It’s time for the July Art Challenge! 🎨🗓Each month, we follow a set of art prompts that are open to interpretation. The goal is to build an art practice that helps us explore new ideas and experience joy through self expression. Sometimes we need a little boost to remind us to create! All ages and skill levels are welcome. Use any media: pencil, paint, photography, 💃🏽 dance…it’s up to you. Grab a sketchbook and jump in anywhere, anytime.

❤️New this month! My daughters have been involved in this challenge for years, and my eldest volunteered to create all the line art shown around the July calendar. ❤️💃🏻

If you have children in your life, these prompts are made for you. 👩‍👧Share the daily prompt with your child and see what happens! 💫For summertime trips and downtime, the challenge can be your daily creative companion, giving your family an artsy brain break.

💃🏼HOW TO PLAY >>

1. . Find a sketchbook or stack of paper. Beyond that, use any materials you like. Paint, pencil, collage papers, dirt. It’s up to you. You could even go paper-free and make this a photo challenge.
2. If you’re on Instagram, you can follow and join the challenge there, too. Tag me @tinkerlab so I can reshare your posts in my stories. Upload your photos with the hashtags #tinkerlabartchallenge and #tinkersketch > July Art Challenge on Instagram
3. Have Fun!
4. Starts July 1

Cut and Paste Prompt List for the July Art Challenge

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

1. parallel
2. torn
3. air
4. crack
5. glitzy
6. vintage
7. equal
8. yummy
9. crush
10. tangle
11. wild
12. spiral
13. fresh
14. dust
15. dance
16. walk
17. east
18. dinner
19. wheel
20. lazy
21. diamond
22. fuzzy
23. even
24. zigzag
25. story
26. clock
27. spare
28. zoom
29. bubble
30. texture
31. orbit

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?

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.

It’s time for the June Art Challenge! 🎨🗓Each month, we follow a set of art prompts that are open to interpretation with a goal is to build an art practice that helps us explore new ideas and experience joy through self expression. Sometimes we need a little boost to remind us to create! All ages and skill levels are welcome. Use any media: pencil, paint, photography, 💃🏽 dance…it’s up to you.

If you have children or if you’re a teacher, these prompts are made for you. 👩‍👧Share the daily prompt with your child and see what happens! 💫If your summer is kicking off, the challenge can be your daily creative companion, giving your family a an artsy brain break. Plus, sketchbooks 🧳 travel well and this is easy to take on the road. For family bonding, we’re fans of setting of side-by-side collaborative sketchbook time. Mamas, maybe you need your own creative break? Gift yourself a sketchbook and a few minutes daily of pure “me time”.🤫📝

Don’t worry if you miss days…just join when you can. Inspire your imagination to fly and leave perfection at the door. This is all about process, play, and experimentation.

Grab the May Art Challenge 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.

💃🏼HOW TO PLAY >>

1. . Find a sketchbook or stack of paper. Beyond that, use any materials you like. Paint, pencil, collage papers, dirt. It’s up to you. You could even go paper-free and make this a photo challenge.
2. If you’re on Instagram, you can follow and join the challenge there, too. Tag me @tinkerlab so I can reshare your posts in my stories. Upload your photos with the hashtags #tinkerlabartchallenge and #tinkersketch > June Art Challenge on Instagram
3. Have Fun!
4. Starts June 1

Cut and Paste Prompt List for the June Art Challenge

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:

1. Fruit
2. Middle
3. Mismatched
4. Whimsy
5. White
6. Roll
7. Curve
8. Moon
9. Chaos
10. Gravity
11. Mistake
12. Crown
13. Sign
14. Salt and Pepper
15. Uneven
16. Growth
17. Blank
18. Minute
19. Warm
20. Flower
21. Out of Focus
22. Splash of Color
23. Magnify
24. On my Table
25. Typography
26. Memento
27. Pastel
28. Contrast
29. Numbers
30. Endless

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.