We had so much going on during Christmas, that I thought the girls could use a little break from all the chaos today. Clara, in particular, seemed to be a bit over-whelmed with it all. So when Emily was off playing with all her lovely new toys, Clara and I snuck in a quick painting project. It was the perfect way to calm her (and me) down.
This snowflake painting was done using a similar technique to our stunning Winter tree paintings, only this one was even easier. It was so easy, in fact, that Clara did it with great results!
To make your own snowflake painting, you will need: light blue, dark blue, and purple paint, masking tape, and canvas board (very inexpensive).
First, make an “X” in the middle of the canvas board with masking tape.
Next, add another line of masking tape bi-secting the “X” as shown.
Add a few bits of masking tape on each end of the snowflake.
Invite your child over to PAINT!!! Extra bonus points for painting in your pajamas.
Encourage your child to cover the entire canvas board with paint.
Lots and lots of paint!
Now, allow the paint to dry completely.
When the paint is completely dry, gently peel off the masking tape.
Use a black marker to outline your beautiful snowflake.
Ta-da!
Display proudly in your home!
December 26th, 2009 on 11:40 pm
Dear Valerie,
I'm surprised you didn't post the picture of Clara crying when you took her paint brush away, when it was time to switch colors!
Love,
Mark
December 27th, 2009 on 10:14 am
I LOVE it! Painting always relaxes me and my kids too!
December 27th, 2009 on 10:44 am
I love this idea! We are gonna SO try it out when we get back from all our holiday travels…
December 27th, 2009 on 11:17 am
I love it – it turned out so very pretty. we are definitely going to try it here too.
December 27th, 2009 on 12:24 pm
Amazing as always. That is beautiful. I bet LOgan would just love it!
Love Val
December 27th, 2009 on 12:39 pm
What a great project! M and L would love this. Do you have to use canvas do you think or would heavy paper work just as well?
December 27th, 2009 on 1:07 pm
So pretty! I can never get my 2 year old to cover a piece of paper. He just dabs a few spots and then says "all done" and wants to get another color or play with taking caps on and off or whatever. He may dab 2 or 3 different colors on, but then I have to move on to something else or cheat and finish it myself. But hey, Mommy needs a little calming down with painting too, so that's OK.
December 27th, 2009 on 4:01 pm
We will definitely try this one.
December 27th, 2009 on 4:03 pm
Thats a great project! Turned out real well!
December 27th, 2009 on 9:37 pm
@ Mark — I'm thinking you should consider writing a "behind the scenes" guest post sometime. I'm sure you have plenty of good material!
@ Ivy — Yes, heavy paper works well. We used watercolor paper for the Winter tree paintings and it worked. Just be sure to wait until the paint is completely dry before peeling off the masking tape. Have fun!!
December 27th, 2009 on 9:41 pm
@ Infant Bibliophile — Sounds like your son is quite the minimalist! Emily was very much the same way until she started watching me paint. If you paint along side him, he might paint for awhile longer..? Or just finish it up for him…. I'll never tell!
December 27th, 2009 on 10:19 pm
Oh that is so fun and came our really lovely! I will have to do one with ER for sure. She just loves to paint and paint and it gets hard to keep coming up with ways to turn it into something. Hope you had a lovely holiday!
December 28th, 2009 on 12:54 am
That turned out gorgeous! I will have to share this with my teachers!
December 28th, 2009 on 1:02 am
That turned out gorgeous! I will have to share this with my teachers!
December 28th, 2009 on 8:44 am
Another beautiful piece of art! And what a fun project – the only question my sad little mind has is where might I find canvas board? Inexpensively, of course!
Thanks for sharing, we'll be doing this soon!
December 28th, 2009 on 8:47 am
Very pretty – great work, Clara!
December 28th, 2009 on 1:48 pm
That is really a cute idea. She did a great job painting.
Happy New Year friend.
December 28th, 2009 on 1:51 pm
Such a nice simple idea, I've been wanting to try something like this.
December 28th, 2009 on 4:16 pm
Oh that is lovely
December 28th, 2009 on 9:40 pm
Easy and beautiful! We'll do this project.
December 29th, 2009 on 4:32 am
What a lovely project. I love the way your ideas are things that I can picture my kids actually doing! This one is definitely on my list of things to do over the holidays.
December 29th, 2009 on 12:53 pm
Wow, that is so pretty! Thanks so much for another fun and beautiful project. I'll be linking.
December 31st, 2009 on 3:12 pm
Another great idea – thanks for sharing! I'm thinking that this would be a fun way to decorate some Christmas thank you cards…
June 26th, 2010 on 2:51 am
That so amazing how nice art.. those child really very smart and expert .
December 1st, 2010 on 9:50 pm
Love it. I adore your blog so much. Thank you for all the work you put in. You keep my household sane
December 2nd, 2010 on 9:12 am
This is a beautiful project! I imagine you could use fingerpaints as well – I think it’s great to be able to let toddlers “have at it” and explore painting!
Would you consider entering this idea into a winter idea contest on my website? http://www.theseedsnetwork.com/contest.php