Have you noticed that little ones love stickers and sticking things onto other things? Glue sticks are practically magic! A fun twist on this is a sticky mat, and it’s perfect for even toddlers to explore!

This simple and fun activity is basically a sheet of self-adhesive paper that you can attach lots of different things to, all without glue. And because only the mat is sticky, you won’t have things getting stuck in places they shouldn’t.

Many items can be stuck down and removed, ready to be stuck down again, although some things (like tissue paper) will stay stuck for good. After you’re done or all of the stickiness is gone, you can throw away the mat and start fresh next time.

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To get your little one exploring, playing and creating, you will need:

adhesive shelf liner (such as Con-Tact Brand or Duck Brand Peel & Stick Clear Laminate)
washi or masking tape
a variety of items to stick onto the mat

Cut off a piece of shelf liner. You can use a small piece, or go big with a long strip! Just be aware that the bigger the piece, the harder it may be to work with once you remove the paper backing.

Carefully peel away the backing and lay the shelf liner sticky side up on your work surface. Use tape on the corners and for large pieces, add a couple strips on the sides. You can also tape this up on a window or wall for a different way to play.

Now it’s time to stick some fun things onto the sticky mat! Here are some ideas to get you started. (With all of these, be sure to choose items and sizes that are age-appropriate for your child, and keep an eye on them as they play.)

Cut out simple shapes from brightly colored paper, or let your child practice cutting to create their own shapes. Decorative hole punches are also great for this.

Pre-cut craft foam pieces come in lots of designs, from basic shapes, to animals, to letters and numbers. There’s no need to peel the backing off of these, because they’ll stick to the mat. They also are fairly easy to remove and reposition, although the adhesive/paper-backed type do tend to leave the paper behind.

Colored tissue squares are especially fun if you have your sticky mat taped up on a window!

Cut long lengths of yarn for “drawing” on the sticky mat. The strings can be removed and new pictures can be doodled again and again. Yarn does leave some fuzz behind, depending on the type, but your mat will stay sticky for a while.

Print some pictures and artwork from the internet (or use cut outs of your child’s artwork), then trim around the images. If you print onto card stock, the pieces can be removed a little easier, which makes them great for moving around for story telling.

Many nature items will stick very well on the mat, so take a little nature walk and gather some leaves, grass, and even small twigs. Encourage your child to sort them by size or color, or even make them into pictures of animals!

Fabric scraps are lots of fun to attach, especially if you have lots of colors and textures!

Metallic curling ribbon, gift bag shred, and even gold “tissue” stick down really well, and who doesn’t love a bit of sparkle? Older children may even want to add some sequins or glitter.

My favorite thing to use on the sticky mat is straw pieces. Just cut plastic drinking straws into different lengths and start making pictures or patterns with them. They are very easy to pull off and stick down again, so this one is likely to keep kids busy for a long time!

If you use all flat items (paper, fabric, ribbon, etc.), you can add a second piece of shelf liner on top to preserve your child’s work or gift it to someone special. Or, when play time is done, dispose of the shelf liner and use a new piece next time.

Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to the supplies I’ve shown here. Look around your house for more ideas and test them out. Plus, you don’t have to use just one sticky mat supply at a time. Mix them up for a sticky collage of fun!

Happy crafting!