Teens and adults can create textured candles that resemble beeswax candles with a few common supplies. Start with a sheet of bubble wrap with small or medium air bubbles, a piece of newsprint or craft paper and a wick. You will need candle wax and dye, a pan of hot water, a clean coffee can, cookie sheet and a paring knife.
Melt the wax in the coffee can placed inside a pot of simmering water on the stove. Add dye and scent if desired. Lay a piece of bubble wrap on the cookie sheet bubble side up. Cut the bubble wrap slightly larger than the cookie sheet so the wax doesn't seep under the edges on to the cookie sheet. Carefully pour the melted wax over the bubble wrap. Flip the bubble wrap over when the wax is set but still pliable. Peel the wrap away from the wax and then cut the wax sheet into rectangle shapes. Press a wick near the edge of a rectangle and then tightly roll the wax around the wick until you have a cylinder taper candle.
Create a translucent collage with bubble wrap, white glue and colorful scraps of tissue paper. You can also add pieces of foil, sequins, feathers and gift wrap. Cut a small 5- to 8-inch square of bubble wrap and then tape the edges to the table before beginning. Brush white glue over pieces of tissue paper to cover the base. Add other collage items as desired. Once the glue is dry, hang the collage in a window to watch the light shine through it.
Bubble wrap can produce interesting prints. Preschoolers can explore with paint and create individual works of art, while older children can use printed sheets as book covers or scrapbook background pages. Protect the table and then tape the corners of a sheet of bubble wrap to the table. Apply paint directly on the bubble wrap. Use multiple colors randomly across the plastic, or paint stripes of color or use a single hue. Place a sheet of plain paper on the bubble wrap and press down evenly. Carefully pull paper away and then lay flat to dry.
Make a fish from bubble wrap, paint and paper. Wrap a piece of bubble wrap around a rolling pin. Use a piece of clear tape to secure the edges. Roll the bubble wrap in a tray of paint and transfer this paint to a sheet of paper. Let the paper dry and then cut out colorful fish in different sizes and shapes. The bubble wrap creates a nice scale pattern for the fish. Use pieces of clear or painted bubble wrap over the fish shape to make fins and a tail. Hang a school of fish from a mobile.
Make a jellyfish from bubble wrap by placing a Styrofoam bowl facing right side up in the center of a sheet of bubble wrap. Tape the bottom of the bowl to the bubble wrap with a clear, or double sided tape. Flip the bowl over so the bubble wrap covers and hangs down over the edges. Cut the plastic into thin strips and then hang the jellyfish from the ceiling with a piece of thin elastic. The entire surface can be covered with pale blue, green or pink paint.