Printmaking for kids - The Artful Parent

How to Do Flower Printing

Jean Van't Hul — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Flower printing is a fun and beautiful nature art project for kids. And it can be done with just about any kind of paint!

Updated March 2024

Flower printing is a super fun nature art activity for kids of all ages! You don’t need any special art supplies for it, either.

Start by gathering flowers and leaves from your garden or backyard. Then you can use just about any kind of paint and paper you have on hand!

This is one of those activities where you’ll be joining in the fun right alongside your kids! Trust us!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

How to Do Flower Printing with Kids

MATERIALS

paint (we used tempera, but you could use liquid watercolors, and we’d love to see how these neon colors look!)
watercolor paper or other sturdy paper
flowers and leaves
pens or markers (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Gather your flowers and leaves
Take this opportunity and go for a nature walk. Cut and collect flowers and leaves, making sure to have a variety of textures.
Prep your work area
Pour paint into shallow dishes or trays for easy dipping. You can also work on a tray, to keep things contained!
Make your prints!
Carefully dip a flower into the paint, and then press onto your paper. Lift off the flower to reveal your print!
Add details
Once your painting is dry, you can use a marker or pen to add details, or turn your flower prints into a picture, like this butterfly!

We love the way these flower prints came out! You can make them more abstract or use the flower prints to create a fun image, like the flowers in the vase.

Do you think you’ll try flower printing this spring?

More Flower Crafts for Kids

Want even more creative ideas?

Check out our Spring Creativity pack!

Let creativity blossom with this fun bundle of art activities perfect for Spring!! This 40-page printable eBook is full of coloring pages, drawing prompts, games, and more!

SHOP NOW

Pin It for Later

The post How to Do Flower Printing appeared first on The Artful Parent.

6 Easy Paper Marbling Techniques

Jean Van't Hul — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Here are six paper marbling techniques that are easy, fun, and kid friendly. Plus, the results are beautiful!

Updated March 2024

Marbling is one of our favorite art activities and we’ve done it many ways and many times over the years. We’ve marbled paper with all kinds of paints from watercolors, tempera, acrylics, and even food coloring. We’ve marbled all kinds of surfaces. And we’ve tried every technique from Suminagashi to shaving cream marbling.

If you’d like to learn how to marble paper, read on. We’ll share six ways that are easy and fun!

Photo by Andrea Martelle

Paper Marbling Techniques

Note: Many of these marbling techniques will work fine on other materials as well – cardstock, cardboard, paper plates, wood blocks, craft sticks, ornaments, boxes, and even Easter eggs. So, no need to limit yourself to paper!

Photo by Andrea Martelle

1. Marbled Paper with Shaving Cream

The best, easiest, and cheapest marbled paper is done with shaving cream marbling. This is one of our all-time favorite art activities for kids of all ages. You can also check out our video of shaving cream marbling in action!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

2. Marbled Paper with Oil and Food Color

Marbling with oil and food coloring is one of the easiest ways to marble paper and it uses materials you likely already have at home. Beautiful! Check out this video of marbling with oil and food coloring!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

3. Marbled Paper with Liquid Starch

We’ve done this technique a few times and it works great! Paper marbling with acrylic paint and liquid starch uses liquid starch to keep the paint near the surface, so it is easy and very effective.

Photo by Anna Harpe

4. Marbled Paper with Rainbow Milk

One of our most repeated science experiments is the rainbow milk experiment. You use food coloring and dish soap to create beautiful explosions of color as the dish soap interacts with the milk fats.

Our friend Ana from Babble Dabble Do helps her kids capture the beauty with marbled milk paper prints as they do the experiment, combining art and science.

Photo by Andrea Martelle

5. Suminagashi Marbling

Suminagashi is the ancient art of Japanese water marbling. You can buy this simple Suminagashi kit online, as we have done, and have everything you need except for the paper.

It’s a very simple process: submerge the provided paper circles in a pan of water, then drop the ink onto the circle. The circle disperses the ink on the surface of the water and as you add more drops of ink, the colors swirl in a lovely, marbled way. Then lay a piece of paper on top of the water to pick up a print of the marbling.

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

6. Bubble Prints

This is a little different than the others but making bubble prints is such an easy and fun printmaking activity. First blow colorful bubbles and then use them to make cool bubble prints!

You can also try making bubble snake prints! All you need is a recycled water bottle, a sock, bubble solution and food coloring. And trust us, everyone in the family will want to try making bubble snakes!

Photo by Andrea Martelle

Which of these marbling techniques have you tried already? Which ones do you want to try?

More Marbling Activities for Kids

Want even more science experiment ideas?

Check out our Science Creativity Pack!

You’ll love the magical combination of science & art, helping kids make all kinds of fantastic discoveries!

SHOP NOW

Pin It for Later

The post 6 Easy Paper Marbling Techniques appeared first on The Artful Parent.

How to Do Shaving Cream Marbling

Jean Van't Hul — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Our favorite marbled paper technique for kids is shaving cream marbling! So fun and easy, this is one of our top art activities for kids of all ages!

Updated February 2024

The best, easiest, and cheapest homemade marbled paper is made with shaving cream marbling.

This marbling technique is one of our all-time favorite art activities. Like raised salt painting and splatter painting, it’s an art activity that kids never tire of and that we’ve returned to again and again over the years.

Here’s how to do this super fun marbling activity, plus some helpful tips for success!

First, here’s video showing the shaving cream marbling in progress. And scroll down for the step-by-step instructions.

And if you’ve got leftover shaving cream, you can also check out our post of great ideas for shaving cream art and play.

Photo by Rachel Withers

Shaving Cream Marbling

MATERIALS

Shaving FOAM
Shallow baking dish, such as a pie plate or brownie pan
Liquid watercolor paint (or watered-down food coloring)
Droppers
Stir stick, like a chopstick or the bottom of a paint brush
Card stock
A scraper, such as a square piece of cardboard

INSTRUCTIONS

Create a layer of shaving cream
First, spray a layer of shaving cream to cover the bottom of your baking dish.
Add color
Then, add drops of liquid watercolor paint on top of the shaving cream. Feel free to add several colors!

Note: If you don’t have liquid watercolors, you can use watered-down food coloring. You can even do this project with other paints, such as tempera or liquid/craft acrylics, although the results will look a bit different.
Swirl the paint
Use a stick (a chopstick, the end of a paint brush, or even a dropper) to swirl the paint around for a marbled effect.
Press the cardstock onto the cream
Carefully press a piece of card stock into the paint-covered shaving cream.
Remove card from shaving cream
Carefully lift up the card stock off the shaving cream.

Then use a piece of cardboard to scrape off the shaving cream, revealing your beautifully marbled paper!
Repeat!
You’ll marble a few papers and then want to add more drops of liquid watercolor to swirl around and make even more! We kept adding different colors and seeing how they popped on the paper.

Allow the papers to dry and then enjoy your newly marbled paper! Looking for some fun ways to use that new paper? Check out some of our favorites!

We’ve done shaving cream marbling enough times to figure out how to make the process as easy and fun as possible! So here are our tips for success:

Tips for Shaving Cream Marbling Success

When you buy shaving cream, make sure it’s the foamy stuff and NOT gel. We really like to use the Smartly brand from Target – it’s very cheap and smells like summer (rather than the typical shaving cream scent!)
You can do shaving cream marbling with just about any paints, not just liquid watercolors. We’ve done this with tempera paints, BioColors, watered down food colorin g, and acrylics. BioColors and liquid watercolors work especially well, though.
While you’d think watercolor paper would be best for this since it involves watercolor paint, you’ll actually get better results with a very smooth surface rather than the textured surface of watercolor paper. Use card stock if you have it or buy a sheet of white poster board and cut it down into small pieces.
Scraping the shaving cream off the paper right away is important. You don’t want to let the shaving cream soak into the paper. It’ll get gunky and stain the paper. For scraping, use something with a wide, straight edge. We’ve used everything from a piece of cardboard to a large wood craft stick.
We like to keep a bowl in the center of the table while we’re working. The shaving cream we scrape off of the newly marbled paper, gets re-scraped into the bowl. And later, when we’re finished with the activity, we use a rubber spatula to scrape the paint-y shaving cream into the trash before washing out the bowls and dishes.
Keep a wet washcloth and/or bowl of water handy for washing shaving cream-covered hands. *
To make clean up easier, spray off all the dishes and art trays outside with a hose. Or use a rubber spatula and scrape it all into the trash first, then rinse off.

This classic Artful Parent art activity is so fun! We LOVE our marbled paper!

Photo by Rachel Withers

More Marbling Activities for Kids

Want even more Sensory Exploration fun?

Check out our Sensory Creativity Pack!

This 30-page printable eBook is stuffed full of sensory play fun! An ultimate guide to sensory play, complete with our favorite recipes and tips for success!

SHOP NOW

Pin It for Later

The post How to Do Shaving Cream Marbling appeared first on The Artful Parent.

How to Make DIY Stamps with Cardboard

Joanna Walker — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 16:23:00 +0000

Create DIY stamps with cardboard and other items from your recycling bin. Then make print after print! Art activity and post by Joanna Walker of The Blue Barn.

Updated February 2024

Hello, Joanna here from The Blue Barn. I’m so excited to be back at The Artful Parent to share more simple ways to create with your children!

If you don’t know me, I’m a part-time preschool art teacher and full-time mom to four children, 6 goats, 2 rabbits, a dog and way too many chickens. When I’m not chasing children and animals around, I enjoy sharing our creative life over on Instagram. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to share some recycle bin printing with you!

Today, I’m going to show you how to have fun printing with items upcycled straight from your recycling bin.

The important thing is to let kids be a part of the process and work with you to create their own DIY stamps. They will enjoy discovering how various materials leave different marks on the paper during the printing process.

You can also introduce them to textures within their pictures that relate to the items that they find.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, though, what do you need to begin?

Photo by Joanna Walker

DIY Stamps Made with Upcycled Materials

MATERIALS

Paint
Glue (we used our low temp hot glue gun, but school glue would work too)
Scissors
Corks (for handles on the printing blocks)
Interesting things from your recycling bin: think cardboard, bubble wrap, fruit mesh bags, elastic bands, yarn, string, bottle caps, corrugated cardboard.
Sturdy paper

INSTRUCTIONS

Find items to use for the stamps
Begin by asking kids to sift through the recycling bin with you and see what interesting things they find.

Round bottle caps, bumpy edges, rough feeling sides – have them feel things with their eyes shut and think about what pattern it might make on the paper. With very young children use lots of adjectives such as smooth, soft, fuzzy, bumpy, rough, etc.
Assemble your stamps for printing
Once you’ve found some interesting materials, you can begin to attach them onto squares of cardboard.

We used our low temperature hot glue gun to mount the objects. Depending on the age of your child/and your hot glue gun, encourage them to do this themselves. Younger kids can use school glue to assemble their stamps.

For thinner printing items (such as a fruit mesh bags), stretch them over the cardboard square and secure on the opposite side with glue. Then attach a cork to the back of the print plate to give your child something to grip when they press it into the paint.
Prepare paint for printing
Before printing, cover your flat surface with something to protect it.

Next, roll a line of foil down the center of the table to put the paint on; the surface of the foil makes it easy for kids to apply the paint to their stamps.

I lined all of the stamps up and placed a different color of paint by each one.
Make prints with your DIY stamps!
Stamp away. You will need a LOT of paper for this once they get started. I think my kids would have used an entire ream of paper if I had let them!!

Keep the conversation going with the children. Here are some questions to talk about as they make their prints:
Did the print look like you thought it would?
Does it change if you twist the tile around?
What does it remind you of?
What happens if you overlay one print on top of another?

Photo by Joanna Walker

If you end up with hundreds of sheets of pretty colorful paper, here’s a great way to use up all the paper. Lay all the printed paper out on the table along with scissors and glue. Encourage the kids to cut up the paper to create a colorful flower garden. Plant your flowers in the brown garden soil by gluing cut shapes of the colorful stamped paper to brown kraft paper or paper bags to create a colorful recycled garden!

Photo by Joanna Walker

More DIY Stamps for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post How to Make DIY Stamps with Cardboard appeared first on The Artful Parent.

How to Make Heart Shirts for Valentine’s Day

Jean Van't Hul — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 18:07:00 +0000

Make your own heart shirts by printing heart doilies. An easy Valentine’s Day printmaking project for kids!

Updated February 2024

Here’s an easy way to make your own shirts for Valentine’s Day! Simply print using a paper heart doily onto the shirt of your choice!

Here’s how to make these easy printed heart shirts.

How to Make Heart Shirts for Valentine’s Day

MATERIALS

Plain T-shirts
Paper heart doilies
Fabric paint (or BioColor paint mixed with BioColor fabric medium)
Roller or brayer
Paper plates for the paint
Extra plain knit fabric (optional)
Sewing machine (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Paint the doilies
Lay your heart doily right side up on a sheet of newspaper or scrap paper. Have another piece of paper handy nearby.

Now pour a small amount of your fabric paint onto a plate and roll your paint roller around to evenly coat it with paint.

Roll your paint-covered roller over the doily, coating it as evenly as possible with the paint.
Print your heart
Set your doily, paint side down, on the center of your shirt (or wherever you want the heart print).

Lay that extra piece of paper that you kept handy over the doily and use a hard rubber brayer (or a rolling pin or bottle) to roll over the paper and doily to transfer the paint evenly to the shirt.
Reveal and let dry!
Lift the paper and doily off to reveal your heart print. Let dry 8 hours or overnight.
Then heat set the paint according to the instructions on the paint bottle.

You can also print your hearts onto your extra jersey fabric (either an old tee shirt or from the fabric store). Then cut out the heart and sew it onto your shirt.

Doing it this way has the added bonus that you can select the heart prints that came out great and not stress about the ones that didn’t.

More Valentine Fun for Kids

The post How to Make Heart Shirts for Valentine’s Day appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Foam Printmaking with Kids for Easter

Jean Van't Hul — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 15:15:30 +0000

Foam printmaking is an easy and rewarding printing technique to do with kids for everyday art or for holiday cards. We love using this technique to make Easter egg prints!

Updated January 2024

Have you tried foam printmaking with your kids?

It’s a remarkably easy and rewarding printmaking technique! It’s not as easy to get Styrofoam trays from the grocery store these days, so we use foam sheets from the craft store.

To make your printing plates, you simply draw a design into the soft foam. Then you ink it up and press the ink-covered foam to paper.

Plus, this kind of printing lends itself to making art and cards for any of the holidays. We’ve done this for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Easter. But, of course, you can use this technique any time of the year and create any kind of art with it.

Here’s a video showing Styrofoam Printmaking in action! And don’t forget to keep scrolling for step-by-step instructions, and a fun way to use this technique for Easter.

Photo by Andrea Martelle

Foam Printmaking for Easter

MATERIALS

Foam sheets (or you can use styrofoam trays from the grocery store)
Pencil
Printing ink or acrylic paint
Flat tray or plate
Hard rubber brayer (optional)
Sturdy white paper
Colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc. (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut out your egg shapes
Use scissors to cut out egg shapes from your foam sheets.
Draw your Easter egg design
Use a pencil to draw Easter egg designs (or anything) in the foam, pressing down rather hard.
Ink the foam egg
Squeeze some ink or paint onto the tray and spread it around with the brayer. Once the brayer is coated with an even layer, roll it over your styrofoam Easter egg.
Print your egg!
Position the foam egg face down on your paper or a blank card and carefully press firmly and rub over the foam to help transfer the design.

Lift the foam egg to reveal the print!
Create more prints!
Repeat to create more prints as desired. Let dry.
Color print (optional)
If desired, you can color in the Easter egg designs with markers or colored pencils.

This is a fun way to experiment with printmaking, while getting some pretty Easter cards at the same time!

Photo by Andrea Martelle

More Printmaking Activities for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post Foam Printmaking with Kids for Easter appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Easy Gelatin Printmaking for Kids

The Artful Parent Editorial Team — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 14:41:00 +0000

Gelatin printmaking is a fun and easy process for kids and adults alike. Check out these printing techniques to get you started!

Updated February 2024

Gelatin printmaking is a form of monoprinting, meaning each print you pull is unique. No two prints are the same. The emphasis is on the process of creating and experimenting rather than the final outcome.

The process is fairly easy, and so much fun. Trust us, if you haven’t tried gelatin printmaking yet, it is addicting!

We really love to use Gelli Arts gel printing plates, but you can also make your own.

Here’s a video tutorial showing how to make your own gelatin plate.

Photo by Andrea Martelle

Easy Gelatin Printmaking for Kids

MATERIALS

Gelatin printing plate (make your own or buy one)
Washable paint*
Brayer
Paintbrush
Sturdy white paper

*Easy Clean Up Tip: Acrylic paint is recommended for gelatin printmaking but in our experience, washable paint worked just fine and made clean up much easier when printmaking with children.

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep your work area
We like working on a tray, to keep the mess contained. You can also put newspaper or a tablecloth down.
Add paint to your plate
Squirt some paint onto your printing plate. Roll out the paint with the brayer.
Add a design for printing
There are several different ways to make designs for printing.

The first is a hand-drawn design: Use the end of a paint brush to gently draw a design in the paint. If you mess up, you can just roll the paint out again, and redraw it.

The second is cut paper stencils: First, cut out paper shapes. Place your paper shapes on top of the paint rolled on the plate.

The third is a bubble wrap print: Press a sheet of bubble wrap onto the painted plate and lift up, leaving a bubble wrap design.
Press your paper to the plate
Once you have your design on the gelatin plate, place a piece of sturdy paper over the top of your print and rub firmly on top of the paper.
Pull your print!
Lift to reveal your design and pull your print.

Usually, you can pull more than one print at a time. Try placing an additional piece of paper to create a second or third print.

Photo by Andrea Martelle

What we like most about gelatin printmaking is layering the different techniques on top of each other. Try layering the first and second technique on one piece of paper.

More Printmaking Ideas for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post Easy Gelatin Printmaking for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.

How to Print with Leaves on Cloth Napkins

Jean Van't Hul — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Learn how to print with leaves to make beautiful cloth napkins. They are the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table, or can be given as a holiday gift! This lovely and simple project comes from the Artful Year book.

Updated October 2023

Enjoy the beauty of nature at the dinner table with these leaf-print napkins. These make a lovely gift for someone special and can also be used during the holidays to add a beautiful touch to any table setting.

This leaf-print activity comes from Jean’s book, The Artful Year: Celebrating the Seasons & Holidays with Crafts & Recipes.

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

How to Print with Leaves

MATERIALS

Newspaper or an art mat and scrap paper
Spoon
Fabric Paint
Large plate or acrylic box frame, for rolling out the ink
Mini paint roller
Leaves and ferns
Plain white or light-colored cloth napkins, or make your own
Brayer (hard rubber roller) or rolling pin
Iron
Ironing board

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep your work surface
Prepare for leaf printing by protecting your work surface with newspaper or an art mat. Gather all of your materials.
Roll your paint
Put a couple of spoonfuls of fabric paint on the plate. Roll it around with the paint roller to coat the roller thinly.
Paint your leaf
Place a leaf, vein side up, on a sheet of newspaper or scrap paper. Roll the paint roller over the leaf to coat it evenly.
Make the print
Set the leaf, paint side down, on the napkin where you want the print. Set a clean piece of paper over the leaf.

Roll the brayer over the paper-covered leaf to press it down evenly. Carefully lift up the paper and leaf to reveal your print.
Repeat!
Continue with the rest of your napkins.
Let Dry
Let the napkins dry overnight, and then iron them, following the instructions on the fabric paint bottle to set the paint.

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

More Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post How to Print with Leaves on Cloth Napkins appeared first on The Artful Parent.

18 Fun Arts and Crafts for Tweens

The Artful Parent Editorial Team — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Fun arts and crafts for tweens that include painting, drawing, sculpture and more! Perfect for makers ages 10-12 to make and create!

The tween years are a fantastic time for kids to dabble in lots of different hobbies, honing their interests and building their skills. If you happen to have an artsy tween in your home, then you know how invested they can be in a project, and how giving them a little bit of freedom lets their creativity flourish!

While tweens still enjoy a good process art activity, they’re often very interested in the finished result, making this the ideal time to introduce a wider variety of arts and crafts.

Luckily we’ve got a little bit of everything in this list, making it absolutely perfect for this unique age group.

Arts and Crafts for Tweens

Drawing Ideas for Kids

1. Drawing Vegetables

Practice observational drawing with this above and below the garden drawing activity.

2. How to Draw Abstract Self Portraits

Learn how to draw an abstract self portrait in 6 simple steps!

3. Frida Kahlo Portraits

This is a fun Frida inspired drawing prompt for kids. Explore identity with kids & create personalized Frida Kahlo portraits for kids.

Painting Ideas for Kids

1. How to Do Blow Painting with Straws

Blow painting with straws is a simple but fun action art activity. Use a straw to blow liquid paint on paper, creating amazing designs!

2. How to Paint a Watercolor Geode

An excellent watercolor painting activity to pair with learning about geodes and rocks.

3. How to Paint Lace with Kids

Paint lace using liquid watercolors and then turn the colorful lace into a beautiful wall hanging!

Printmaking Ideas for Kids

1. How to Do Styrofoam Printmaking

Scratch a design into styrofoam for an easy printmaking activity.

2. How to Do Scrape Painting

Scrape painting is a fun process art activity for kids. This fun technique moves paint with a card to create colorful rainbows.

3. Create Easy LEGO Prints

Creating LEGO prints is a fun open-ended art activity for kids of all ages. Use LEGOs and stamp pads to create cities, flowers, mandalas, and letters too!

Collage Ideas for Kids

1. How to Make Marble Paper Art Landscape Collages for Kids

Create your own marbled paper and use it for beautiful landscape collages!

2. How to Make Mandala Art Designs on Records

Upcycle a vinyl record and glue on loose parts to make beautiful mandala art designs.

3. How to Make Picasso Collages for Kids

Kids explore identity and learn how to create collages with colorful cut paper shapes and glue.

Sculpture Art Ideas for Kids

1. How to Make a Coral Reef with Clay

Make a coral reef that glows under black light! A great project and conversation starter for discussing how to protect our oceans.

2. How to Make Painted Wood Blocks & Sculptures

An easy sculpture project using wood scraps that’s fun to make for kids of all ages.

3. How to Make a 3D Rainbow Cardboard Sculpture for Kids

Get your build on with cardboard, the best art material around!

Textile Art Ideas for Kids

1. How to Make Cardboard Looms

Learn a simple weaving activity for kids with cardboard looms and fabric. Create a beautiful piece of art to hang in your home!

2. How to Make Felt Succulents

Learn how to create a colorful felt succulent garden for kids with this fun craft tutorial.

3. Tie Dye Ideas: How to Ice Dye

This variation on tie dyeing uses ice and powder dye to make amazing designs.

More Arts and Crafts for Tweens

Pin It For Later

The post 18 Fun Arts and Crafts for Tweens appeared first on The Artful Parent.

14 Fun Dot Art Ideas for Kids

Jean Van't Hul — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 10:19:00 +0000

Want some dot art ideas? Whether you’ve read The Dot, are studying pointillism, or just want to make some fun art, here are our favorite ideas to try.

Updated April 2023

We put this round-up post together because we were excited about all the different dot art ideas we were thinking about after doing Q-tip pointillism. There are so many ways we’ve made dot art in the past (with printing, painting, drawing, and collage) and so many fun dot art ideas around the web (Aboriginal dot painting, Kandinsky circles, and Lichtenstein-inspired pop art, among others).

Maybe you’ve read The Dot by Peter Reynolds and want to create dot art to tie in with that inspiring book. Or maybe you’re studying pointillism or some other dot art style and want to try something similar.

Or maybe you just want to make some fun art and try something new.

Photo by Andrea Martelle

Dots are an effective and interesting art component and there are many ways to make them.

Drawing (with markers, crayons, Do-a-Dot markers)
Painting (with Q-tips, cotton balls, or brushes, big or small)
Printing (with bubble wrap, Legos, or muffin tins)
Collage (with stickers, paper, pasta shapes, beans)
Rubbings (over a lego plate or a grill pan)
Poking (poke toothpicks into playdough or clay, for example)

If you want to dive into some dot art, try one of these ideas!

Dot Art Ideas for Kids

Photo by Andrea Martelle

1. Pointillism with Q-tips and Watercolors

Pointillism art with cottons swabs may sound complicated but is actually super simple and kids LOVE it. Dip a cotton swab into liquid watercolors and make dots to your heart’s content!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

2. Dot Art on Canvas (large scale or small!)

Turn an old canvas into a new masterpiece by painting it white, and then letting your kids create! We love the way these dots look!

Photo by Happiness is Homemade

3. Kandinsky-Inspired Circle Art with Paper Collage (on Happiness is Homemade)

These concentric circle pieces are inspired by the art of Wassily Kandinsky and made with construction paper!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

4. Sticker Mandalas with Circle Stickers

Mandala art for kids is made extra fun and easy with stationery store stickers. You can create them on different colored construction paper cut into circles.

Photo by Rachel Withers

5. Bubble Wrap Printing

Painting with bubble wrap and making a print onto paper is a favorite process art activity for toddlers and big kids too!

Photo by The Artsy Fartsy Art Room

6. Aboriginal Dot Painting (on The Artsy Fartsy Art Room)

This artwork, inspired by traditional Aboriginal dot painting, is made with a paper silhouette of an animal surrounded by painted dots. The flat end of a scratch art stick is perfect for making the dots!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

7. LEGO Prints with Stamp Pads

Creating LEGO prints is a fun open-ended art activity for kids of all ages. Use LEGOs and stamp pads to create cities, flowers, mandalas, letters and much more!

8. Two Lichtenstein-Style Art Projects: Using Circle Stickers (on Pink Stripey Socks) or Portraits with Crayon Dots (on Art Projects for Kids)

We love both of these art projects inspired by the American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. You can try it using dot stickers on Pink Stripey Socks, or by creating a crayon dot background on Art Projects for Kids.

Photo by Catalina Gutierrez

9. Yayoi Kusama Inspired Dot Paintings

Create amazing and colorful dot paintings inspired by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. This fun project has kids making all kinds of circles in various sizes and colors using different techniques.

Photo by Andrea Martelle

10. Splat Painting

Splat painting is a simple action art activity that involves hitting paint-soaked cotton balls with a small mallet or spoon and making dots and splats all over the paper!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

11. Holes in Paper Art Challenges

Hole challenge drawings (and paintings, collages, etc.) are just the sort of art activity that will really get the creative juices flowing because they force kids to think outside the box. And to double up on the dot action, try this challenge with hole reinforcement stickers!

Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

12. Circle Art and Printing Inspired by The Dot

We love this collaborative process art activity that combines painting circles and printing using round household objects to create a huge collage of circles!

Photo by Meri Cherry

13. Dot-to-dot art challenge for kids

This dot-to-dot art challenge for kids is a great way to build concentration and fine motor skills while creating a beautiful artwork. It’s also a fun way to prevent the kids’ paintings from becoming muddy and paint mixed.

Photo by Andrea Martelle

14. Use dot markers or sponge paint dabbers

If you want to keep things really simple, use dot markers! Or use round sponge brushes to stamp circles with paint. You can even dip a cotton ball in paint and make dots that way!

That was a lot of dot art ideas! Are you ready to give one a try?

Photo by Rachel Withers

More Paint Ideas for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post 14 Fun Dot Art Ideas for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Printmaking for kids - The Artful Parent

How to Do Flower Printing

How to Do Flower Printing with Kids

More Flower Crafts for Kids

Check out our Spring Creativity pack!

6 Easy Paper Marbling Techniques

Paper Marbling Techniques

1. Marbled Paper with Shaving Cream

2. Marbled Paper with Oil and Food Color

3. Marbled Paper with Liquid Starch

4. Marbled Paper with Rainbow Milk

5. Suminagashi Marbling

6. Bubble Prints

People Also Ask

More Marbling Activities for Kids

Check out our Science Creativity Pack!

How to Do Shaving Cream Marbling

Shaving Cream Marbling

Tips for Shaving Cream Marbling Success

More Marbling Activities for Kids

Check out our Sensory Creativity Pack!

How to Make DIY Stamps with Cardboard

DIY Stamps Made with Upcycled Materials

More DIY Stamps for Kids

How to Make Heart Shirts for Valentine’s Day

How to Make Heart Shirts for Valentine’s Day

More Valentine Fun for Kids

Foam Printmaking with Kids for Easter

Foam Printmaking for Easter

More Printmaking Activities for Kids

Easy Gelatin Printmaking for Kids

Easy Gelatin Printmaking for Kids

More Printmaking Ideas for Kids

How to Print with Leaves on Cloth Napkins

How to Print with Leaves

More Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

18 Fun Arts and Crafts for Tweens

Arts and Crafts for Tweens

Drawing Ideas for Kids

1. Drawing Vegetables

2. How to Draw Abstract Self Portraits

3. Frida Kahlo Portraits

Painting Ideas for Kids

1. How to Do Blow Painting with Straws

2. How to Paint a Watercolor Geode

3. How to Paint Lace with Kids

Printmaking Ideas for Kids

1. How to Do Styrofoam Printmaking

2. How to Do Scrape Painting

3. Create Easy LEGO Prints

Collage Ideas for Kids

1. How to Make Marble Paper Art Landscape Collages for Kids

2. How to Make Mandala Art Designs on Records

3. How to Make Picasso Collages for Kids

Sculpture Art Ideas for Kids

1. How to Make a Coral Reef with Clay

2. How to Make Painted Wood Blocks & Sculptures

3. How to Make a 3D Rainbow Cardboard Sculpture for Kids

Textile Art Ideas for Kids

1. How to Make Cardboard Looms

2. How to Make Felt Succulents

3. Tie Dye Ideas: How to Ice Dye

More Arts and Crafts for Tweens

14 Fun Dot Art Ideas for Kids

Dot Art Ideas for Kids

1. Pointillism with Q-tips and Watercolors

2. Dot Art on Canvas (large scale or small!)

3. Kandinsky-Inspired Circle Art with Paper Collage (on Happiness is Homemade)

4. Sticker Mandalas with Circle Stickers

5. Bubble Wrap Printing

6. Aboriginal Dot Painting (on The Artsy Fartsy Art Room)

7. LEGO Prints with Stamp Pads

8. Two Lichtenstein-Style Art Projects: Using Circle Stickers (on Pink Stripey Socks) or Portraits with Crayon Dots (on Art Projects for Kids)

9. Yayoi Kusama Inspired Dot Paintings

10. Splat Painting

11. Holes in Paper Art Challenges

12. Circle Art and Printing Inspired by The Dot

13. Dot-to-dot art challenge for kids

14. Use dot markers or sponge paint dabbers

More Paint Ideas for Kids