Painting

Easy String Art Experiments for Kids

Thumbnail image for Easy String Art Experiments for Kids

“The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through.” – Jackson Pollack, American Painter String Art Creating string art is a fun mix of art, creative thinking, and experimentation all rolled into one open-ended package. If you’ve been following this blog for a while you’ll know that when it comes [...]

Read the full article →

Toddler Watercolor Painting, Keeping it Neat

Thumbnail image for Toddler Watercolor Painting, Keeping it Neat

I’m not afraid of messes, but I’m also not looking for them. Are you with me? So when my almost 2-year old said that she wanted to paint, I was ready with my spill-management toolbox: an ice cube tray and a wooden serving tray. In case you’re wondering how the wooden tray is paint-free (I’d wonder [...]

Read the full article →

Sticker Resist with Watercolors

Thumbnail image for Sticker Resist with Watercolors

Do you have a set of watercolors? If not, this fun project will give you reason to pick one up. My kids and I have been keeping sketchbooks for a few months, and we enjoy the challenge of testing out new techniques, materials, and ideas as we move through our books. Painting over stickers (and [...]

Read the full article →

Messy Art: Splat Paint Olympics

Thumbnail image for Messy Art: Splat Paint Olympics

Today I’m over on the Melissa and Doug blog, writing about our experience making Splat Paint Olympic Rings with household sponges. Painting with non-traditional materials does wonders for helping children look at the world with fresh eyes. And throwing paint-soaked sponges? Well, that’s just silly fun.   While we did this with the end-game of [...]

Read the full article →

Invisible Ink: A Citrus Painting Experiment

Thumbnail image for Invisible Ink: A Citrus Painting Experiment

Can you tell me what you think? I’m playing around with my header design (procrastinating away from other important things, no doubt) and would love to hear your opinion on it. Do you like it? Is it legible? Does it need anything? What do you think about the sub-heading? When you think about Tinkerlab, what [...]

Read the full article →

Explore Modern Artists: Painting with Edward Hopper

Thumbnail image for Explore Modern Artists: Painting with Edward Hopper

Welcome to the first project in our newest series: Explore Modern Artists. Today we’ll take a look at one of my favorite American Artists, Edward Hopper, with a preschool-friendly painting technique. The Q-tip painting technique that we used could be applied to the work of just about any 2-D artist, so definitely take this as [...]

Read the full article →

Watercolors in the Bath

Thumbnail image for Watercolors in the Bath

How does bath time go in your home? My 4 year old prefers the morning shower to a bath and my 22-month old, who’s mostly loved her baths, recently started giving us a hard time about bathing. Over the last few years my husband and I have come up with all sorts of creative solutions [...]

Read the full article →

10+ Messy Art Projects That Will Leave Your House Clean

Thumbnail image for 10+ Messy Art Projects That Will Leave Your House Clean

I can’t tell you how many emails, comments, and messages I receive with questions about how to set up no-mess art projects. A really good friend of mine recently told me that she loves my blog, but that my projects are so….MESSY. Eeek. I’m not sure if you’ll believe this but the funny thing is [...]

Read the full article →

How to Make Paint: Sweetened Condensed Milk

Thumbnail image for How to Make Paint: Sweetened Condensed Milk

This recipe is a keeper because it comes together quickly, uses ingredients you probably have on hand, and it expands the way children think about art supplies. When children have the opportunity to invent things and imagine new possibilities (in this case, making their own paint, inventing colors, and imagining what they can create with [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

UA-19454188-1