Contents
What Type of Paper is Construction Paper?
Construction paper is paper made from wood pulp with dyes added, often produced from recycled paper.
It comes in many colors and is readily available at most craft stores. This type of paper is considered more fragile than others.
The color of construction paper fades over time, especially in direct sunlight.
What Can You Do with Construction Paper?
There are lots of great ways to use construction paper! We like to use it for crafts and even for practice for higher levels of drawing.
Popular construction paper crafts include:
- Paper mache
- Paper flowers
- Paper weaving
- Drawing practice
- Decorations (Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and many more)
- Arts and crafts projects for kids
Construction paper mache
For paper mache, we mix Elmer’s craft glue with water to create a liquid texture. Then we cut strips of colored paper and soak them in the glue mixture, making sure to coat both sides.
We like to make sculptures with wire and crumpled pieces of newspaper and lay the wet pieces of construction paper on top. You can also blow up a balloon and carefully layer the gluey construction paper on top! The options are endless!
Construction paper flowers
There are many ways to make construction paper flowers. For a 2-dimensional flower, we like to rip up multiple sheets of construction paper into tiny pieces and glue them onto a larger sheet of construction paper into the shape of a flower. You can make a big colorful flower with all the rainbow colors or a bunch of tiny flowers with each piece of paper as a petal.
For a 3-dimensional paper flower, begin by folding a few pieces of paper in half. Cut half hearts out, along the fold. They will pop open to full symmetrical hearts.
Glue the hearts together in a circle to create a rose. We love to experiment with all kinds of flowers!
Construction paper weaving
Another papercraft is weaving. You need at least two different colors of construction paper for this craft.
- Cut strips into one piece of paper, stopping about an inch away from the one edge. It should look like the bottom of a dog walker’s call sheet on a community bulletin board!
- Cut the second piece of paper, or multiple different colors of paper, into strips.
- Weave the strips over and under the first piece of paper.
- You can laminate the finished project by covering the front and back with packing tape.
Drawing and art
If you want to practice your drawing skills, construction paper is fantastic! Remember that not everything you draw will be something you are proud of.
Over time, we have learned that about one in every 20 drawings is something we would want to hang on our wall. Because construction paper is so cheap, you can just recycle the other 19 drawings.
What is Construction Paper Good For?
Construction paper is best for temporary projects (like drawing practice) and kid’s crafts. It is a lower-quality paper that is inexpensive.
This makes it great for crafts and DIY projects that you don’t intend on keeping forever.
Can I Draw on Construction Paper?
Yes, you can draw and color on construction paper like you would with regular paper. You may want to choose markers or crayons depending on the colors you need and what kind of art you’re wanting to make.
Is Construction Paper the Same as Drawing Paper?
Drawing paper comes in many forms, from newsprint to high-quality drawing boards. Newsprint is an extremely thin, cheap paper that is used to make magazines.
Art students frequently use this type of paper to practice their drawing skills.
On the other side of the spectrum is high-quality drawing paper and board, which can be used for finished art pieces in watercolor or acrylic paint.
Construction paper, therefore, is not the same as drawing paper, but it does have a place along the spectrum of art papers.
What Should You Use to Draw on Construction Paper?
You can use Crayola crayons and colored pencils to draw on construction paper. You can also use high-quality colored pencils such as Prismacolor.
Some children’s markers work on construction paper, but you should be aware that the color tends to bloom and bleed a little. Sometimes this can be a nice effect, but stick to colored pencils and crayons if you want crisp lines.
You can also use chalk or charcoal to draw on construction paper. We love to practice our figure drawing on construction paper!
What is Black Construction Paper Used For?
It is super fun to draw on black construction paper with white acrylic or tempera paint, white or metallic gel pens, and white colored pencils. You can make a galaxy of stars or a hand-lettered sign with this fun technique.
Can You Use Water Paint on Construction Paper?
Watercolors will not work well on construction paper and may cause it to rip or pill.
If you use any paint on construction paper, we recommend using heavyweight construction paper and very dry paint like tempera or acrylic.
We like using a dry brush technique for painting on construction paper. To do this, use as little water as possible or even just paint and no water!
What is the Difference Between Card Stock and Construction Paper?
Cardstock paper, also called cover stock, is thick, heavyweight paper.
If you hold a piece of cardstock parallel to the floor, it will usually stay pretty straight and not bend too much unless it is a very large piece (over standard letter size.)
How Much Does Construction Paper Cost?
A variety pack of colored construction paper costs around five dollars on Amazon. You can find assorted colors at craft stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Joann.
Construction paper usually comes in multi-packs rather than individual sheets because it is so cheap!