Printmaking With Recyclables

As art teachers, we're always looking for ways to make art projects on the cheap.  Using recyclable objects is a good way to save some money and still make some great art projects. 
I'm going to show you how you can do a print making lesson with recycled gallon water bottle tops.

Above are the gallon water bottle tops that I use.
The bottle tops have a large surface for printing and a built in handle to hold onto. Having the handles makes them easy to use, even for little hands.
The next step is to get sheets of textured foam at your local craft store. You can then cut to size, then glue on to the flat surface of the bottle top.
You can see the foam glued onto the bottle caps below. There are a variety of textures you can glue on to the bottle tops.

The next step is you're ready to print! All you need is a lesson idea.

I chose to use these printers to create textured skin on an chameleon lesson.

First, draw your chameleon. For this lesson, I used the chameleon drawing template from the website Art Projects For Kids.

Pick out your paint colors. Load up your  printers with paint and start printing.

The bumps from the foam makes the texture on the chameleon's  skin start to  appear.

You can add another color. You can even add another texture, if you chose a different style of foam on your printers.

Create your chameleon's background. And your done!
The bottle top printers are easy to clean off with soap and water. You can even use them again on another lesson.

What do you think of using recyclables for printmaking?
 Are there recyclables that work for you when you teach printmaking? I'd like to hear about it. 
Keep Creating!