a literacy booster have them write haiku or short verse to enhance the design.
As you brainstorm talk about the kind of images that could be enhanced by adding a ribbon to or threading ribbon through punched holes.
If this is a visual literacy class, make sure the learning outcomes are firmly centred on drawing.
- As the students brainstorm write their ideas on the board
- Invite them to try out all possibilities before settling for the idea they like
- Encourage them to be experimental when exploring the drawing possibilities
- Don’t punch the holes into the card until the image is completely drawn. This way they will have a clearer idea where the ribbon will need to come through.
- Make sure that the students consciously think about and practice techniques that revolve around the Seven Elements of Design.
- Encourage them to consciously do their best when
- Shading
- Rescuing outlines
- Creating back ground
- Using collage materials
- Experimenting with borders
- Hand lettering or computer generated lettering
- Texture
Here are some ideas so that you can kick of the brainstorming session
- A cat with a ribbon around its neck “Your Soft - Your Sweet - Your Puuuuurrrrfetc!”
- A dog with a bow around its neck “Ruff Ruff Let’s have a laugh on Mother’s Day.”
- A bunch of flowers tied up with ribbon "4 U"
- A gecko being led along on a ribbon "You are a heckO a Mum!"
- A bog of chocolates tied up with ribbon
- A posy made by pulling ribbon through holes in the card and twirling with scissors “Posy for a Cosy Mum.”
- Balloons Tied Up With Ribbons "Crank Up The Party It's Mother's Day"
- Teddy Bears Floating on a Ribbon with Love Hearts all around “Floating On Air.”
- A Unicorn with a ribbon around its middle “Unique Delightful Dependable The One and Only Mum”
- A tree filled with apples with a ribbon around the centre. “I couldn’t decide - so I picked you the tree!”
- A finger with a ribbon tied around it - "How Could I Forget All The Little Things You Do For Me?”
- Ribbon Tied Through Shoe as Shoe Laces "Who Taught Me All Of the Little Things I Needed to Know?"
- Needle thread " You’re the Stitch that Binds."
Have as many materials available to the students as possible.
- Glitter
- Water Colour paint and pencils
- Gouache
- Black fine tipped felts
- Coloured Felt
- Coloured pencils
- Fixative and glue or a glue gun
- Crepe Paper
- Robbon (as many kinds as possible)
Here is a suggestion for a gift you may wish to make as well. Framing A Mother’s Day Gift
ADAPTING TO A THEME
Your programme might be operating to an outcomes based theme.
With some ingenuity you should still be able to incorporate a card making session.
For example I have adapted a Water Based Theme this way.
- Mother washing child in the tub
- Sea weed with a mermaid peeking through at a baby swaddled in a shell
- Baby clown fish snuggled in anemone
- Fishing line with a hook "Gone Fishing ...Wait! Guess What You Get For ... Mothers Day Tea /Breaky In Bed/ Lunch?" (Adapt)
- Flowers in a Vase (The drawing class could be about refraction.)
- Splash (show them how to draw a splash)
- Doing the Washing
If you are teaching literacy and card making seems like a great way to get the students involved in practical art assignments that stimulate a desire to write perhaps undertaking a course in Greeting Card Writing would be a good option for you. If this is part of your professional development perhaps your course could be funded or the work you do could go into your advanced teacher status portfolio!
Good luck with the project. Please post examples of your projects on the discussion boards.
