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25 Jan

Rainbow Cellophane Window Art for Kids

Crafts
St Patrick's DayPreschoolers
35 Comments

Check out this absolutely gorgeous rainbow cellophane window art shared by Erica of What Do We Do All Day? You’ll love this fun art project for kids to make!

As a mom of two rowdy boys, I am all about super simple indoor activities and one of my favorite ways to keep my kids busy is to create window art.

It serves the double purpose of being a creative and fun activity while also covering up our less than perfect view.

Download a Week of Rainbow Fun RIGHT HERE!

A Rainbow Window for Kids to Make That’s Gorgeous!

There’s something quite wonderful about making art while watching the wind, rain or snow swirl around on the other side of the glass.

Make a beautiful rainbow on a window! DIY this gorgeous cellophane window art with your kids.

A rainbow window seemed like just the thing to combat the dreary days of winter.

We created our rainbow window by sticking cellophane directly on the glass using a solution of diluted dish soap. No sticky paper required!

To make your own rainbow window art, you’ll need:

  • Cellophane (affiliate link), cut into strips (or tissue paper)
  • A solution of 1 part dish soap to 2 parts water. (Err on the side of too much soap, rather than too little soap.)
  • A brush or sponge roller (or even a paint brush would work)
  • Towels for clean-up
  • Enthusiastic children, of course!

Alright! Let’s make cellophane window art!

First, decide if you or your kids are going to cut up the cellophane. This really depends on the level of interest your kids have in crafty stuff.

Admittedly, if my boys spend too much time on prep work they lose focus by the time the actual creating takes place.

For that reason, I like to have everything ready ahead of time, and I’d recommend this for your younger kids. But if your child is into it, by all means involve him or her in the prep!

I cut our cellophane into strips, but you could do any variety of shapes that you’d like. That could be a fun way to introduce shapes to a toddler and preschooler.

Painting the windows with soap to make the cellophane stick to the window.

How do you get cellophane to stick to windows?

It is super easy to make temporary stained glass with cellophane!

Paint the window with the soap solution using a sponge or roller and start to apply a piece of cellophane one rectangle at a time.

Sticking on the colors of cellophane onto the window for the rainbow window art.

To make your cellophane window art stick better, you’ll want the window to be really wet. If it dries, just apply more soap to use as your glue.

My younger son got a little crazy with the painting part but that was great, because it meant the window was really soaped up.

This is where the towels come in handy. Put one on the sill and another under their little feet.

Sticking on the colors for the rainbow window

Enjoy Your Pretty Rainbow Stained-Glass Window Art

The first time we made cellophane window art, it stayed up forever! I had to peel it off months later. (It comes off easily, I promise.)

The second time all the shapes fell off as soon as the solution dried, and I realized that I had not used enough soap. You really do need a heavy concentration of dish soap if you want your window art to last.

Spring is in the air when rainbows come around! Time to get crafty with these 36 spring crafts for the kids to make!

My oldest son likes everything to be just so, and he appointed himself in charge of how the colors would go on.

He decided two rows of each color. When he got to the bottom, though, he said the last two rows were going to be, “Roy G. Biv, Roy G. Biv!”

making a rainbow on the window using cellophane

My 5 year old finally put down his brush and decided to get in on the action during the color purple!

One of my favorite things is the way the sun shining through the colored cellophane window art creates a rainbow on the sill and window frame! Whenever I look at the window I smile.

For more free activity ideas, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, and join the challenge to do a free week of activities!

What are your favorite rainbow-themed activities?

We’d love to check out your creative ideas!

Erica of What Do We Do All Day

Erica is a theater geek turned stay-at-home mom with an obsession with children’s books and easy indoor activities, which she chronicles on her blog, What Do We Do All Day?. She makes book lists, drinks chai, plays board games and explores New York City with her two boys. Connect with Erica online: Facebook | Pinterest | Google+

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