Window clings were one of Evan’s favourite crafts when he was little. I first published this post way back in 2011. He was 4 years old. It is hard to believe that he will be eleven at the end of this month. So many things have changed but he is still my smart, funny little boy.
Making crafts together is a fun way to keep your kids busy, teach them things and have fun. Evan and I hope you enjoy this craft as much as we did!
Evan loves watching Artzooka on CBC Kids. His favorite part is the movies starring paper bag. He also loves watching all the different easy kid’s crafts that Jeremie (the host) makes. Yesterday, Jeremie made window clings and Evan thought that was the coolest craft ever. So today we figured we would give it a try for ourselves. It turned out AWESOME so I thought I would share it with you.
Easy Window Clings Craft
You will need:
A clear plastic sheet protector
White craft glue (like Elmer’s)
Liquid food coloring
Liquid dish detergent
small paint brush
Either draw a picture and put it inside the plastic sheet protector or wing it (like we did). Mix a couple of tablespoons of glue (eyeball it) with food coloring and a couple of drops of dish detergent until you get the color you like.
Paint on the sheet protector to make your picture. Make sure to paint really thick because you want it to be sturdy when you peel it off later. Make sure that different colors touch one another to make one solid painted piece. Set aside to dry.
When the window clings are dry, carefully peel the window cling off the sheet protector and then stick it to a window. You can then peel it off and restick it to another glass surface as much as you want.
I think we’re going to do this again soon to make some homemade Halloween decorations. Oh, one other hint….we made the paint yellow, painted the petals and then added blue food coloring to make the paint green. This saved on glue and dishes to wash. Since the glue is water soluble, just run hot water in the dish you use and clean up is a snap.
Looking for more fun activities to do with kids? Check out these posts!
Fun Outdoor Kids Games for Summer
Inexpensive Summer Fun at Home for Kids
Tammy
Monday 16th of May 2016
how long does it take to dry
Merry Kuchle
Monday 16th of May 2016
I don't really remember. Not that long.
Krista
Thursday 10th of December 2015
How much does this make. I'd like to do this for a winter camp but should have enough and maybe make a station for each color.
Lynzi
Tuesday 8th of December 2015
I have a few little tips that can help or add to these... First, if they won't stick, make sure there is no grease on the window, then spray it (or better yet, the surface of the cling) with a fine mist of warm water. It just helps to create a seal on the window, but on the cling, it will ever so slightly soften the surface again, helping the glue to be more sticky. They don't tend to like being added to cold windows but removing them from a window at extreme temperatures is even worse. If they get too cold, they can become brittle, too warm and they stretch and distort. My other tip is a more fun based one. Keep a handful of flat back gems, googly eyes, glitter, anything like that, near your glue. Press them gently onto your design when you have finished, the glue will hold them in place but if you decide to get rid of the cling after using it, you can just peel them out. Perfect if you want to make a row of gingerbread men to decorate the kitchen for Christmas. You can even use traditional cake stuff (hundreds and thousands, those silver ball things that always break your teeth...) by pressing it into wet shapes, or use markers to add details once they are dry. (Somebody mentioned black lines, it does make the shape look crisper, but just draw it on afterwards with a Sharpie!) You can keep kids quiet for quite a while if you tell them the best Gingerbread house wins a prize (a real gingerbread man, naturally) . The food colouring element is nothing to worry about, formula wise. It doesn't matter if you use gel, liquid or none at all. While the gingerbread idea is fun too, my favourite make is snowflakes. You can mix some glitter in with the formula, but that does tend to make it very thick. The best method is to sprinkle the finished shape with glitter. If you only use a little, you can go over the design a few times, sprinkling in between each layer of glue, and a little on top. The result is a very three dimensional effect and catches the light beautifully. You can use silver or gold glitter, especially using holographic, or pearlescent white, looks very pretty, but the clear, iridescent glitter works best. Your snowflakes act like little rainbow catchers and sparkle even when the light is behind them. Hope the tips for sticking help, and you enjoy the other ideas.
Lara
Wednesday 30th of December 2015
Your tips were really helpful, Lynzi -- thank you!
Leslie
Sunday 6th of December 2015
I found this site because I was searching for replacement glue recipes for a Klutz Window Art kit. The kit provides a book of images, the page protector and the assorted mini bottles of glue. What I learned from it is that the images look better when you use black glue to outline each section, much like a stained glass effect. It also helps reduce any bleed between sections, I think. Thanks for the recipe!
JCousins
Thursday 4th of December 2014
My daughter and I have been trying these. They turn out great, but they don't stick to the window. What am I missing? I've tried less dish soap, more dish soap nothing works. Any ideas of what's wrong?
Roxanne
Thursday 23rd of March 2017
One side of ours didn't stick but the other side did.
Marianne
Wednesday 25th of March 2015
Ours stuck great the first time, but when we moved to another window, it wouldn't re-stick ! I wonder if it's the temp of the windows or they are just not meant to be repositioned...any thoughts??
Merry Kuchle
Thursday 4th of December 2014
I'm not sure. We had no problems with ours sticking. :(