Creating Art with Kids + DecoArt

I'm so excited to share this fun kid safe project using DecoArt Media Misters from February Break Art Camp at Merrymeeting Art House this week. This is a fun and easy project that you can do at home with your kids.

We started with a block of wood that was approximately 4" x 6". You can have your local Home Depot cut the blocks from an 8 foot 2 x 6 to size right at the store, so don't worry if you don't have a saw to cut the wood to size at home. You could also use chipboard, canvas panels or any flat surface you have on hand. Recycling something would be a good lesson you could add to this project.

Before camp, I primed the blocks with Americana Sea Aqua Premium Matte Acrylic on all sides and let them dry completely. I also added a hanger from a recycled soda can tab on the back of each block so they would be ready to hang when my campers got their initial blocks home.

The first step was to have them choose 3 or 4 different paint colors and paint random designs on the front of the block using a fine tip brush. I showed them a few different patterns and then set them free to create.

Note: Before they got started painting random patterns, I had them trace the block on a piece of printer paper and draw the letter that was going to be on the block. As they were painting I asked them to name a few other words that started with their letter and went around the room cutting out the letters. It was fun to hear the answers.

Here comes the fun part. Because the DecoArt Media Misters are pretty much odor free, I could spray the blocks inside the studio without any adverse affects. Each girl brought her block and letter up to my desk and watched as I spritzed the black mister over their block.

It truly was magic watching their expressions when the mask was removed and the beautiful letter was revealed.

Look at the gorgeous blocks they created!

It's so wonderful watching kids create. They don't have any of the misconceived perceptions about being a good or bad artist at this age. The creativity that they have is simply amazing. I wish that all my students created with such confidence and abandon. 

Thanks for dropping by, have a lovely day!