Back-to-School Work Folders (with Printmaking!)

This simple printmaking technique adds a personal touch to an easy style of folders a mentor taught me to make when I was an educator.  Use any type of painting, sketching or cut-outs that you might like to “make them your own”!

Materials

• Large tile or plexiglass
• Brayer
• Ink (or you can use paint)
• Cotton swabs
• Hole punch
• Yarn
• Large, plastic needle
• Scissors
• Poster (Bristol) board (if you want a smaller folder, use construction paper or cardstock)

We always a smock helpful too:

Directions

• Don your smock.  You may want to cover your table with a plastic cloth as well.

• Folder your poster board in half.  If there is a shiny side, make sure that this is in the inside as the ink will better adhere to the more porous side.

• Put a small scoop of ink onto your tile.  (You could use plexiglass too if you like).  Spread your ink out onto your tile, using your brayer.

• Use cotton swabs to make an image.  We went with a drawing our ourselves so as to house all our work we bring home from school this year, but you might select something for a particular theme or unit of study.  You could also use an item such as a popsicle stick to make your lines.  As your ink or paint starts to dry and this will affect the transfer, you have to work at a fairly quick pace.  Our daughter drew herself, complete with her strawberry birthmark.

• Once you are done, lay your folded paper on the tile and rub the surface to assure contact with the ink.  Make sure to put the folded section of your paper at the bottom of your image!

• Carefully peel it off, revealing your image!

• Allow your work to dry overnight.

• With the help of an adult, punch holes approximately 2.5 centimetres/ 1 inch apart on both sides of your folder, going through both layers of the paper.  (Depending on the material that you chose, this is why you may need an adult’s help!)

• The kids wanted to use three different colours of yarn, but one strand works just great too.  We lined up our pieces and trimmed them to be an equal length and then tied a large knot at one end.  We knotted our needle on at the other end (older children can just thread the needle without the knot to keep it secure.)  We then went with a simple “wrap-around” (over-cast) stitch where you start coming up through the bottom, wrap around the outer edge and then come up through the bottom of the next hole, repeating this pattern.  But go with whatever you fancy!  If you would like your initial knot to be more secure you could go through the initial hole, wrap around the other edge and then use those two ends to make a knot before starting.  For the end of the sewing we then went through the last hole a few times, made a secure knot, left a little bit extra and trimmed our excess yarn.

• At the bottom or top of your image, write your child or student’s name, grade and/or the year.  Or if the folder is for something specific, such as a unit of study, include that.

• Place your work inside!

• Here is a variation our son did with watercolours to create an envelope to house a gift for his teacher for the first day of school:

• Go with whatever theme, technique or medium interests you!

Purpose

• Creating materials to help keep one organized
• Experimenting with various types of printmaking.
• Developing fine motor skills (cutting sewing, folding etc.)

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tablecloth to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and needles with care and adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.