Art Activities Archives

How to Make Captivating Pulled String Art

Make a pulled string art painting with paint, paper, liquid watercolors, and string. The process is captivating and the results are beautiful.

A couple of years ago, my daughter and I joined in on Rachelle’s ArtStart Challenge and instantly became complete and total process art addicts. Messy or clean, wild and crazy or calm and thoughtful, rainbowy or brown sludge, we love it ALL! We make up our own methods and search Pinterest and Instagram for new ideas regularly, but recently we tried one that we had seen on Facebook: pulled string art.

Have you seen that video? Kinley and I gave it a go with our beloved liquid watercolors and it’s just as amazing and irresistible as it looks — we could NOT STOP! Wanna try it, too?

It’s easy-peasy but the paint does tend to fly, so make sure you get your smocks or paint clothes on before you get started.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links

Supplies for pulled string art

liquid watercolors
small jars or cups
string, cut into 18 inch pieces
a book that you don’t mind getting a few paint splatters on, we used an adult coloring book
printer paper

How to make pulled string art

pulled string art liquid watercolor paint

Step 1: Pour watercolors into jars

Pour your watercolors into the small jars and plop one string in each jar leaving about two inches hanging over the edge to hold onto.

Step 2: Fold your paper in half

Fold your piece of printer paper in half and put it in the middle of your open book.

Step 3: Coat your string in paint

Choose your first color, make sure the string is coated in paint, and pull it out of the jar. You’ll want to drag it through your finger and thumb to scrape off the excess watercolors — you can wear gloves for this part or earn your process art rainbow fingers badge of honor and go without.

Step 4: Move the string into position

Arrange the string on the side of your paper that will stay on the table when you shut your book. You can make loops, squiggles, whatever you want. There’s no wrong way to place a string!

Step 5: Close the paper in a book

Shut the book and, while pressing on the cover firmly with one hand, use the other to pull that string out of the book.

Step 6: Check out the results of your pulled string art

The first time you go hunting through your book to find the art page, you’ll be hooked guaranteed. It’s like a gorgeous surprise!

You can do it all over again with a different color on the same sheet. Repeat over and over with as many colors as you’d like and then make more and more until you’re out of paint and your finished art stack is so high it’s threatening to become an artalanche!

Don’t be afraid to try your own spin — different paints, different kinds of string. Our new favorite way to make string art is to use photo paper instead of printer paper. (See an example of this in the image above “Supplies for String Art.”) That stuff makes every art project extra magical!

More string art ideas

String painting with tempera paint

Make abstract art critters with string and markers

Stringing beads for toddlers and preschoolers

About Cara

Cara Huff is a homeschooling stay-at-home momma of one with a passion for picture books, hands-on learning, & ALL things creative! If you like this project, you can find all of Cara’s other rainbow-colored ideas on Instagram, her blog RaisingKinley.com, and on Facebook.

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TinkerSketch: The June Art Challenge

By Rachelle Leave a Comment

Join TinkerLab for a month of open-ended art making in the June TinkerSketch Art Challenge.

June Art Challenge

With summer on the horizon, it’s a great time to take out sketchbooks for morning reflection or travel. When we travel, my sketchbook is always a trusty companion and safe place to save memories, document experiences, and take notes.

You’ll find that some of the daily prompts have a summer vibe, but they can be interpreted in so many ways. If your part of the world has winter in June, this is for you, too!

This month explores a new range of daily sketchbook prompts to get your imagination running. If you missed last month’s challenge, read this post for more details.

Copy this image and save to your phone or desktop. Print it out and glue into your art journal. Re-share on your Instagram wall. Post to Facebook. Art challenges are more fun with friends, so be sure to ask a buddy to join you.

If you’ve done the June challenge before, there are a couple changes. Nothing major, so if you want to use an older list, that will work, too.

No experience necessary. Kids and adults welcome.

Cut and Paste Prompt List

If you’d rather cut and paste the list into a document or something else, here’s the full list for the June Art Challenge:

Fruit
Middle
Mismatched
Whimsy
White
Sand
Old
Moon
Chaos
Shadow
Mistake
Crown
Sign
Salt and Pepper
Uneven
Growth
Blank
Minute
Warm
Flowers
Out of Focus
Splash of Color
Magnify
On my Table
Typography
Memento
Pastel
Contrast
Numbers
Endless

On Instagram

Share your TinkerSketch creations over on Instagram with the hashtag #tinkersketch. You can see over 14,000 entries here.

FAQ

What is the TinkerSketch Art Challenge?

TinkerSketch is a daily sketchbook practice that invites you to experiment and play with ideas and materials in a low-stress, fun, and mind-stretching way.

Who is this Art Challenge for?

Anyone who wants a creative art boost. The stakes are low and it’s super easy to do, even if you have no experience or low confidence with making. If you have kids, this is an amazing exercise to do with them as you build a habit around creativity and self-expression.

How much time will it take?

While you can spend as much time at this as you like, just set aside 5-10 minutes each day and you’re in business.

I need some tips for carving out 5-10 minutes

Carry a sketchbook in your bag and pull it out when you’re waiting in line
Designate “creative time” where you and your child draw in sketchbooks side-by-side
Wake up a little earlier than usual. You can make this more pleasant by lighting a candle, brewing tea, and sitting with your sketchbook for a few minutes before the rest of your home wakes up

What’s the goal?

Improve your drawing, painting, mark-making skills
Try and explore new ways of art-making
Land on new ideas that wouldn’t have emerged otherwise
Have fun
Model creative thinking for your child (if you’re a parent or teacher)
Celebrate the imperfection of your ideas
Think creatively

What Tools Will I Need?

A sketchbook or a ream of paper. Even post-its or old receipts will work.
Mark-making tools like pens and pencils
Paint and brush
“Attaching” materials such as glue and tape will come in handy
Collage materials such as scrap paper, newspaper, old homework, or magazines.
Anything else that strikes your fancy. We’ve used hole punchers, chalk markers, tea, and okra (they make beautiful stamps).

See our Resources Page for a full list of recommended supplies for tinkering, art journal keeping, and art making with kids.

Can I see Examples of How this Works?

To see images from TinkerSketch past, click over here or search Instagram for #tinkersketch. You’ll see so many inspiring entries.

How do I interpret the prompts?

You can interpret the daily prompts however you want. “Drips” to one person may mean flicking watercolors off a toothbrush and to another person it might mean covering a page in marker and then leaving the page outside on a drizzly morning. You can take the prompts literally or not — this is completely up to you.

Draw the Word: A Drawing Game for Kids

By Rachelle 6 Comments

Fun drawing games are a lifesaver when you need to pass some time or want to connect with your kids on a creative level. My 9-year old invented this drawing game over brunch, and it entertained the two of us for the entire meal. Dessert included.

“Draw the Word” encourages imaginative thinking, writing, and playful drawing. Not only is it a great exercise in creativity, but it’s also a wonderful way to connect, bond, and get to know others better.

The supplies are crazy simple, so you can easily play this on the fly or when you’re out at a restaurant or waiting room. Here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies

Marker or pencil (one per player)

Paper (one per player)

How to Play

Each player divides a paper into four sections.
Players come up with themes for each of the four sections and write down words that correspond with the theme. For example, if the theme is place, a player could write “beach” or “Mexico.”
Players switch papers and draw interpretations of the words on their new paper.
Share responses and be ready to laugh and swap stories.

In the following game, the themes we started with were good, plant, household item, and wild card (anything goes). I wrote the words on the left (my daughter drew the images) and she wrote the words on the right (I drew the images).

Can you guess the themes in this game?

Answer at the bottom of this post 🙂

There you have it: a non-competitive cooperative drawing game that’s designed to support play and connection.

More Art Games

If you’re looking for more Art Games, check out our popular monthly art challenge, TinkerSketch. Each day is a different word prompt. Give yourself 5-10 minutes to interpret each prompt in a medium of your choice. For the most current challenge, go to our home page and scroll down to find this month’s challenge. Join anytime!

Art Dice are one of my favorites: cover each side of a dice with different colors, lines, or shapes. Roll the dice and draw what you see. A fun exercise in serendipity and improvisation.

One-minute drawings is a fun exercise. Take ten pieces of small paper and give yourself a minute to draw on each one.

If you’re looking for art board games, see how you can play Cranium with non-readers and read our essential Creativity Games Gift Guide.

Feedback or questions?

Join me in our online art and creativity community on Facebook in Club TinkerLab.

Answer to the theme question: liquid, fire, ocean, wild card

How to make Tissue Paper Flowers

By Rachelle

Today we’re going to make tissue paper flowers. These are so easy and economical, and they’re a wonderful spring gift for teachers or moms on Mother’s Day.

First, supplies!

Tissue Paper Flower Supplies

This will make 2 tissue paper flowers.

1 sheet of gift-wrapping tissue paper, approximately 20″ x 26″. If you’d like to make a bunch of flowers, this is a good deal (affiliate).
2 green pipe cleaners (affiliate)
scissors

Step 1

Cut the tissue paper in half so that you now have two sheets. You can make these any size. We started with tissue paper that was 20″ x 26″ and after we cut it, each piece was 13″ x 20″
Cut each of those pieces in half. You will now have four sheets. Ours were 10 ” x 13″ each
Cut each of those pieces in half. You will now have eight sheets of paper. Ours were 7.5″ x 10″

Step 2: Fold and Cut the Paper

Stack four sheets of paper.
Pleat the paper in an accordion fold.
Cut a half-circle shape from the each end. (You could also cut a point or zig-zag)
Wrap a pipe cleaner around the middle of the paper to hold it in place. This will also act as the stem.

Step 3: Fan out the Flowers

Fan out the paper.
Gently separate the first layer of paper from the rest, and move it up to form the top layer of petals.
Gently separate the rest of the paper layers.
Fluff out your flower.
Repeat with the other stack of four papers.

Variations

Because we’re big on experiments and self expression, use this as a starting point and see what else you can come up with. If you’re working with children, encourage their imaginations to flourish by asking them if they have more ideas.

Try making those with tiny sheets of paper
Make gigantic flowers
Make multi-colored flowers with different colors of tissue paper
Cut different shapes off the edges of your petals such as triangles or fringe
Make a stack of more pieces of paper for a fuller flower

What to do with tissue paper flowers

Give a bouquet to mom for Mother’s Day
Give these to a beloved teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week
Surprise a friend who’s home sick
Decorate a birthday gift with mini flowers
Decorate a Christmas tree with flowers

TinkerSketch: The May Art Challenge

By Rachelle

Join us for a month of open-ended art making in the May TinkerSketch Art Challenge.

May Art Challenge

Are you feeling inspired? This month explores a new range of daily sketchbook prompts to get your imagination running. If you missed last month’s challenge, read this post for more details.

If you’ve done this Month’s challenge before, there are a couple changes. Nothing major, so if you want to use an older list, that will work, too.

No experience necessary. Kids and adults welcome.

Cut and Paste Prompt List

If you’d rather cut and paste the list into a document or something else, here’s the full list for the May Art Challenge:

Giant
Bump
Water
Window
Sparkle
Old
Straight
Time
Mask
Multiple
Cloud
Boundary
Sand
Sweet
Drop
Moon
Angle
Square
Road
Arrow
Wrong
Salty
Curves
Puzzle
Shadow
Active
Secret
Monochrome
North
Welcome
Doodle

On Instagram

Share your TinkerSketch creations over on Instagram with the hashtag #tinkersketch. You can see over 13,000 entries here.

FAQ

What is the TinkerSketch Art Challenge?

TinkerSketch is a daily sketchbook practice that invites you to experiment and play with ideas and materials in a low-stress, fun, and mind-stretching way.

Who is this Art Challenge for?

Anyone who wants a creative art boost. The stakes are low and it’s super easy to do, even if you have no experience or low confidence with making.

How much time will it take?

While you can spend as much time at this as you like, just set aside 5-10 minutes each day and you’re in business.

I need some tips for carving out 5-10 minutes

Carry a sketchbook in your bag and pull it out when you’re waiting in line
Designate “creative time” where you and your child draw in sketchbooks side-by-side
Wake up a little earlier than usual. You can make this more pleasant by lighting a candle, brewing tea, and sitting with your sketchbook for a few minutes before the rest of your home wakes up

What’s the goal?

Improve your drawing, painting, mark-making skills
Try and explore new ways of art-making
Land on new ideas that wouldn’t have emerged otherwise
Have fun
Model creative thinking for your child (if you’re a parent or teacher)
Celebrate the imperfection of your ideas
Think creatively

What Tools Will I Need?

A sketchbook or a ream of paper. Even post-its or old receipts will work.
Mark-making tools like pens and pencils
Paint and brush
“Attaching” materials such as glue and tape will come in handy
Collage materials such as scrap paper, newspaper, old homework, or magazines.
Anything else that strikes your fancy. We’ve used hole punchers, chalk markers, tea, and okra (they make beautiful stamps).

See our Resources Page for a full list of recommended supplies for tinkering, art journal keeping, and art making with kids.

Can I see Examples of How this Works?

To see images from TinkerSketch past, click over here or search Instagram for #tinkersketch. You’ll see so many inspiring entries.

How do I interpret the prompts?

TinkerSketch | The Ultimate Monthly Art Challenge

By Rachelle

Join me for a month of open-ended art making in the April TinkerSketch Art Challenge.

I have some exciting news to share!

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may remember the TinkerSketch art challenge. This month-long challenge invited makers of all ages to show up for a daily dose of art making. The open-ended prompts could be interpreted in numerous ways and sketches only needed to take 5 minutes. The best part was seeing all of the experiments, iterations, and while it wasn’t the goal, works of real beauty.

In the process of writing my second book and creating a preschool art class, this fun project had to take a little rest. But I missed it so. The paint, sketchbooks, splotches, rips, creative thinking. All of it.

And now, sweet friends, I’m bringing the TinkerSketch Art Challenge back! I can’t promise it will stick around for ages, but my hope is that it will. Next month brings the beginning of my next book project, but I already have May’s prompts in the hopper, so stick around and join me for what promises to be an enriching month of making.

No experience necessary. Kids and adults welcome.

April Art Challenge

Are you feeling inspired? We’re starting the month with circles, my favorite. Circles are one of the first symbols most children draw, and it’s an easy place to begin.

FAQ

What is the TinkerSketch Art Challenge?

TinkerSketch is a daily sketchbook practice that invites you to experiment and play with ideas and materials in a low-stress, fun, and mind-stretching way.

Who is this Art Challenge for?

Anyone who wants a creative art boost. The stakes are low and it’s super easy to do, even if you have no experience or low confidence with making.

How much time will it take?

While you can spend as much time at this as you like, just set aside 5-10 minutes each day and you’re in business.

I need some tips for carving out 5-10 minutes

Carry a sketchbook in your bag and pull it out when you’re waiting in line
Designate “creative time” where you and your child draw in sketchbooks side-by-side
Wake up a little earlier than usual. You can make this more pleasant by lighting a candle, brewing tea, and sitting with your sketchbook for a few minutes before the rest of your home wakes up

What’s the goal?

Improve your drawing, painting, mark-making skills
Try and explore new ways of art-making
Land on new ideas that wouldn’t have emerged otherwise
Have fun
Model creative thinking for your child (if you’re a parent or teacher)
Celebrate the imperfection of your ideas
Think creatively

What Tools Will I Need?

A sketchbook or a ream of paper. Even post-its or old receipts will work.
Mark-making tools like pens and pencils
Paint and brush
“Attaching” materials such as glue and tape will come in handy
Collage materials such as scrap paper, newspaper, old homework, or magazines.
Anything else that strikes your fancy. We’ve used hole punchers, chalk markers, tea, and okra (they make beautiful stamps).

See our Resources Page for a full list of recommended supplies for tinkering, art journal keeping, and art making with kids.

Can I see Examples of How this Works?

To see images from TinkerSketch past, click over here or search Instagram for #tinkersketch. You’ll see so many inspiring entries.

How do I interpret the prompts?

STEAM Project: Design Challenge with Sticks, Clay, and a Mandarin

By Rachelle

This open-ended STEAM project encourages children to use creative and critical thinking skills to build a structure, with limited supplies, to support a mandarin. Once you set up the building invitation, stand back (or build side-by-side) and watch imaginations unfold. Sky is the limit, creativity is encouraged, and all solutions are welcome!

New to STEAM? STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. A STEAM project incorporates at least two of these disciplines in one project. In this challenge, we will work with engineering and art.

This article may contain affiliate links

The Challenge

Build a structure, using at least 15 skewers, to support a mandarin.

Supplies

* Note: If you have a different size skewer, that’s fine, too!

The Set Up

The set up is simple. Clear the table and set up the supplies, including a small collection of Wonderful Halos mandarins. They are a great snack time treat, and can be included in creative engineering projects to teach kids that healthy snacking is fun. They’re in season from November to May, and I can’t forget to mention that Wonderful Halos are sweet, seedless and easy to peel, perfect for kids and adults!

Fill a cup with skewers.
Open box of modeling clay.
Gather Wonderful Halos mandarins
Print out a challenge table card (optional – see below for link to PDF)
Place all the supplies on the table and invite your child to build a structure, using at least 15 sticks, to support a mandarin.

The solutions we saw were wildly different.

The LOW structure

This totally stable structure was able to support multiple mandarins. Scroll down to see the results. None of the mandarins touched the table! This solution actually prompted a new challenge to build a structure that can support more than one mandarin.

The Speared Structure

This one gets points for ingenuity. Nothing in the challenge says that the mandarin has to balance on the sticks. Totally cracked me up. Genius!

The Tripod Solution (above)

The above structure was built with 4 tripods and exactly 15 sticks. Works like a charm!

All of these solutions prompted more challenge ideas!

We tested this with a group of Stanford students (so fun – they’re such a brilliant group!) who came up with more novel solutions.

Make the Tallest Free-standing Structure

Make the Tallest Free-standing Structure you can, using just 20 sticks. My 7-year old loved this one, especially with Wonderful Halos by her side. Just look at her face to see how proud she is to accomplish the task!

Build a Structure that can Support More than one Mandarin

This one was mentioned earlier. My 9-year old loved got wrapped up in aesthetics during the assembly process.

Build a Vehicle using sticks, clay, and mandarins

Two of the aforementioned Stanford students built this truck, inspired by the Stanford d.School Truck, an old fashioned truck, parked right inside the Hasso Platner Institute of Design.

Download the STEAM Mandarin Design Challenge Cards

Click the image below or click this link to download your FREE Design Challenge cards.

Thank you Wonderful Halos for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

More Projects like this one

Spaghetti Tower Marshmallow Challenge

DIY Paper Tube Marble Run

Fort Building Kit

DIY Water Wall, it’s like a marble run, but with water!

Build an easy light table

Make Gumdrop Sculptures

Playdough for Toddlers: 7 Favorite Recipes

By Rachelle

Are you looking for an easy playdough for toddlers? We make tons of play dough and these are seven of our favorite no-fail play doh recipes for little hands. Enjoy!

Easy Playdough recipes that you’ll find in this article:

The BEST playdough recipe (kid-tested – you will love it!)
Stretchy No-cook Playdough
Glowing Playdough
Pumpkin Pie Playdough
Masa (Corn Flour) Play Dough
Cloud Dough (Just 2 Ingredients!)
Gluten-free Cloud Dough

7 Play Dough Recipes for Toddlers

1. The Best Homemade Playdough Recipe

The Best Playdough Recipe is the one that all of my preschool teacher friends use and the best playdough for toddlers. It last for ages, is non-toxic, and the texture is amazing. You have two choices in preparing this playdough: to cook or not cook. Cooking doesn’t take too much longer, but we also provide a stovetop-free version. Either way, the effort is 100% worthwhile. This recipe can last for months if stored in an air-tight container.

2. Stretchy no-cook playdough

No-cook Playdough, made with hair conditioner and corn starch (aka corn flour) is one of our easiest playdough recipes because it only has two ingredients. What makes this dough great? It’s simple, no-cook, stretchy, and smells divine. This dough only lasts a day, so no need to make ahead of time.

3. Glowing Playdough Recipe

Add some glow-in-the dark pizazz to your playdough with this super popular glowing playdough recipe.

4. Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Make a batch of this pumpkin pie playdough for the Autumn season. It’s based on our best playdough recipe (above), with the addition of pumpkin pie spices.

5. Masa (Corn Flour) Play Dough

Masa Playdough is made from masa harina (corn flour, used to make tortillas), rather than all-purpose flour. The dough has a grainy texture to it, and I’d encourage you to try it if you live near a Mexican market, where masa harina is easy to find.

6. Cloud Dough

Cloud Dough has to coolest texture! The consistency of the dough is lovely to feel and hold. It can be powdery like flour one moment, and then moldable like damp sand the next. It’s made from flour and vegetable oil.

7. Gluten-free Cloud Dough

Gluten-free cloud dough is made from rice flour, and a super alternative to traditional cloud dough. It’s a bit more grainy, but it still works great!

What to do with your playdough?

Now that you have the playdough, you’ll need some tools and fun ways to play with it. You probably already have these fun (and I think, essential) play dough tools in your kitchen. Take a look!