Tape is a vastly underestimated crafting tool. When kids have a rainbow of colors to choose from, there are no limits to what they can make. Discover five creative ways for kids to use colored tape in arts and crafts and everyday play sessions.
Why Parents Love Crafting With Tape
There are many reasons to love giving your kids tape to craft with. First and foremost, it makes no mess. If a little tape gets on the table, the floor, or your kids’ clothes, you can just peel it off. You can’t say the same about markers and paints.
Parents also love tape because it doesn’t really break. Younger kids often struggle to understand that they need to maintain their crafting tools. They may also struggle to get a sharp tip put back on their colored pencils since those are much softer than graphite pencils.
Tape also makes an excellent crafting tool when time is short. You can cover large areas very quickly and without worrying about running out of ink. It’s also a lot less tiring than scribbling with pencils and crayons.
Idea #1: Teach Art With Tape
Kids love trying out new art styles, so why not introduce them to the world of art using tape? One of our favorite art projects is the mosaic. In a mosaic, the artist creates a picture by using small pieces of color—in Roman times, artists created mosaics using pieces of tile and colored glass. To start, make squares of tape using scissors and show them how to make larger designs using the small squares.
Projects for Older Kids
If your kids are a bit older, you can even turn this activity into an art history lesson. Show them pictures of real Roman mosaics and practice creating similar designs. Alternatively, you can show them examples of impressionist painters like Van Gogh and Seurat and talk about how small brush strokes create texture in art. For this version of the activity, let your kids use both short and long pieces of tape.
Idea #2: Birthday Party Crafts
Corralling kids at a birthday party can be tricky for parents. If you manage to get them all doing the same activity, it’s hard to keep an eye on them to see who might be getting paint or marker on furniture. Tape is a much better alternative to give to a party of kids.
Medieval Tournament Gear
Let the kids release some energy by hosting a tournament for young knights. You can have them decorate foam swords (just cut up some pool noodles) and cardboard shields with tape. For a finale, hang up a dragon piñata and let the new members of the Round Table take down the mighty beast.
Fairy Wings
Wearable fairy wings make a great birthday party craft. Create the frames using crafting wire (you can usually find it in the wreath-making section of the craft store) and have the kids decorate using tissue paper and colored tape. When they finish their wings, the kids can use more tape to wear them—just make a harness out of tape that goes around the arms and waist.
Pirate Flags
Every pirate needs an intimidating flag to advertise their personal style. The young pirates of your crew can have fun designing their own flags to take home using colored tape. We recommend giving them a rectangle cut from a cheap plastic black tablecloth as a background, which creates a dramatic backdrop for their bold tape art.
Idea #3: Games To Get Moving
One creative way for kids to use colored tape is to make driving lanes on the floor. These can be for rideable toys or matchbox cars. While the kids drive toys around the course, you can play games like Simon Says or Statues to add an extra level of fun.
Instead of driving lanes for vehicles, you can also use tape on the floor to make mazes. If you’re not the best at designing mazes, you can borrow some simple patterns from maze designs online. Doing so will let you choose a complexity that matches your kids’ ages.
Idea #4: Rainy Day Activities
If your kids are big fans of chalk, they may be disappointed when the rain prevents them from playing outside. One solution is to bring their favorite chalk activities indoors—just give them colored tape instead! Kids can draw lines for popular games like hopscotch and four square, or you can just let them create tape art on the floor.
For parents and teachers with access to a large flat space like a basement or a gym, you can even use tape to lay down the boundaries for games like soccer, tennis, and basketball. Just make sure that the kids have a ball to use that’s appropriate for indoor play. We suggest a soft rubber ball instead of your typical sports equipment.
Idea #5: Make Fabulous Costumes
Parents on Instagram may know about Mayhem, the young girl who designs paper dresses with her mom. Your kids can get in on the fun using colored tape, paper, and whatever else you have lying around to make all sorts of costumes. You can replicate red carpet gowns, superhero suits, or even animal costumes.
If your kids need costumes for an event and you’re short on time, colored tape makes it easy to put together a quick ensemble. Create a last-minute Halloween costume, an outfit for the Renaissance Festival, or an accessory for everyday fun!
More Colors Equals More Fun
If you visit the craft store, you might not be impressed with the colors available. Don’t worry! ChromaLabel has dozens of different colors for you to choose from, all in a variety of sizes. The best part about our color coding tape is that it won’t leave behind any residue on non-porous surfaces. You can write on it without worrying about bleeding, and you can remove it if you decide you want to reposition a piece. It’s one of the only physical art mediums with an undo button!
Color coding tape is the perfect crafting tool to give kids. It’s basically coloring with stickers, and what kid doesn’t like those? Call or email us today with any questions you have about our amazing tape. We’d love to talk to you and hear how your kiddos use it in their crafting projects.
