Sun Catches

Sun Catches   You can buy them in Markets, you can buy kits to make your own at home, but did you know how incredibly cheap and easy they are to do at home RIGHT NOW??   I bet you have pretty much everything you need in your cupboards already...lets see.   You Will Need... White Craft Glue (often called Shearers Glue or Wood Glue) (as long as it comes out milky white and dry's clear.)   Food Coloring (yep like you use in cooking) Clear Plastic Pockets (often used in folders for school or to keep recipies from magazines in etc)   A picture or photo...un cluttered with clear lines.   A Black Thin-Medium Permanent Marker   Tooth Picks   30 minutes.     Method Take your plastic pocket and cut it in half so you have 2 A4 sized sheets.  One will be your pallet, the other you will trace your picture through.   Get your picture...Bob the Builder for example.
Place you Plastic sheet over it.  Take you Black Permanent Marker and trace all main lines.  By "main" lines I mean his complete outline, then (for example) add line differentiating boots from pants.  I would trace all but the checks in his shirt.  Include face, ears and hair. (only colour in things that you wish to remain Black)   Take your other plastic sheet.  Take your glue and put a dot about a half a centimeter in diameter.  Take your food coloring/dyes and add one drop at a time stirring thoroughly ( with your tooth pick, one per colour) until you get the colour you desire.  i.e.. skin colour pink verses bright pink.   HINT....The colour will be more vivid once the glue has dried   Now take your doused in coloured glue, toothpick and you are going to use it like a paint brush only mainly you will be applying it in dots and dollops.  The glue paint needs to be applied reasonably thickly.    Stay in your lines as much as is possible at this point.   When you have applied all your colour's, use some un-colored glue to paint in the same way with the tooth pick over your black lines. even completely around the picture if you want it bigger.  Just be sure to cover EVERY black line and if you want to join two parts of the one picture together, this is how to do that.  Remember that the glue dry's transparently, so whilst it looks very thick and white when you have done it, it will be completely see through in about 3 hours time.   HINT...Make sure you pop any air bubbles that may appear and try and keep the levels of glue paint even through out the picture.   When you have finished, place it carefully (don't want it to drip or run)  somewhere warmish like near a window to dry.  It will take approximately 3 hours to dry completely how ever I prefer to leave over night just to be certain.   When completely dry peel off from the plastic sheet (can be re-used) and put it on your window, picture frame glass, mirror, where ever you want it.  It will stay for as long as it is undisturbed, however on a window it will fade in time, leaving you with the shape, the black lines but only a hint of colour, though this takes around 2-3 years.  It will go brittle at this stage (years of sun etc) and if you do not wish to flake it off you can thoroughly wet it and soak it off.  They will NOT ever damage a window.   I have done photo's and they have turned out fantastically, babies and chubby cheeked children are my favorites as I add wings etc to them and turn them into fairies.  get creative

HINT...Great for making Christmas Deco's, Birthday dec's, Thanks Giving etc.  Halloween.  Any occasion, and after can be removed from window and replaced onto the plastic sheet.  Put in a zip lock bag and put away until next year.  Will remain in pretty good nick out of sun light for extended (months/years) periods of time.   Great for ages 4 years and up (or 3 years if you are willing to help A LOT!)