Hellobee

I don’t know about you, but I still find the way that colors mix and blend to be a little magical. Especially when three colors can become an entire rainbow. When you use paint, getting the mix just right can be tricky, but cellophane blends really well.

Make this rainbow banner to show your children how the primary colors mix to make secondary colors. It’s a bright and fun way for them to see some color science in action!

If you hang the garland on a white wall, the hues will show in a bold way. But it’s also pretty hanging near a bright window so the sun shines through. Even on a rainy day, you’ll see a rainbow!

Supplies

Cellophane in red, yellow, and blue
Cardstock
Ballpoint pen
Scissors
String
Glue stick
Stapler

Rainbow Color Mixing Garland PDF

Print the PDF on card stock. You will need one copy of the first page and several copies of the second page.

Cut out the rectangle template. Trace the shape onto the cellophane with a ballpoint pen. To make a 3-ft section, I cut three flags of each color.

Glue the top inch of the first flag and fold it over the string. Be sure to leave at least six inches of string extending out of the left side, and keep the rest attached to the spool.

Glue the next flag in the same way, but when you attach it to the garland, overlap the two cellophane pieces by about 1 1/2 inches.

Continue adding overlapping flags. To get the rainbow effect, place them in order of red, yellow, blue, and repeat.

Cut out the scalloped cloud topper pieces and fold over the straight edge about 3/4 inch. Fold them with the lines toward the inside so they don’t show.

Slide a cloud topper over the top of the cellophane and staple it 2-3 times across. Make sure you are stapling through the front and back of the cardstock. Place the next piece of cloud so it overlaps a tiny bit and continue attaching the pieces.

When you reach the end of your garland section, if the last piece of topper extends beyond the flags, you can trim it off before attaching it.

Because of the way the pieces overlap, this garland is fairly stiff with very little drape. I recommend making 3-ft sections to hang over windows or display several of them in a zig zagging pattern on a wall.

If your cellophane is curling a lot and you want to get rid of that, add a tiny dab of glue at the bottom corner of the overlap.

A single banner will brighten up a creative kids space or you can make a whole bunch of them. Tape rows and rows of garland to a wall for a photo backdrop.

Enjoy playing with color and seeing the shades mix before your eyes!