Kids are naturally creative—they love arts and crafts! From animals to nature to self-portraits, once kids discover their love of art, it can be hard for them to put down the paintbrush.
But as a parent, you might be fresh out of creative ideas to keep your budding artiste preoccupied. What do you do when you’ve bled Pinterest dry?
If you’re in need of a muse, check out these 5 easy painting ideas for kids. Most of these ideas don’t require special materials or skills: just a love of making art.
1. Fall leaves
Fall is around the corner! Help your little ones celebrate the cooler weather with this fun craft.
Use a hot glue gun to trace the outlines of leaves on coffee filters. Let the glue dry completely. Next, let your little artist go to town! Decorate the leaves with watercolor paint for a beautiful, delicate look.
2. Salt and watercolor painting
Salt watercolor painting is an easy painting idea for kids that never gets old. You don’t need a lot of supplies for this one, either. You’ll just need white paper, salt, and watercolor painting supplies.
Ask your kids to paint with watercolor the background of the white paper. Let their imagination run wild!
Sprinkle salt over the wet paint to create different designs. This is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about how the salt attracts and absorbs the water.
3. Stained glass painting
For this craft, you’ll need painting supplies, wax paper, cardstock paper, scissors, and a few circular lids (like milk or soda bottles).
Ask your kids to paint a fun design on the wax paper with washable paint. Ask your kids to dab and twist the paint using the bottle lids to make cool patterns.
Once your kids are done, let the paint dry. Cut out your child’s masterpiece and hang it in a sunny window for a painted glass effect.
4. Nebula art
Let your kids’ imaginations run wild while they learn about our universe. Nebula art gives your little painters the freedom to explore new colors and painting techniques.
Squirt a few quarter-sized dollops of liquid glue onto your canvas. Use an eyedropper to drip liquid watercolor onto the glue. Give your kids toothpicks to swirl the paint and glue mixture into a fun design.
If you’re feeling brave, your kids can add glitter to their nebula, too. Allow to dry and display your kids’ art for all to see.
5. Name painting
Help your child see themselves in art by painting their own name. Use painter’s tape to spell out your child’s name on the canvas. Try to use cursive for older children and block letters for young children. Make sure the paint covers up any part of the paper you don’t want to cover in paint.
Ask your little painter to use their fingers or a brush to paint the white space. Once the piece dries, remove the tape to reveal a beautiful work of art!
The bottom line
Your children only get to be little once. Help your kids nurture their natural love of the arts with these easy painting ideas for kids.
If you love your child’s art but not the mess that comes with it, don’t worry. Paint Puck’s Ultimate Rinse Cup prevents water and paint from ruining your furniture by holding up to 30 brushes, catching runoff, and preventing spills.
Not only that, it contains the patented original Paint Puck, which cleans paintbrushes safely with its unique silicone rubber nubs and ribs, is suitable for all paintbrush sizes, and prevents pigment buildup through its ventilation holes.