There’s a whiff of Spring in the air. Here in Victoria I can sense the season of new beginnings is on its way. Maybe it’s the daffodils I spotted for sale from buckets outside the service station. Maybe it’s the wattles bursting into bloom along the verge of country roads. Maybe it’s the dainty jasmine blossoms I see peeking through fences in my neighborhood. Look around you, take a deep breath, take a moment to notice… can you sense it?

It’s been such a tough year, and it’s still very tough for those living through another lockdown. Look for those little hints of Spring in the air and take them as a sign that brighter days will come.

Sun-catcher windows are a cute craft activity for your children, and a way to catch a little piece of sunshine and celebrate the coming season. Think of this activity as collage without the glue. You’ll need to have some collage materials ready to go… hopefully you’ve got a pasting box where you’ve been saving those scraps of wrapping paper, ribbons and string that come through the house. If not, look to the garden: maybe there are some petals and leaves there that would be perfect.

You can extend this activity by getting your child to draw shapes onto the vinyl before they start, and using the collage to fill them in. If you do this you’ll need to consider two things: a permanent marker will be needed to write on the plastic, and your child will be collaging onto the back of their design, so any letters will need to be written in reverse.

You’ll need:

• 2 pieces of clear adhesive vinyl (the type you use to cover books), cut to a size that suits your child’s reach

• tape

• scissors

• any collage materials

Adhesive vinyl can be annoyingly curly and tricky to manipulate… but here are my tips:

1. Cut two pieces of adhesive vinyl

2. Pre-cut 4 pieces of tape and have them loosely attached to your table edge, ready to use

3. Carefully peel off the backing paper from one piece of vinyl… as you do this the vinyl will relax and flatten out

4. Lay this piece of vinyl flat on the table with its sticky side facing up

5. Secure it to the table by taping down each corner

6. Offer your child a selection of flat collage materials to choose from, such as the following:

   • petals and leaves

   • paper scraps - transparent materials like tissue and cellophane are magic for this

   • the paper snowflakes discussed in one of my recent blogs would be perfect

   • pieces of wool or fabric

   Once your child places their chosen materials onto the vinyl they will magically stick there.

7. When they’re happy with the way it looks it’s time to top it with the other piece of vinyl. Peel the backing paper from the second piece and carefully lay it on top of your collage so that both sticky sides face each other. Two pairs of hands are extra helpful for this job. Once covered, rub flat hands over the whole surface to seal everything together.

8. Trim any wonky edges with scissors. You might like to add a paper frame of paper, or simply leave the edges raw.

Hang your sun-catcher in a window and watch the sunshine stream right through. Brighter days are on their way. Take care x