courtesy of trish van vliet
Maggie and Aidan creating collages
When my kids were younger, they loved "free art" time, during which I gave them a variety of supplies and let them have at it. The process — finger painting, gluing, cutting and ripping — was always well worth the effort. But the product? It was often a muddy, brown mess. Here's a project that gives kids freedom to experiment but also provides structure through a monochromatic palette of materials. The best part? You'll likely find most of the items you need in your home!
Materials
courtesy of trish van vliet
Materials
The Essentials
- Canvas or rectangular piece of cardboard
- Mod Podge (for a DIY version, shake together 1 cup of school glue and ⅓ cup of water in a container with a lid until fully combined)
- Acrylic or tempera paint
- School glue and/or
hot glue
- Photographs
Drawing Tools
- Oil/chalk pastels
- Sidewalk chalk
- Crayons
- Fine-tip markers
- Silver and gold permanent markers
- Charcoal sticks
courtesy of trish van vliet
"Shades of Blue" by Sophie, 11
Mark-Making Supplies (for creating different shapes and textures on your canvas)
- Paintbrushes
- Bottle caps
- Corks
- Wheels
- Forks
- Cotton balls
- A paper tube wrapped with rubber bands
for rolled texture printing
- Eyedropper for
dripping paint
- Bubble wrap
- Kitchen sponges
- DIY brushes made from items like sticks, leaves and grasses
Additional Supplies
- String, ribbon or twine
- Buttons
- Glitter
- Fabric
- Magazines
- Wrapping paper, tissue paper, craft paper
- Masking tape or painter's tape
Directions
courtesy of trish van vliet
"Car Doing an Endo" by Aidan, 7
- Organize a scavenger hunt: Look around the house for color-coordinated supplies and interesting items for mark-making.
- Create a background: Paint the canvas or cardboard. Use mark-making tools like paintbrushes, bubble wrap, sponges, medicine droppers and the wheels of a matchbox car to apply paint to the background. This can be done over time, layering different shades of color. Once dry, seal the entire surface by painting over it with a layer of Mod Podge.
- Build a border: Decorate the perimeter of your canvas with collected items. Encourage tearing or cutting paper or fabric into different shapes. Once the border is firmly in place, apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of it.
- Add a photograph: Choose a special personal photograph as the focal point. Place on canvas and adhere with a thin layer of Mod Podge.
- Affix details: Hot glue trinkets and treasures; place layers of tissue paper; affix beads and buttons. There are no limits here, just plenty of imagination.
- Display!