Elementary School Musical: Fun with Paper

Warning: If you have school aged children and word gets out that you can make stuff out of paper, your home and cell phone numbers will be on the speed dial of every music teacher, homeroom parent and overzealous PTA member from now until your kids graduate from high school. After my friend Desiree and I created the set for "Bugz! The Musical" for our kids' second grade performance, suddenly I was to go-to gal for projects involving large amounts of colored paper. Last year, I got a call from a 5th grade mom asking if I could make a woody station wagon for the surf themed, end of the year 5th grade party. Thinking she must have mistaken me for another mom, I said, "You do know that I don't have a child in 5th grade?". "Yes", she said. From that moment on, I have honed my skills in the art of "Just Say No". It's not that I didn't want to help, but I know that I'm not the only creative-type parent who has kids at that school. Besides, being a good Christian and all, I didn't want to "steal any one's blessing" by doing something someone else could do.

This was my first hands-on experience working with those big rolls of paper that teachers use to cover bulletin boards in their classrooms. With the exception of a few purple balloons, a couple sheets of tissue paper, and a small amount of craft paint, this entire set is made of paper. And staples -- lots and lots of staples! Oh wait, I forgot the pb&j sandwich. This was made out of upholstery foam, purple satin and brown felt. (That sandwich was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.) The red and white picnic blanket was weaved out of two sheets of paper. I gotta give props to Desiree for that one: cutting straight lines is not my strongest attribute. Speaking of Desiree, she is one of the most creative people I know, and she was such an encourager during the creation of this set. When I was up on a ladder with 20 feet of scrunched up paper atop my head, she kept saying, "It will be fine. We just need more staples!" Love that gal!

Because I was also in charge of costumes, I had to figure out how to create roughly 300 pairs of wings for various type of bugs. After pricing pre-made fairy wings, I concluded that option was not in the budget. My solution? White pantyhose, Rit dye in an assortment of colors and wire coat hangers. We dyed the hose and stretched them over the coat hangers (shaped in the form of wings). Oh, and safety pins -- we used lots and lots of safety pins!

I hope that this has stirred your creative juices and perhaps inspired you volunteer your creative services to your local school or church. That creative mom they always call needs a break, and she doesn't want to steal your blessing!