DIY: Make art with your kids

This is a project I've wanted to do for a long time.  You can do it too!  There are only four steps, but with drying time, it might take a couple days total.

1. Find and prime a canvas (Let it dry completely)

2. Cover with color (Let it dry completely)

3. Add pattern and texture (Let it dry completely)

4. Use a thin sharpie or marker of your choice to add doodles and drawings.

 

I found a couple of wall hangings in the clearance section of a home decor shop.  They were slightly damaged, which means I got them for $2.50 each.  (You could  also check thrift shops for cheap large canvases.)  The art was totally not my style, so I was happy to cover it with two coats of white paint.

Pick just a few paint colors and cover the entire canvas.  Don't pick too many or things could get muddy.  I like to stick with similar shades for the bottom layer.

Then use paintbrushes and all sorts of other tools to create a layer of pattern and texture.  We used bubble wrap and a cardboard roll as paint stamps, and even used the edge of one of those fake credit cards they send in the mail to "slice" on the black paint.

 Then doodley-doodle all over the place.

Mason insisted that we play a couple games of tic-tac-toe, and he drew me an award ribbon when I won.

 I see more collaborations in our future.

This project was inspired by Danielle Thompson's family art gallery here and Alisa Burke, who is constantly doing art with her two year old, for example, the one in her office tour here.