School Project Panic? The Deckle Edge Has You Covered

The school project brief has landed.

Build a bridge. Make a crane. Construct scaffolding. Create a model house or settlement. Explain the water cycle. Build a skeleton. Make the solar system. Create an erupting volcano. Design a poster.

And suddenly the dining-room table looks like a miniature construction site.

Having two school-going children myself, I know this feeling very well. My first move is often to ask Carmen, Donovan or Waahid for advice. They are brilliant at looking at a school project brief and saying, “You could use this for that,” or finding some clever little material I would never have thought of.

That is one of the things I love most about having The Deckle Edge nearby. You do not necessarily need a perfectly planned shopping list. Bring the brief, show us what needs to be built, and we can help you figure it out.

Building a Bridge, Crane or Scaffolding?

For Technology projects involving structures, bridges, towers, cranes and scaffolding, lightweight materials that are easy to cut, join and experiment with are usually your best friends.

Model Houses, Settlements and Buildings

Need to build a house, neighbourhood, village or settlement?

Start with chipboard, Triplex, cardboard, foam board or craft foam for the main structure, then add details with coloured cardboard, felt, air-drying clay, craft sticks and paint.

Craft paint and permanent markers are great for finishing touches, while wire, string and wooden sticks can solve all sorts of tiny construction problems.

Water Cycle Projects

Evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection suddenly make a lot more sense when you can actually build them.

Fishing line is especially useful for suspending raindrops and clouds so they look like they are floating.

Skeleton and Human Body Projects

Skeleton projects can be anything from a labelled poster to a movable body model.

Split pins are brilliant for this. They allow arms, legs and joints to move instead of staying completely flat.

Build a Solar System

Foam balls are an easy starting point for planets.

Paint them, add texture, make Saturn’s rings from cardboard or craft foam, then suspend the planets using fishing line or string.

Bonus parenting tip: check the project brief before discovering at 9pm that Pluto apparently needs to be included too.

The Classic School Volcano

Few school projects have the same dramatic appeal as an erupting volcano.

You can build the volcano itself using cardboard, scrunched paper and papier-mâché, or use air-drying clay for a quicker option. Place a small plastic cup or bottle in the centre before building the mountain around it.

Once dry, paint it with craft paint and add rocks, grass, lava and whatever prehistoric drama is required.

Easy Papier-Mâché Recipe

You only need:

• 1 part flour
• 1 part water
• Pinch of salt to help prevent it spoiling over time
• Newspaper, Newsprint or scrap paper torn into strips

Mix the flour and water until you have a smooth, runny paste. Dip strips of paper into the mixture, wipe off the excess and layer them over your shape.

Use about 3 to 4 layers, then leave it to dry completely before painting.

For a slightly stronger mixture, you can add a small spoonful of PVA, craft glue.

Tip: torn paper edges blend much better than neatly cut strips.

Do this on a tray or outside because enthusiastic volcanoes have absolutely no respect for dining-room tables.

Posters and Presentation Boards

Sometimes the brief simply says: MAKE A POSTER.

This sounds easy until you realise you need headings, diagrams, labels, neat lettering, pictures and something to stick all of it down.

Useful supplies include:

• Coloured cardboard
• Paper
• Permanent markers
• Fineliners
• Paint markers
• Craft paint
• Brushes
• Double-sided tape
• Glue
• Rulers
• Cutting tools or scissors
• Lettering and drawing supplies

A simple trick is to use one colour for headings, one for important facts and another for diagrams. It instantly makes a project easier to read.

The Random Little Things That Somehow Save the Entire Project

This is the part parents know well.

You have cardboard. You have glue. You have paint.

But apparently the entire project now depends on one split pin, three magnets, fishing line, a battery and a foam ball.

Some of our favourite school-project problem solvers include felt, craft foam, craft paint, brushes, double-sided tape, glue guns, sucker sticks, sosatie sticks, model-building materials, chipboard, Bostik Clear Gel, permanent markers, split pins, Triplex, foam balls, magnets, paper clips, wire, string, fishing line, air-drying clay, coloured matchsticks and coloured cardboard.

It is amazing what you can build from a handful of these materials.

Bring Us the Brief

This is probably the most useful school-project tip I can give as both a parent and someone who works in an art store:

Bring the actual project brief with you.

Take a photo of it. Bring the worksheet. Show us the reference picture.

You do not need to know exactly what materials you need beforehand.

I still regularly walk over to Carmen, Donovan or Waahid and say, “Okay, what do I need or could my child use to build this?”

And very often they have a far easier solution than the one I was imagining.

From bridges and cranes to skeletons, settlements, solar systems, volcanoes and posters, The Deckle Edge has you covered.

Visit The Deckle Edge in Salt River, Cape Town, pop into our Knysna store, or shop online for art, craft and school-project supplies.

School project panic? Bring us the brief. We’ll help you figure out which materials your child will need to build it.