This post may contain affiliate links.
I have a bit of a love hate relationship with children’s craft. It’s great when it can fill in a few hours and keep the little ones occupied. Its terrible when it creates more mess than fun and the end result turns out, well frankly, like something that belongs in the trash! Luckily, I think I’ve found the perfect children’s craft activity with this simple and colourful abstract canvas art. The best part – even really young children can get involved and it will still look great. I promise!
To get started you will need: A blank canvas board in the size you desire. You can pick these up at most art and craft stores and they are fairly inexpensive. Masking tape. Brightly coloured non-toxic acrylic paints – we have used a mix of brights and pastels. A paintbrush – tip: a thicker brush is best for little hands (and impatient painters). A paint palette (optional).
Step 1:
Apply masking tape to the canvas to create lines/shapes that will be ‘revealed’ once the paint is dry. Everywhere you place tape will appear white on your finished masterpiece. We went with a geometric pattern and really just let creativity decide where we placed the tape. There are no rules here!
Step 2:
Pour a little of each colour paint into the palette (plastic lid or whatever you can get your hands on) and hand over the paintbrushes. I told my niece to use all the colours and make sure the entire canvas was covered in paint. She was very ‘neat’ about this and chose to paint a separate colour in each space – but you don’t have to. Feel free to put as much paint in each section as long as the whole canvas is completely covered.
Step 3:
When the canvas is completely covered, set it somewhere safe to dry. Use this time to wash up. I did this activity with a three year and a one year old so it was straight into the bath with both of them.
Step 4:
When the canvas is dry, carefully peel off the masking tape to reveal your hidden pattern. The only thing left to do now is find a place to display your baby’s artwork.
I hope you can have a lot of fun creating beautiful masterpieces with your little ones.
Guest Blogger: Lauren x
You can learn more about Lauren + her blog, here.
Leave a Reply