Tissue Paper Collage

This is really good for young kids (age 5 and 6) who may not have used a paint brush before. The only catch is finding liquid starch, which I have only found at the Von’s grocery store chain in LA. 1. You can tell the students that they will be making a collage with just warm colors: red, yellow and orange. Give them a few dozen tissue paper squares in these colors, approx. 2" in size.
2. I used a parchment-type paper (wax paper would work too) for the base, and gave the students all a cup of starch and brush. The starch works well because it is thick and not too sticky. Show the students how to brush a little starch on their base paper, and then place a tissue square on top. They need to repeat this, overlapping as much as possible, until the paper is filled.
3. The last step is to brush a final layer of starch over all the tissue so that everything is wet. Any dry spots will not have the shiny, finished look to them. Let dry for a day. When dry, one option is to draw a large leaf shape, cut out and hang it in your window for a beautiful fall decoration.