painting

Mother's Day art - a homemade painting for mom or grandma

Creating something special for Mother's Day doesn't have to be complicated or costly. It just needs to be created with Love.
 
Most kids love to finger paint - momstown does so much messy painting in our programs! What do you do with the pictures once created? Stick on the fridge? Throw it out? What if it's a giant mural? These are perfect for framing and keeping forever as artwork on the wall.

 

grandma's art
Grandma would love a framed print from her favourite artist to hang prominently in her home. Make it personalised to her decor and she'll love it more.
 
These pieces of artwork hang in my children's bedrooms but they would easily be used as a gift.
 
1. Pick the paint colours carefully based on where you want it to hang. My kids used colours that matched their bedspreads but if you want this to hang in Grandma's family room, kitchen or bathroom? Match the colours accordingly. Involve your child in the paint colour selection
 
2. Give your child loads of room to create. Make sure the paper is the right width and height to fill the frame you want. Let them be creative. Paint way more than you need, then you have lots to pick from as the "best section" to display.
 
3. After the painting is dry find the "best" part. Measure out the right size for your frame & cut it out.Have your child sign their artwork (or you sign their name & year for them).
 
4. Wrap it up for Grandma! Happy Mother's Day!!!
 
When your child gives this gift to Grandma he will be over-the-top proud! And everytime he visits her home to see his special work on display, he'll be even more proud! This might even become an annual tradition with a new picture to change up in the frame every year.

Posted by momstown mama on 05/03/2013 - 12:00
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Snowflake Art for toddlers

snowflake art for toddlers

 

Sometimes there is magic in art. Using a resist method is a pretty cool way to involve a young child in art and still get a really awesome look. This Snowflake was made using masking tape as a resist material – essentially; it blocks the paint to create its own pattern. This was my 2 year old's Saturday morning Masterpiece and her older siblings were jealous that they missed on the fun since it's now proudly displayed now on our mantel.


To create a masterpiece with your toddler like this snowflake, you need a few simple items:

  • Masking Tape & Scissors
  • Canvas board (you can pick them up for $1 or less at the dollar store)
  • Paint I various shades and colours (I’d skip tempera and use acrylic for this project, just wear a smock to keep clean!)
  • Paintbrushes


Decide on a design first and lay the tape down in that pattern. Since we were doing a Snowflake we created that pattern but this method would be super fun for many themes, a birthday number, name, other shapes… but we created a Snowflake with masking tape.


Then give your child free reign to paint until their heart’s content. I provided my toddler with various shades of winter blues and whites. All were mixed into a big artistic mess by the end and man, did she have FUN! Cover the entire canvas, especially where the tape is. Encourage your child to also paint the edges for a more complete look.


Once the paint is dry (or almost dry if you’re impatient like me) you can remove the tape. It was not completely dry when I removed it, hence some of the edges as are little blurry. If I been more patient, I think the lines would have been straighter.
Voila! Instant artwork to hang courtesy of your child.

 

Check our our Valentine Sticker Resist Artwork, it follows a similar method except with stickers instead of tape.

Posted by momstown mama on 01/10/2013 - 16:10
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Silly Handprint Monster Craft

How do you beat the winter blahs?  That's easy just get "Silly" with momstown Burlington.  Follow these simple directions and not only will you be left laughing - but you'll have a cute keepsake craft!

 

 silly handprint monsters


 

Materials Needed:

Washable Paint
Sponge or paintbrush
Paper or Canvas
Construction Paper or Cardstock
Black Magic Marker
Optional:  Googly Eyes

 

1.  Using the washable paint, and sponge or paintbrush - help child to paint palm and several fingers (but not all).  Try painting half a finger, whole fingers or just one.  Experiment and see which makes the cutest monster.

 

2.  Press hand onto paper or canvas.  Be sure not to wiggle hand.  Be sure to press whole palm down.

 

silly handprint monsters

 

3.  While paint is drying.  Use construction paper to cut out circles for eyes.  We used white, but you can use other colors - after all they are monsters!  We also cut out a tongue and some teeth.  You could try antennae, warts, moustaches or mouths!

 

4.  Use marker to draw pupil on eye, and detail to monster!  Glue on eyes.  Alternatively use googly eyes - or a combination of both!

 

5.  Check out your cute creation!

 

silly handprint monsters

Posted by momstown team on 01/06/2013 - 23:41
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Easy Remembrance Day Craft For Preschoolers


Remembrance Day is hard to explain to little ones but I wanted to do something with my kids if only to get them to start recognizing the poppy and eventually understand its significance.  So this morning my toddler and my preschooler set to work on making fingerprint poppy wreaths.

 

What you need:

-White or light coloured piece of construction paper
-Red finger paint
-Green or black finger paint
-A small plate or something to put the paint on

 
Ready to paint!

 

Remembrance Day Canada craft for preschoolers

 

Use your thumb dipped in red paint to make the outside of the poppy. Use your index finger (or adults can use their baby finger) dipped in green paint to make the centre of the poppy.  Black paint works for the centre too.

 

Remembrance Day Canada craft for preschoolers

 

Remembrance Day Canada craft for preschoolers

 

Two years ago my husband and I visited the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.  I was inspired and haunted by the images we saw and the stories we read but also left feeling incredibly lucky that so many men and women made such sacrifice so that we could live in the fortunate country that Canada is today.

 

My husband is a history buff and I know when the kids are old enough he will make sure they understand the significance of our country's history and why we always need to honour and remember our soldiers.

 

Looking for more Remembrance Day crafts? 

Submitted by momstown Oakville

Posted by momstown team on 11/03/2012 - 16:56
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Pumpkin Painting Party


When my eldest started school, the hardest thing for me was not knowing her friends as well as I did when she as home. That first Kindergarten October we hosted a Halloween party for all the girls in her class so i could meet them and their  parents - perfect solution!

And so a tradition was born! The last three years, my daughter has planned a costume party the weekend before Halloween for her new classroom friends. This year, the date didn't work in our schedule so instead we hosted a Halloween craft party for the girls. No costumes needed but plenty of craft time.

The girls created painted sparkly pumpkin spider webs and plasticine Halloween sculptures. The pumpkins are a great edition to a scary display on the porch or fancy enough for a proud place on a mantel or centerpiece. Our group of 7 year olds loved this multi-step craft but my younger kids (aged 2 and 4) also created their own versions too.

 

pumpkin painting party

Supplies Needed:
Small pumpkins (pie pumpkin size or even a gourd size pumpkin)
White paint (acrylic versus latex is better as it won't wash off)
Sparkles (black, white or silver or all colours!)
Black marker (permanent if your child is old enough to trust!! )
Glue gun
Plastic spider (or you could draw one on)

1. Paint the pumpkins white and cover all the orange. Avoid painting the stem which acts as a handle. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle the sparkles on so it dries in the paint.

2. Once the pumpkin is completely dry, trace the vertical lines of the pumpkin in black marker. Then connect the lines horizontally to create a spider web design on the pumpkin.

3. To add a spider to the pumpkin, either draw one on with the marker. Or glue gun on plastic spider on to create a 3D spider (we found a bag of 12 spiders at the dollar store).

 

halloween crafts- pumpkin painting party

Happy Halloween!

Posted by momstown mama on 10/15/2012 - 08:22
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Pointilism For Preschoolers: Seurat Inspired Fall Trees

It's officially fall: the perfect time to create a simple fingerprint or q-tip fall tree art project with your toddler, preschooler, or child! We love kids crafts, but we also love learning about famous artists. Our home is filled with kid friendly art books, we take regular trips to the art gallery, and we love learning about art history and techniques as we watch "Pirates: Adventures in Art" on Kids' CBC.  Every month we also try to learn about one artist in particular.  We look at pictures of the artist's work, read stories about his or her life, and use what we have learned to create art of our own.

 

This month, we have been learning about Georges Seurat.  Georges Seurat was a famous French painter who lived from 1859-1891.  He is most well known for developing a new art technique known as pointillism.  Pointillism involves using small, distinct dots of colour applied in patterns to form an image. A good way for kids to understand it is to have them think of a reallly pixelated image on a computer screen.  That is essentially the digital version of pointillism.  We practised using the pointillism technique to make two fall tree pictures: one with finger prints, and one with smaller dots made with the end of a Q-tip.

 

To make the simpler, fingerprint tree, you will need:

  • thick white or cream paper
  • brown construction paper
  • red, yellow, orange and brown paint
  • scissors and glue

1. Cut a tree trunk shape out of brown construction paper, and glue onto your background paper:

 

 

2. Squirt red, brown, yellow and orange paint onto a palette (yogurt lids work great):

 

 

3. Dip your fingers into the various colours of paint, and then make finger prints where you think leaves on the tree should be:

 

 

4.  Allow picture to dry, and you're done! This would be a great project to keep the kids busy before Thanksgiving dinner.

 

To create the slightly more complicated Q-tip version, you will need:

  • Thick cream or white paper
  • brown, red, yellow, and orange paint
  • Q-tips
  • A paintbrush

1. Paint a brown tree trunk onto your background paper.  Allow to dry:

 

 

2. Squirt yellow, red, brown, and orange paint onto a palette.  Dip your Q-tip into one colour, and begin to make dots on your paper where you think leaves should be:

 

 

3. Continue adding dots in various colours until you are satisfied with the look of your fall tree:

 

 

This version is not really any more difficult than the fingerprint painting, but it is a bit more time consuming, due to both the size of the Q-tips and the need to allow the tree trunk to dry first.  We enjoyed doing both and comparing the results, but whichever one you do, have a happy fall!

Posted by momstown Teach on 09/23/2012 - 18:34
Labels:
ShareThis share this post
123456789next ›last »