CREATIVE PRINT

The sky's the limit with rainbow-themed crafts

Learn how to create rainbow crafts with a Canon PIXMA printer and Canon Creative Park to add a burst of glorious colour to your home.
A flat lay image of a wooden desk with a colourful papercrafted windmill and hot air balloon, plus a pack of Canon photo paper.

A rainbow is a powerful symbol of hope, good fortune and the beauty after a storm. And when you catch a glimpse of one in the distance, have you ever wished you could bottle it up and take it home? Well, now you can.

Rainbow-themed crafts can brighten up any room and make the perfect party decorations, ideal for making with a group of friends beforehand. Don't just take our word for it though, take it from someone who loves all things bright and colourful – Helen Cooke, the UK-based crafter and jeweller behind @CraftyCooke.

"I love colour. I've always been quite a bubbly person so I dress for my personality," says Helen. "I love seeing what you can do with colour and going against the rules. Especially with crafting, where you can experiment with different colours and see how you can change the personality of an item based on how you put colours together."

To get started you will need a Canon PIXMA printer and the Canon Creative Park website or app. Here, Helen explains how she used a Canon PIXMA TS5340a printer, Creative Park and crafting tools to bring a rainbow-coloured windmill and hot air balloon to magical life.

Choosing and printing your templates

A hand holds a smartphone with a windmill template from Canon Creative Park on the screen. In the background on a desk is a Canon PIXMA printer.

With the Canon Creative Park app and a compatible Canon PIXMA printer, you can print your template straight from your smartphone.

A piece of paper with a template of a colourful windmill on it emerges from a Canon PIXMA printer, which is positioned on a wooden desk.

Helen liked the LED status bar and OLED display on the Canon PIXMA TS5340a. Equipped with FINE cartridges with ChromaLife100 ink, printed colours are vibrant, making this printer the ideal choice for crafts.

Canon Creative Park is incredibly easy to use. You can either download the app on your iOS or Android device, or you can browse the extensive range of free templates on the website. There are various rainbow designs available, such as a pop-up card and origami . Helen chose a rainbow windmill and hot air balloon . Each template comes with its own set of printable instructions, and it also specifies approximate assembly time and level of difficulty as well as the best paper type .

Helen appreciated how accessible the website was. "The instructions were good and the website was really straightforward to use," she says. "It's nice to have the downloaded templates all in one place."

After choosing your template, you can print it straight from your smartphone, as long as you have a compatible Canon PIXMA printer. Helen used the Canon PIXMA TS5340a to print out her designs. "It was really easy to connect via Wi-Fi," she enthuses. "The printing quality is lovely."

Helen used Canon Matte Photo Paper and she noted that the quality was perfect for papercrafting. "The colours were beautiful and it was the right thickness," she explains. "Not too flimsy, not too card-like: just spot on."

Assembling your templates

A person leans over a desk to cut out an intricate template using a craft knife.

Papercrafting is an affordable way to have fun, unwind and flex your creative muscles. "You don't have to buy fancy tools, but just remember to have a sharp craft knife," Helen says. "Don't rush. If you want to make something look pretty, take your time with it and enjoy yourself."

A smiling woman in a colourful striped top sits at a desk finishing off a papercrafted rainbow windmill.

You could gift your rainbow crafts to friends as well. Helen says she takes pride in what she’s doing when she gets feedback from people who enjoy her creations.

Helen used a craft knife to cut her templates. "The hot air balloon is quite intricate, so it's best to use a craft knife," she says. "A pair of scissors is more suited to the windmill."

It is important to score your templates before you start folding. "You need to score your paper with a metal ruler, otherwise you'll find your designs too difficult to fold, especially when using thicker paper," she explains. "It's all about creating those neat folds. I wouldn't recommend skipping that step."

After scoring your paper, use a glue stick to put your template together. The hot air balloon is a complex design with lots of small parts so it takes a lot of patience to build, but part of the fun of papercrafting is forgetting everything else and focusing on the project.

"For me, crafting is a mindfulness activity," says Helen. "Some people find it in books or sports, but crafting is it for me. I have no choice but to switch off because I need to focus. It's just you in that moment.

"I love watching something come together," she continues. "You start with all these little bits and you're bringing it all together to create an emotion, or something that people can connect with, or that you enjoy."

Displaying your rainbow crafts

A smiling woman wearing a colourful striped jumper hangs a rainbow-coloured paper hot air balloon from a yellow light fitting.
A flat lay image of a wooden desk with a colourful papercrafted windmill and hot air balloon, plus several bowls of sweets and fruit.

The windmill also comes with different central parts – like a flower and a star – so you can customise it to your liking.

When it comes to displaying your rainbow crafts the only limit is your imagination. Helen suspended the hot air balloon using a wire, and hung it in her son's bedroom. "It's a joyous little piece and adds a pop of colour to any room," she says.

And rainbow crafts aren't limited to single use. "You can put them anywhere you like, and you can play with them as well; the windmill actually spins!" adds Helen.

"Colour doesn't have to be only for children," she continues. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you have to tone it down. Colours can affect your mood, so adding some to your environment can make you feel happier."

If you're looking for inspiration, follow us on Pinterest, and don't forget to share your creations on social media using the #MadeWithPIXMA hashtag.

Nikita Achanta

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