DIY File Folder Texture Plates

I love my Fiskars texture plates!  But ... I wanted to figure out a cheap way for teachers with tight art budgets to create their own textures for students to use.  Depending on the age level you teach, your students could even make these to share.  

1) Cut the file folder in half at the fold.  Keep the side that has a place for a label and use the other side to cut up and make the textures.  

2) If you have more than one color of file folders, swap the colors so that it's easier to see the texture.  For example, I'm using a piece of a blue file to cut up and I'm gluing to the green.  

Since I'll be gluing a label on, I'm just re-using an old file.  This is a great way to upcycle your old file folders. 

3) Cut 2-3 layers at a time when making the small shapes.  Pick a basic shape like a square, circle, triangle or stripe.  Cut a variety of sizes and thicknesses to give the texture some variety.

4) Glue the pieces on the background file.  Glue them close together.  Create 2-4 textures per file.  Make the textured area slightly bigger than the rubbings you hope to make. 

5) Glue a "TEXTURE" label on the file.  Download the texture labels I made if you'd like. They can be stored in a file cabinet or other file storage area, such as a crate so that students can easily access them.

Download the texture labels I made if you'd like. 

The project shown in this example is part of a collaborative WELCOME banner.  

You can also see this file folder texture plate in use here:

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