How To Make An 'Under The Sea' Picture (Using Post-It Notes)

As a teacher I know only too well the worth of a sticky bit of paper for note-making. Before I had The Boy, my desk was organised with coloured Post-it notes, and they are also an excellent resource to use in lessons during collaborative discussion work.

However, I'd never thought of using them to create a piece of art with The Boy until I was asked by 3M to see what I could do with their new Post-it Notes Colour Cubes, packs of Post-it Notes in a range of vibrant hues. They sent me a selection and a canvas and asked me to get creative on a "miserable rainy day when no one wants to go outside!" How fortuitous that today happened to be just one of those days.

So faced with this wonderful range of bright coloured Post-it notes, mostly shades of blue, The Boy and I decided to make an 'Under The Sea' picture.

1. First, we layered the different shades of blue all over the canvas (we did have to use a small amount of PVA glue as the canvas was the most resistant surface in the world!)
2. We also used the smaller packs of Super Sticky fully adhesive Post-it notes to add some variation in the colours.
3. Next we ripped up the different shades of green to make seaweed and underwater foliage and layered these from halfway down to the bottom, overlapping to add depth.
4. Finally I used the brightly coloured pink, orange and yellow Post-it notes to create some fish, by drawing a design on the back and cutting them out. The Boy then placed these in between the leaves and swimming freely about in the water.

And there we have it; one canvas (or piece of card), a selection of Post-it notes in different colours, one hour and one very happy little boy.

If you're looking for some more ideas on creating art with sticky bits of paper, have a look at the Post-it UK Facebook page, which includes some excellent examples.

This is a sponsored post in connection with 3M.