Easy Art Projects for Kids

A magazine mosaic is a creative yet easy art project that will engage kids of all ages. They'll take apart a photograph to find the basic shapes that make it up, and create an interesting final picture.

What You'll Need:

How to Make a Magazine Mosaic:

Step 1: Find a picture you like in an old magazine and tear it out. "Take apart" the picture by tearing it up into separate pieces.

Step 2: Look at the major shapes or colors in the picture and tear these pieces out. For example, if your picture has a large area of a color, tear that area into tiny pieces and the rest of the picture into bigger pieces.

Step 3: After you're done "taking apart" your picture, dilute some glue with water in a small dish.

Step 4: Apply the diluted glue to the back of the torn pieces, and glue the pieces of the picture back together on a piece of construction paper. Leave some space between the pieces. This makes your picture look like a mosaic.

Step 5: Let the glue dry.

Keep reading to see how your kids can use kitchen herbs and spices to make a colorful collage.

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An herb collage is an easy art project for kids that uses kitchen herbs and spices to make a scented design. See how many different colors, textures, and smells your kids can find in the pantry!

What You'll Need:

How to Make an Herb Collage:

Step 1: Spread one area of the construction paper with a layer of glue. Cover it with spices such as parsley flakes, cinnamon, and chili powder.

Step 2: Let the glue dry, then shake off the excess spices.

Step 3: Add dots and lines of glue to the design, and sprinkle on more herbs and spices. Once the glue dries, shake off the excess herbs.

Experiment with other spices and herbs to add a variety of colors and fragrances to your pictures.

Lots of easy art projects can be created from objects found around the house. Learn how to make an assemblage work of art in the next section.

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An assemblage sculpture is an easy art project for kids that's made by grouping found or unrelated objects. Ask kids to look around the house for objects with interesting shapes and textures, then assemble them to make a unique sculpture.

What You'll Need:

How to Make an Assemblage Sculpture:

Step 1: Look around your house for a variety of objects such as empty spools, buttons, and paper clips. Try to find items in different sizes, shapes, and textures. You might look for all round items, all long items, or all rough and smooth items.

Step 2: Once you have gathered the objects, assemble them in a design on the inside of a shoe box lid. Try for balance in shapes, textures, or size throughout the arrangement.

Step 3: After your design is in place, glue the objects to the lid. If you want, paint everything in one color before you glue them to the lid to add emphasis to your design.

Combine an easy art project with a fun lesson in genealogy. Learn how to craft a family tree of hands in the next section.

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This special family tree of hands art project will win a place in everyone's heart -- hands down! Family trees are a great way to remember the names and birthdays of everyone in the family. It will be neat to see all the different hand sizes of family members in this unique family tree.

What You'll Need:

How to Make a Family Tree of Hands:Step 1: Paint a large brown tree trunk on a poster board. Add branches on both sides, enough for every member of the family to have their own branch. You can add more at the bottom for later generations. Step 2: Trace each family members hand on different colored construction paper and cut out. Step 3: When the paint on the poster board has dried, glue the construction paper hands onto the branches, starting with the oldest members of the family at the top branches and working your way down. Step 4: Have family members sign their names and write their birth dates on their paper hands. When everyone is finished, you may want to decorate the background around the tree. Hang your family tree in the family room, and add more names as more people are born into the family.Do your kids like to find and collect rocks? Learn how to turn kids' found rocks into creative pebble art sculptures in the next section. For more fun kids' activities and art crafts, check out:

How to Make a Family Tree of Hands:Step 1: Paint a large brown tree trunk on a poster board. Add branches on both sides, enough for every member of the family to have their own branch. You can add more at the bottom for later generations. Step 2: Trace each family members hand on different colored construction paper and cut out. Step 3: When the paint on the poster board has dried, glue the construction paper hands onto the branches, starting with the oldest members of the family at the top branches and working your way down. Step 4: Have family members sign their names and write their birth dates on their paper hands. When everyone is finished, you may want to decorate the background around the tree. Hang your family tree in the family room, and add more names as more people are born into the family.Do your kids like to find and collect rocks? Learn how to turn kids' found rocks into creative pebble art sculptures in the next section. For more fun kids' activities and art crafts, check out:

All it takes is a little imagination to turn your ordinary pebbles into extraordinary pebble sculptures. If your kids have collections of rocks that you don't know what to do with, try making these easy art projects from them.

What You'll Need:

How to Make Pebble Sculptures:Step 1: Lay out your rocks and look for interesting features that might suggest faces, animal heads, arms, legs, or bodies. A large, smooth rock might make you think of a beetle. A heart-shaped rock could be part of a pebble valentine. Step 2: Glue the rocks together with thick, sticky glue. Hot glue works best, but kids should have an adult help with the hot glue gun. Step 3: Use acrylic paints or poster paints to paint your figures. Step 4: Decorate your rocks with other natural things you find. An acorn cap makes a good hat. Feathers that you pick up can become tails for your pebble birds. White thistledown or cotton from cottonwoods can make white Santa Claus beards and hair. Give your dog or cat a good brushing and use the hair that comes out as hair for your pebble people. Find a discarded board with a large knothole and put your pebble mice or owls in the hole.Keep reading to learn how your kids can make a beautiful bouquet of flowers from pipe cleaners and paper. For more fun kids' activities and art crafts, check out:

How to Make Pebble Sculptures:Step 1: Lay out your rocks and look for interesting features that might suggest faces, animal heads, arms, legs, or bodies. A large, smooth rock might make you think of a beetle. A heart-shaped rock could be part of a pebble valentine. Step 2: Glue the rocks together with thick, sticky glue. Hot glue works best, but kids should have an adult help with the hot glue gun. Step 3: Use acrylic paints or poster paints to paint your figures. Step 4: Decorate your rocks with other natural things you find. An acorn cap makes a good hat. Feathers that you pick up can become tails for your pebble birds. White thistledown or cotton from cottonwoods can make white Santa Claus beards and hair. Give your dog or cat a good brushing and use the hair that comes out as hair for your pebble people. Find a discarded board with a large knothole and put your pebble mice or owls in the hole.Keep reading to learn how your kids can make a beautiful bouquet of flowers from pipe cleaners and paper. For more fun kids' activities and art crafts, check out:

A pipe cleaner flower bouquet is a great winter's day art project -- just as you begin to really miss all the wonderful summer flowers.

What You'll Need:

How to Make a Pipe Cleaner Flower Bouquet:Step 1: To make a lily, cut an ice cream cone shape from a piece of construction paper. Overlap the sides of paper together around a pipe cleaner stem. Tape the sides to hold it in place. Bend the top end of the pipe cleaner in a small loop to form the stamen.Step 2: To make a rose, cut three different-size circles from tissue paper. Place the circles on top of each other and poke a hole in the center. Insert the pipe cleaner through the center, and twist the bottom of the circles. Secure it with a piece of tape.Step 3: To make a tulip, cut one cup from an empty egg carton. Trim the edges in the shape of a tulip. Poke a small hole in the center of the cup, and insert a pipe cleaner stem. Step 4: For the daffodil, make a tulip and add a circle of tissue paper around the bottom of the cup.Step 5: Once you have made your flowers, arrange them in a vase, and place the vase in your bedroom or on the kitchen table. To add fragrance to your bouquet, put some potpourri inside the vase.Nature inspires kids' art projects throughout the seasons. Learn how to create textural leaf rubbings in the next section. For more fun kids' activities and art crafts, check out:

How to Make a Pipe Cleaner Flower Bouquet:Step 1: To make a lily, cut an ice cream cone shape from a piece of construction paper. Overlap the sides of paper together around a pipe cleaner stem. Tape the sides to hold it in place. Bend the top end of the pipe cleaner in a small loop to form the stamen.Step 2: To make a rose, cut three different-size circles from tissue paper. Place the circles on top of each other and poke a hole in the center. Insert the pipe cleaner through the center, and twist the bottom of the circles. Secure it with a piece of tape.Step 3: To make a tulip, cut one cup from an empty egg carton. Trim the edges in the shape of a tulip. Poke a small hole in the center of the cup, and insert a pipe cleaner stem. Step 4: For the daffodil, make a tulip and add a circle of tissue paper around the bottom of the cup.Step 5: Once you have made your flowers, arrange them in a vase, and place the vase in your bedroom or on the kitchen table. To add fragrance to your bouquet, put some potpourri inside the vase.Nature inspires kids' art projects throughout the seasons. Learn how to create textural leaf rubbings in the next section. For more fun kids' activities and art crafts, check out:

Leaf rubbings are easy art projects for even the youngest of aspiring artists. To kids, it seems like all they're doing is moving a crayon back and forth. Then almost like magic, an object appears.

What You'll Need:

How to Make Leaf Rubbings:

Step 1: Place a piece of paper over some leaves. Rub a crayon back and forth over the paper to show the texture of the leaves.

Step 2: Use this technique to experiment with other textures. Use paper and crayons to rub over textured surfaces around the house such as wood floors, tile, or bulletin boards.

Greeting cards with raised designs also make great rubbings. Mix and match textures on one piece of paper to create a textural collage.

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ABOUT THE CRAFT DESIGNERS

Family Tree of Hands by Lisa Lerner and Kersten Hamilton