Using Old Vinyl Tarps For Some Pint-Sized Fun: Five Ideas
Posted on: 8 May 2015
Vinyl tarps are used for everything from temporarily fixing holes in roofs to protecting machinery stored outdoors. However, these tarps don't have to be restricted to all work and no play. If you have extra vinyl tarps, consider using them to create some pint-sized fun. Here are five ideas on using vinyl tarps with your kids:
1. Wild Art
Do you have the type of kid who love to dive headlong into life? The ones who don't just color outside the lines but rarely even hit the paper? If so, grab a few vinyl tarps and create some wild art.
Line the floor with vinyl tarps, hang large sheets of paper on the wall, and hand out some paint and brushes. Alternatively, work outside and let the kids paint the vinyl tarps with a few cans of spray paint.
2. Water Fun
Just as you can use vinyl tarps to line agricultural ponds, you can use them to line your very own in-ground kiddie pool. Using a shovel or a backhoe, dig a hole in the ground, line it with a couple vinyl tarps to keep the mud out of the way, and then fill it with water.
Make the pond even more fun by setting up a makeshift slip and slide in the space leading to the pond. Simply lay a few tarps end to end (on a flat surface or a hill), train a hose on them, and invite your kiddos to run, slip and slide. This set up can be fun for "big kids" as well.
3. Greenscreen
If your kids love watching videos, show them how to make their own. Using a vinyl tarp, you can easily create your own green screen. A green tarp is preferable for this project but almost any solid-colored tarp will do.
Hang the tarp on the wall, and film your kids as they stand in front of it. The video camera on your laptop, e-reader or smartphone will work fine for this project. Once the video is complete, edit in a background ranging from volcanos erupting to a car chase scene.
Even if you have never edited before, the process is easier than you think, and it can be done with the basic editing software that comes with most computers.
4. Giant Board Game
For some old fashioned family fun, take a tarp, and paint it into a chess board. Then, build your own giant chess pieces out of carved wood or interconnecting plastic blocks. Alternatively, invite over friends for a living chess game.
Modify this project to make a big version of your favorite game or invent your own game.
5. Fort
If you are tired of having your blankets used in fort making, get a few tarps. You can build a tarp fort inside with furniture, or you can buy some PVC pipes and connectors to make a frame and use the tarp as a roof. The best part of using a vinyl tarp for an outside fort is that it is waterproof so your kiddo can camp out in the rain.
If you have more questions, contact a company like Billboard Tarps to learn more.
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