Watercolor and Salt Painting

My afterschool watercolor class has been a lot of fun, and it keeps me on the lookout for simple images to paint.
1. For this painting, I plan to have the students trace a small cup for a round head. A line is drawn to the right, and curve below to make a large half circle for the body. Two legs are added, curves for the tail, and details on the head. All these lines are traced with a crayon when complete.
2. My favorite way for young ones to paint is still with dissolved watercolor tablets. They can just concentrate on filling the shapes, and not about getting the right amount of water mixed with the paint. 1’m going to have the students paint the body first, and then sprinkle a bit of salt on it while the paint is still wet. The salt absorbs the water, makes a cool texture, and may be rubbed off when the entire painting is complete. After the body is filled, the background may be painted in with one or more colors.

April Fool's Eye Glasses

These glasses are pretty much guaranteed to create lots of giggles. Just have to be sure that children don't try to do much more than pose in them (no walking around!).
1. Follow this link (eyeglass template) to download a template I've posted for the glasses. Print out copies on the heaviest paper stock available, such as card stock. Give each student a set and have them cut out all 3 pieces, including the inside of the frames. Tape sides to the front, and have the students decorate the frame with colored pencils or markers.
2. I found some stock photo images of eyes, and made lots of color copies for the students to pick from. Another option is to have realistic drawings of different eye shapes, and let the students choose and color their favorite. Or they could draw their own. Either way, the eyes and skin need to be colored, and then cut out and glued behind the eyeglass openings.

Paper Mache Eggs, for Easter or Spring

It seems to me that springtime crafts should be about nature, and pretty much anything BUT plastic. I experimented with covering plastic fillable easter eggs with paper mache, and came up with this simple decoration.

1. I used the recipe that I posted about here, and covered a few plastic eggs with small bits of newspaper and mache. Several layers are best so that no plastic is peeking through. Let it dry completely. Note: This tested well even with kinders as their small hands could really squeeze the eggs to smooth the paper.
2. Brush the eggs with one main light acrylic color and let it dry. Then use a small amount of darker paint for texture. Brush it on so that the eggs look to have 50/50 covering and let dry.
3. Rub on some gold tempera paint by hand to give the eggs a little shine.
4. Use a natural looking, bumpy yarn and unroll it into a small round pile for the nest.
The result is a really nice centerpiece for any table!

Mini Impressionist Mural Set

Thanks to the popularity of my first two Mini Mural sets, I’ve created a third in honor of the Impressionist masters: Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat, and Paul Gauguin. My Mini Murals are great for smaller groups, ambitious individuals or family fun. (Click on the image to view the blank templates and final sizes.)
I can email my pdf file with instructions for just $5. As always, a single page version of each is included. (Click “Add to Cart” to access PayPal for same day delivery.)

Overlapping Rings

This is a good exercise for students to learn how to use lines to make images look like they overlap, and how to use color to give your art depth. The ability to overlap shapes is a kind of pre-cursor to learning how to draw in perspective.
1. I found that rolls of masking tape make the perfect template for students to trace circles. They are easy to hold and very easy to trace. If you give each student a new roll of tape, ask them to trace both the inside and outside so that lots of rings are both overlapping and even going off the edge of the paper. Just make sure that they don't go overboard as too many rings may get too confusing to work with.
2. After all the rings have been traced in pencil, show the students that they must decide which ones are in the front, and which are in the back. If a ring is in front, they must erase all the lines inside the ring. Once all the rings have been layered and none look "see through", they may use a thin black marker to trace the pencil lines.
3. When coloring the rings, show the students examples of how master artists have long used color to give their paintings depth. Generally, the further away an object is, the lighter the color. If you have posters of classic landscapes, you can illustrate this idea. Show the students that the rings closest to the top should have the darkest color, and the one furthest away should be the lightest. When complete, you will have an assortment of rings that are not only showing depth with lines, but with color as well!