What a Riot!

For a project for TAFE, I need to create a Resource Box, and for one of my projects I am doing a texture board. Texture is all your senses - smell, sight, touch, taste and hearing, and a texture board is really working on the sight and touch, as it's the texture of things.

Texture Boards don't have to be expensive, and it's much cheaper to make it yourself. That doesn't have to be expensive, either.

Bunnings Warehouse is a great place to start, as they have some of the cheapest prices around! They make places like Spotlight look expensive!

I haven't finished my texture board, and will post it as I go in this blog, even after I've published it, as I can edit it.

Today I went to Bunnings intending to buy plywood, but instead I bought a 900 x 600 x 3mm project board, and a 230 x 280mm piece of burgundy sand paper (the board was $2.30 and the sand paper was $0.69 (rounding off to 70c))

I then went to Spotlight and bought some paint, PVA glue and some cut off material. $15.83.

I then went to Riot! Art and Craft, and bought a showbag worth $55, but reduced to $20, which includes everything I needed and more. Actually, I need feathers, so I'll go back tomorrow.
I have been thinking about so much of what I want to put on, and I wanted to put on paddle pop sticks and some thing match-like sticks, but they cost around $4 each, and I didn't want to spend that much on a little collection of sticks, and I really only needed about five, not twenty of each.
When I spotted the showbag, though, I thought that even though it contained more than I actually needed and desired, it was well worth it. I also bought some velcro, which the children will love to run their fingers over, and to stick together.

I'm going to paint the project board and then glue the objects onto the board, and label them underneath - glue a label underneath.

It's also very amazing what you can find out and about, and not spend any money at all.
My grandparents were having their carpet replaced today, so I managed to get a cut off of the old carpet, as well as the foam they put underneath. My mum had some fabric lying around with sparkles on it, and we have a fluffy sample piece of fabric that came with our faux minx blankets. We already have patty pans at home.

I bought strong, durable aluminum foil from Woollies for $3.

Bunnings     = $3
Spotlight      = $15.85
Woollies      = $3
Riot! A & C = $20
Total            = $41.85

I may be putting something together that you can get in store, but this one's so much better, because I'm making it out of love, and with my passion for the subject, and I'm really putting that love and energy into my craft by thinking about it.

So, as you can see, it's really simple to make your own texture board, environmentally friendly, and low-cost - you're paying the same price as you would buying it off the shelves, but you're getting more for your money, and you're putting your heart and soul into it, and calling it your own. That, my friend, (love and creativity) you cannot put a price on!

Adios!