| Rainy days don't have to be gloomy days. Jazz up the | | | | back together as necessary. Balance the 'up' umbrella |
| winter months with a | | | | on the backs of two dining table chairs back to back |
| home-made personalised brolly. Express yourself and | | | | but parted. Sit a lamp on the floor beneath the umbrella |
| shake off those rainy days blues. Add pictures, | | | | so that it shines up through the brolly like a backlight. |
| phrases, names or symbols to your umbrella. You don't | | | | This is so that you can see the text through the fabric |
| need any artistic skills, just a steady hand.All you need | | | | of the umbrella.Using the selotape, stick the slogan to |
| is a computer with a printer, an umbrella, fabric paints, a | | | | the underside of the umbrella ink side up.Using fabric |
| lamp and some selotape.Choose a plain umbrella to | | | | paint trace around the text, filling in the appropriate |
| work with. Patterned umbrellas distract from the | | | | parts in paint. Because the text is traced it is neat, all |
| design and drown it any colour brolly will do, even dark | | | | the same size and constant and looks |
| colours such as navy or black.The umbrella should be | | | | professional.The same principle can be applied to |
| made from a nylon plastic and not PVC. The fabric | | | | images. Find a simple bold picture in a |
| paints used to decorate on the umbrella are not as | | | | Google image search, or Hello Kitty is a great |
| effective on PVC umbrellas.Adding a slogan onto the | | | | example. |
| umbrella. | | | | Print out the image and then trim off the excess |
| To do this, write a slogan onto a word document on a | | | | paper.Selotape to the under side of an umbrella panel, |
| computer. Make the font as large as possible and | | | | ink side up. Shine the lamp up through the paper and |
| chose a font for your slogan. I chose the slogan | | | | the brolly and trace the picture with fabric paints.You |
| "It's raining again..." Which I thought was appropriate | | | | could have a whole array of characters in a freeze |
| and would be great for any Madness fan, and I chose | | | | around your brolly, the sky's the limit. Rainy days will |
| font "Goudy Stout" A bold chunky font.Print out the | | | | forever be funky vibrant days!S. Roberts write for a |
| slogan when you are happy with it. Due to the size of | | | | free educational resource packed with creative things |
| the text the words may get broken up onto different | | | | to do and make including traditional, religious & |
| lines, don't worry about this because they can be | | | | 21-century activities. Visit to see photos. |
| selotaped together.Cut out the words leaving a good | | | | SantasPostbag is in association with Together keeping |
| couple of cm's all around the text. Selotape the words | | | | Christmas magical. |