DIY Suncatchers Craft for KIDS!

Check out these DIY Suncatchers Craft for KIDS! Using old CDS or DVDS upcycled a few different ways to hang in the window, porch, or garden!
Using only a few items that you may already have on hand! KIDS can have FUN & be creative!

Today we will show you how to make these suncatchers from old CDs & DVDs. As you know here at Creative DIY Purpose we love to find items that can no longer be used for their original purpose and give them a new look & have FUN doing it!

We found an easier way to scratch the paint off after a bit of trial & error. We are excited to share with you our results!

If you have never tried SCRATCH ART it is a lot of fun and very satisfying! You will want to lay something down under your project so you can easily clean up the scratched-off paint peels. If you want to check out dozens of ready-to-scratch pads here are some of our FAVORITES from Melissa & Doug!

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Tips & Tricks for DIY Suncatchers

Add two thick, generous coats of paint
Use a pencil to draw your design on the disc
A wooden tool with a flat edge works best like a popsicle stick or wood stylus
Dip your stylus into water but you don’t want to it to drip water on your disc (any spot you put water onto will take the paint off)
Make sure to have a newspaper or cover to protect your work surface
Have a rag or paper towel on hand to GENTLY wipe off your disc once you are done scratching
Using a back & forth motion with your stylus helps to take the paint off easier

Brush water onto the painted spot you want to scratch

The first time we tried this we followed other tutorials & found it hard to remove the paint without scratching the disc. Most recommended sharp tools & screwdrivers which I didn’t want to recommend that your kids use.

We tried our wood stylus from store-bought kits but it didn’t really remove all the paint as cleanly as I had hoped. We found by “lightly” dipping the end of any wooden stylus or craft stick did the trick!

Materials for DIY Suncatchers

Acrylic paint (any medium to dark color)
Cds or DVDs
Fishing line, ribbon, or string
Q-tip or narrow paintbrush

Tools for DIY Suncatchers

Paintbrush
Newspaper or paint cloth
Wooden dowel, chopstick, popsicle, wood stylus (most types of wooden craft sticks will do)
Small container of water (just a filled bottle cap amount)

Painting Your DIY Suncatchers

Gather your supplies
Lay down your paint pad (we used newspaper)
Apply two coats of acrylic paint – allowing them to dry between coats (doesn’t take long to dry)
Okay, now that you have applied two coats of paint and your disc have dried it is time to add your design!

How to Scratch Your Design

Draw your desired design onto the disc using a pencil
Dip your wooden tool into water OR lightly dip a thin paintbrush & brush on the first section you want to work on.
Take your tool & lightly scratch where you want the coating to be removed
If the paint is being stubborn you can scratch in a back & forth motion (you want your stylus damp, not super soaked)
You can add some touches of acrylic paint for color

Ways to Display your DIY Suncatchers!

Decide where & how you want to display your discs.
You can display your creations by themselves or in multiples.
Adding string, ribbon, or fishing line to hang your disc
Add a suction cup to a window to share your creation!

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Shop Our Favorite CRAFT & DIY Supplies for KIDS!

Here are our FAVORITE art & craft supplies for KIDS! They have been KID tested & Mom approved! These items will be used in countless craft and DIY projects that we will be sharing with you! I have added the shopping links to the products below so you can have these items on hand as well!

Paint

Tulip Dimensional Fabric Paint (extra bottles of white for the look of icing)
Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint by Plaid (even though it’s very inexpensive we have never had a problem with coverage or paint drying out.
Kassa Watercolor Set – Painting Kit for Kids & Adults – Bundle Includes Water Brush Pen (3 Assorted Sizes), Water Color Paper (30 Sheets) & Watercolor Paint Set (21 Colors) – I can not say enough about the quality of this set – and it is mess-free!

Clay

4. Sculpey Polymer Clay – I could do an entire post just on the different things my kids create each week with this amazing clay!
5. Air Dry Clay by DAS– This is the easiest to work with brand that we have found. Both the kids & I use this brand in a variety of projects.

Markers & Pens

6. Permanent Sharpie Markers – Of course, for younger kids, these need supervision or you may find permanent artwork on places you’d prefer not to. There are some art projects that welcome a non-smearing or fading marker & these fit the bill! 30 colors of Sharpies
7. Chalk Markers by Kassa – The colors are vibrant & go on smooth! We love using these vs regular chalk, less dust & sticks to surfaces better.
8. Arteza Gel Pens (metallic) – Love this brand for all kinds of gel pens! They seem to not “smudge” like other brands. You can buy replacement cartridges so it is less waste & saves money!

Glue & Sealer

9. Mod Podge Water-based Sealer, Glue & Decoupage Finis (gloss version) & (matte version). They have a variety of different kinds of sealers depending on your project needs.
10. Gorilla Dual Temp Glue Gun – Parent supervision for younger kids. We like this brand for a smaller glue gun – this set even comes with the sticks!