process art

Bubble Wand Painting Activity

August 22, 2022 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Variety is the spice of life, and this is so true with painting activities. Although paintbrushes are most commonly used to spread paint on canvasses, little learners delight in experimenting with other tools. Offering this bubble wand painting activity gives them an exciting new way to do just that!

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies for this super fun art activity:

jumbo bubble wands and trays
tempera paint colors of choice
12-inch x 18-inch art paper or canvas
plastic tarp or table cover

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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The Bubble Wand Painting Process

Painting with bubble wands is a fun way to experiment with unique tools for spreading paint. Follow these steps for the process art activity.

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For this activity, pour tempera paint into bubble wand trays, or use trays that are just larger than the wands.

Tip: Tempera paint can be a little dark when used straight from the bottle. Lighten and brighten hues by mixing in a little white and/or yellow paint.

Next, cover a large table with a plastic table cover or tarp.

Then set out big sheets of art paper or canvasses, along with the paint trays. For this project, I feature a budget-friendly stretched canvas purchased at a dollar store.

Have each participant dip a bubble wand in paint, and press it onto the canvas. If the wand is used as a fly swatter, the paint will splatter, adding to the fun.

Repeat the process using additional bubble wands, trays, and paint colors.

It's easy to fill a canvas with a bubble wand painting technique. Give this all-ages super fun art project a try!

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Note: This is a messy activity! Make sure participants wear play clothes and a painting apron, and that your art station can accommodate splattering paint. As an alternative, offer the painting activity outside.

If only a few bubble wand sets are available, have little learners take turns doing this painting activity. Wash the bubble wands and trays before adding each new color.

Big sheets of paper or canvases can seem overwhelming to little learners, but the jumbo bubble wands make painting on a large canvas easy to do.

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Related: Printmaking With Apples

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Watercolor Planets With Markers

August 17, 2022 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Creating watercolor planets with markers is an easy and satisfying process art activity with stunning results. Your little learners will absolutely love doing it. And if you need a quick, beautiful bulletin board or wall display, this project checks that box.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies for this art activity:

8-inch diameter paper basket coffee filters
water-based markers
12-inch x 12-inch black cardstock paper
spray bottle
plastic tub
hot glue gun

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Creating Watercolor Planets With Markers

First, flatten basket-shaped coffee filters, and set them on a table with water-based markers.

Invite little learners to decorate their paper circles any way they wish.

Steps to create stunning watercolor planets with markers. This all-ages process art looks beautiful displayed together.

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Tip: Offer analogous colors, which are groups of three colors positioned next to each other on the color wheel. Because these colors complement each other, they work well in process art projects.

Create watercolor earth art with just markers and water. A quick and easy process art project everyone will love. — **Planet Earth With Blue and Green Markers**

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Create watercolor planet Jupiter art with just markers and water. A quick and easy process art project everyone will love. — **Planet Jupiter With Red, Orange, and Yellow Markers**

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Afterward, have everyone take turns wetting their project with a spray bottle filled with water. When doing this, place the decorated circles in a small tub to be sprayed.

Tip: Your little charges may want to soak their circular canvas with lots of water, but just giving the colorful coffee filters a few squirts results in nice art pieces for display.

Next, dry the paper circles on a flat surface covered with a plastic tablecloth or tarp.

Finally, mount the round planets on a 12-inch x 12-inch square piece of black cardstock, or sturdy paper that is 8 ½ x 11 inches in size. Using a hot glue gun works well.

This process art project looks amazing displayed in a group.

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More Watercolor Planet Process Art

Because little learners love the spraying water part of this art activity, invite them to make more colorful planets without restrictions. They may spray the color right out of the circles after decorating them, but they enjoy doing this soooo much. Have them try black or dark green markers. Early learners are sure to be excited about the new colors that will be revealed.

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Related: Earth Day Heart Art

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Salt And Glue Moon Art

August 8, 2022 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This salt and glue moon art activity is a simple way to create a realistic moon in its natural colors. It’s easy for little learners to do, and looks showy when displayed.

To help set the tone for the art activity, here are ten fun facts about the moon’s surface to share.

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Ten Moon Facts

The moon usually appears bright whitish, silvery gray, or pale yellow. This is because its surface is illuminated by the sun.
Close up, the moon is colored in shades of gray, with a little bit of black and white. There are tinges of orange, blue, or green in some parts.
The moon is rocky and bumpy.
There are light and dark areas on it’s surface.
The dark areas are huge craters filled primarily with basalt lava that has cooled and formed smooth, dark plains. Much of the lava is rich in magnesium and iron, which is the reason for the dark color.
The lighter areas are highlands with mountains and many craters. The highlands are low in iron and rich in calcium, giving them a lighter color.
There are volcanic domes and shield volcanoes, as well as channel-like depressions on the moon.
The moon is covered in a thin layer of moon dust, which is a dark grey color.
There are traces of water in the form of water ice at the moon’s poles. Water molecules have recently been discovered on the sunlit side of the moon.
From earth, we always see the same side of the moon.

An easy-to-do moon art activity with a salt and glue technique. The art project looks stunning on display.

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Powerful telescopes, space probes that orbit or land on the moon, spacecraft that circle the moon, and robotic rovers are some ways the moon is regularly explored. Twelve astronauts have had the chance to walk on the moon and see it up close.

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Moon Art Supplies

Just a few supplies are needed for this striking moon art project:

8 ½ inch x 11- inch gray cardstock paper
12 x 12-inch black cardstock paper
white glue
glue paddles
disposable plates
table salt
small bowls or paint cups
spray adhesive
hot glue gun

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The Salt And Glue Moon Art Process

To prepare for the activity, cut circles about 8 ½ inches in diameter from gray cardstock.

Next, set up a station for each child participating with a

gray cardstock paper circle
small bowl of salt and a teaspoon
container of white glue and glue paddle
disposable plate

Stunning moon art made with a salt and glue art technique. Teach facts about the moon while doing this process art activity.

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Invite little learners to drizzle white glue on their circle-shaped paper.

Then have them sprinkle salt from a teaspoon over the glue, and shake excess salt onto their disposable plate.

Let the art projects dry overnight.

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To help preserve the moon art, spray each salted circle with adhesive spray. Hairspray works fine for this task too.

When thoroughly dry, adhere each paper moon to a black cardstock or construction paper background using a hot glue gun.

Display the stunning art projects on a bulletin board or wall. They will look amazing!

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Little learners may have their own thoughts about the art they are creating. One of my students pretended he was making “The North Pole.” This led to a discussion about who was on Santa’s nice and naughty list!

Another student asked if he could taste the salt. After saying it was ok to taste a little of it, we discussed that it is a good choice to ask if it is safe to taste an art supply before doing it. We also talked about how there is a lot of salt in many playdough recipes, but we only use a little bit to season food.

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Related: Scented Moon Playdough

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Earth Day Heart Art

April 2, 2022 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Here are two Earth Day heart art activities children of every age will love, love, love to do. As with most of my activities, they use easy-to-find supplies and are inexpensive to make. And best of all, they are open-ended process art projects where every child can succeed, and each result is beautiful.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies for the earthy art activities:

white paper towel roll
water-based markers
green and blue food coloring or liquid watercolors
paint pots or baby food jars
white cardstock paper
scissors
pencils
eyedroppers or pipettes
spray bottle with water
glue sticks
glue gun
plastic tablecloth

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Eyedropper Heart Earth Art

Trace and cut out large hearts from paper towel sheets. It works out well for the center of the hearts to overlap the tear portion of the towels.

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Mix a few drops of blue food coloring in small jars or paint pots filled with water. Do the same with green.

Set out one paper towel heart and pot of green and blue food coloring on a covered table for each participant, along with eye droppers or pipettes.

Invite participants to drop colored water all over their hearts. They’ll enjoy the way this technique spreads color over the towels.

After having dried, help each child tear the painted paper towel shapes on the tear line.

Have everyone write the words “I Love Earth” on a cardstock strip. A drawn red heart can be substituted for the word “Love.”

Then invite them to glue their top and bottom heart sections with the word strip positioned in the middle to a cardstock sheet of paper slightly bigger than the heart and word design.

How to do an eyedropper heart earth art project using common kitchen supplies. Everyone in the family will enjoy this super fun process art activity.

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Alternately, the hearts can stay as one unsplit shape, and the cardstock strip words can be glued above each heart on the paper.

Make this super fun eyedropper heart Earth Day project today! Everyone in the family will enjoy giving it a try.

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Sprayed Marker Heart Earth Art

Use the same-sized paper towel hearts for this second art project.

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Set out a heart and a green and blue water-based marker for each participant on a covered table. Have everyone color most or all of their hearts in patches of green and blue.

Fill a spray bottle with water.

Have participants take turns spraying their hearts with just enough water to wet their designs thoroughly. This is the part everyone will most likely love the most.

Or each child can use a pipette to drop water on their projects, also very satisfying.

Let the decorated, water-applied hearts dry.

Finish the project in one of the same two ways as with the first art activity.

Make this sprayed marker heart earth art project today! It's a super fun process art activity that displays beautifully.

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Related: Coffee Filter Sunflower Craft

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Shamrock Rolling Pin Art

March 16, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

A fun rolling pin art project with three different looks. A process art painting activity on shamrocks the whole family can enjoy.

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This shamrock rolling pin art project is bound to get a little messy, and that means your little learner is sure to looove it! Shamrocks make an eye-pleasing subject for this process art activity.

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Supplies to Collect

green, yellow, and white tempera paint
rolling pins or paper towel rolls
large sheets of sturdy paper
paint containers and spoons
shamrock template

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Click here to download a shamrock template.

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Shamrock Rolling Pin Art Fun

Set out tempera paints in yellow, white, and shades of green. Invite your little learner to spoon dabs of paint over a paper shamrock.

Invitation to use a rolling pin as a painting tool.

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Then ask your little one to roll a rolling pin over the paint.

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A paper towel roll works well to move paint around too. On the shamrock below, a pattern of paint was spread vertically. Then a paper towel roll was rolled up and down to give the striped effect. There are diagonal lines left from the paper roll on the shamrock…I kind of like them!

Paper towel roll painting on a shamrock.

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The paint can also be splattered on diagonally, with the rolling pin to squish the paint around positioned the same way.

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Which shamrock art project do you like best? Leave a comment below.

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Rolling pin art with a diagonal stripe design.

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Valentine’s Day Process Art

January 18, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky 2 Comments

Early learners love process art. They delight in exploring art materials and are not usually concerned about the finished product. Often the messier the project, the better! Here is a simple ice cube and powder paint activity your child will love to investigate.

Valentine's Day process art with an ice cube and powder paint technique. Llama shaped ice cubes give the project a South American flair. An art project suitable for all ages.

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This Valentine’s Day process art activity employs red and purple colors. Adding llama and heart ice cubes gives the project a South American flair. The painting activity transitions from a Winter to a Valentine’s Day theme.

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Valentine’s Day Process Art Supplies

llama and heart ice cube tray
shaker of red powder paint
shaker of purple powder paint
red glitter shaker
purple glitter shaker
12-inch x 16-inch multipurpose art paper
plate
spoon

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Valentine's Day process art supplies for an ice cube and powder paint technique. Llama shaped ice cubes give the project a South American flair. An art project suitable for all ages.

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Ice Cube and Powder Paint Process Art

Freeze water in the llama and heart ice cube tray.

Take the ice cubes out of the tray and place them on a plate.

Set out the paper, powder paint shakers, glitter shakers, ice cubes, and spoon.

Optional: Shapes or a word can be drawn on the paper with a crayon. Then the project will have a crayon resist element.

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Invite your child to shake powder paint on the paper, and spread it around with ice cubes. Your child can use a spoon to move the ice cubes or use hands for an added sensory experience.

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