Cyanotype Sun Print Basket

What you'll need

• Pre-treated cyanotype paper (sold in kits, keep sealed until use)
• A shallow tray or shoebox lid to carry the paper indoors
• A basket of flat natural treasures: ferns, pressed flowers, feathers, blades of grass, thin leaves
• A few small flat objects: a paper doily, a piece of lace, a plastic stencil, a key
• A piece of clear glass or acrylic (or a clean picture-frame pane) to hold everything flat
• A large bowl or tray of cool water for rinsing
• A clothesline or drying rack with wooden clothespins
• A dim room or a closed drawer for prep (cyanotype paper reacts to light)

How to make it

1. 1

   Set up the basket the night before: line a small basket with a soft cloth and tuck in the pressed leaves, flowers, doily, lace, and clothespins. Keep the cyanotype paper sealed in its black bag inside the basket until morning.

2. 2

   Choose a bright sunny day. Fill the rinse bowl with cool water and set it outside in the shade so it is ready.

3. 3

   Move to a dim room or shaded corner. Open the paper packet and lay one sheet, blue-green side up, on the tray. Close the packet again right away so the other sheets stay fresh.

4. 4

   Invite your child to arrange leaves, flowers, and lace on the paper. Anything opaque will print white; anything see-through will print pale blue. Remind them not to slide pieces around too much.

5. 5

   Gently lower the glass or acrylic pane on top to press everything flat against the paper. This keeps edges crisp.

6. 6

   Carry the tray straight into direct sunlight. Watch the paper turn from blue-green to bronze, then to a pale grey-blue. This usually takes 2-5 minutes on a bright day, up to 15 on a cloudy one.

7. 7

   Bring the tray back into the shade. Lift off the glass and the natural pieces and slide the paper into the bowl of cool water.

8. 8

   Swish the paper gently for 1-2 minutes until the yellow tint washes away and the print turns deep Prussian blue. Change the water once if it gets cloudy.

9. 9

   Clip the print to the clothesline to dry flat. The blue will keep deepening for the next hour as it oxidizes.

10. 10

    Once dry, look together at the white silhouettes and talk about which leaves left the sharpest prints and which surprised you.