4-H: Mod Podge Project

Where does the time go?  Fall began, September flew by and October arrived and our 4-H club had its first meeting for the month.  Last spring I had picked up a bunch of old clipboards at a garage sale and I thought it would be fun to decorate them.  This was a fairly simple project using only Mod Podge, scrapbook paper, embellishments such as flowers, stones, gems, sea shells, etc. and a brush.  Also, the project was fairly inexpensive as our parents stepped up and brought a lot of the items we needed.  The most expensive part was the Mod Podge itself at almost $8.00 a bottle.  You can make your own by just watering down school glue (about 1/2 glue to 1/2 water), but add a small amount of water-based varnish to give it the sheen and hardness of Mod Podge.

First, I had the children tie the clip part of the clipboard open so it would not interfere with their work. Next, they brushed on the Mod Podge, attached the paper and brushed on more Mod Podge over the scrapbook paper.  I also suggested to the kids to add a ribbon where the clip came down onto the board to help keep the paper from wearing down.  The really fun part was decorating the clip of the clipboard.  I did mine quite simply, but many of the kids added quite a few items to theirs.

This wasn't a hard project, but it was fun for the children and the finished product did turn out quite nice.