"Pop" art

Tell your dad how much you love him this Father’s Day with a fun recycled "Pop Art" sign!

Supplies:
Empty CD case
Unwanted book, comic or newspaper
Old magazines
Scraps of colored paper
12 soda bottlecaps
Quarter coin
Pencil
Scissors
Permanent glue stick
1/2” wide adhesive “dots”
White glue (optional)
Paintbrush (optional)

Here’s How:

 1. First, tear a couple of pages out of an old book, comic or newspaper; then, tear them into strips about 1” x 3”.
 2. One at a time, cover the back of the strips with a glue stick and wrap them around the CD case until both sides and the edges are completely covered.
 3. Next, it’s not required, but if desired mix some white glue with a few drops of water and “paint” the wrapped CD case with the mixture. Paint one side at a time, allowing the “paint” to dry between coats.
 4. Then, use a pencil to trace around a quarter onto different colored scraps of paper to make 12 circles. Use scissors to cut them all out.
 5. Now, look through old magazines to find the letters that spell out “Love you Dad!” and use scissors to cut them out.
 6. With the glue stick, adhere one letter to 11 of the paper circles.
 7. For the 12th circle, cut a little heart out of colored paper and glue it on.
 8. Then, one at a time, press the back of each paper circle onto a glue dot to remove the glue dot from it’s backing and then adhere the circle into a bottle-cap.
 9. Now, one at a time, press the back of each bottle-cap onto a glue dot and adhere each bottle-cap in order onto the covered CD case.
10. Gift wrap the finished sign with another page from a magazine, book, comic, or newspaper for a great Father’s Day surprise!

 
More ideas:
• “Dots” of adhesive are a clean, easy way to glue all sorts of projects and are available in stores with the scrapbooking supplies.
• If glue dots are not available, use a permanent glue stick to adhere the circles of paper into the bottle-caps and use white glue to adhere the bottle-caps to the background.
• Use thick “3D” glue dots to make the bottle-caps “pop” out even more.
• Instead of metal bottle caps, use plastic bottle lids, checker pieces or poker chips.
• If available, use a template or paper punch in place of a quarter to create the circles.
• In addition to letters cut from magazines, try using alphabet stickers, rubber stamps or simply write them with marker.
• For a quicker project, use the quarter to trace and cut circles around letters directly from the magazines.
• If coating the paper covered CD, decoupage or papier-mache medium can be used instead of the glue and water mixture.
• For a different look, create a monochromatic sign by only using papers and letters in different shades of one color.
• For a bigger sign, use an old record cover or cut a piece of foam board.
• For bigger letters, or circles that can fit one word instead of one letter each, use metal frozen juice can lids.
• Use rough wood for the background and omit covering it with torn strips of paper.
• Glue magnets onto the back of each bottle-cap to make a changeable sign that can be spelled out onto a metal sign, or onto a filing cabinet or refrigerator.
• Create a different message like “Happy Father’s Day” or “#1 Dad” by changing the shape and size of the background piece.
• Attach small photographs of kids, drawings, or other images besides letters into the bottle-caps too.
• Use yellowed, vintage books or magazines for a really fun look.
• Glue tiny toys or other 3D elements into any bottle-caps without letters.
• Tear the background and cut extra pictures for the bottle-caps from papers that represent Dad’s interests or hobby- such as the sports pages of the newspaper, a Golf magazine, a tool catalog, or a favorite comic book. But, make sure • Dad is done with his reading material first!
• Try this project to make greetings and decorations for other events and holidays.
• Make one for a bedroom door plaque or for themed kid’s room décor too!

Pamela Maxwell is an artist, author and mother of two boys. Photo by Pamela Maxwell.

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