art projects for kids Archives -

Fall Dragonfly Art Project

by zzlivingOctober 25, 20200

Fall Nature Craft for Home or School

This is a perfect art or craft project for kids to do at home or at school. And we love that you can incorporate an outdoor nature walk. This is another simple project for kids that makes use of Fall seed pods and twigs. The finished dragonflies can be used to display on a shelf, on the wall or make a mobile that the dragonflies hang from twigs.

The first step is to collect maple seed pods that are plentiful in many areas. Certainly in the eastern part of the country, maple trees grow everywhere. You will also want to look for thin twigs, especially those that have a little knob or sections protruding that look like antennae. Twig size won’t matter but you do want to trim down to pieces about 5 inches long.

Twig crafts

Materials

Maple seed pods
Thin twigs
Clippers
Glue or Glue gun
Paint
Brushes

Nature craft project

Directions

Collect materials, then select which pieces you will use for your dragonflies. Trim twigs to about 5 inches long.
You may use either a craft glue gun or tacky white glue, but the glue gun is easiest. When working with a group of kids, however, the tacky glue is safer.
For ease of getting a good attachment with the glue, cut thin strips (about width of twigs) about 1/2″ long for each dragonfly. Set strip on working area, apply a bead of glue, then set seed pods in place. Add another bead of glue on top of this same section and set twig in place, pressing down a bit. If using tacky glue, the dragonflies should not be moved until the glue is set.
Paint the wings of the dragonflies any desired color. Entire dragonfly can be painted if you like.

Dragonfly art project

Seed Pod Snake Project

by zzlivingOctober 24, 2020March 22, 20230

Nature Craft Project

During the Fall season, there are many natural materials to be found. We encourage kids to get outside and make some of their own finds. So many sticks, rocks and even pieces of bark can be made into fun art projects. This particular craft project uses seed pods. Ours are from a catalpa tree but many trees send out pods with seeds or you can substitute twigs for this fun and colorful snake project.

This is the perfect homeschool activity for spending time outdoors. Give each child a small bag to collect their found treasures, concentrating on finding seed pods and twigs that resemble snakes.

What you need:

Seed pods or sticks
Paint
Brushes

Let the kids paint their snakes in a variety of colors, incorporating stripes, dots etc. as they wish.

Fun Felt Project for Kids

by zzlivingOctober 2, 20200

Felt Art Project

Kids love to be creative and this is a fun and easy project for kids at school or home. One of our most important goals here at Ziggity Zoom is to let kids be their own creative director. By this we mean, there are no “musts” when creating art. Art comes from the artist’s own vision. So if one makes a blue rooster or a pink elephant, that is fantastic in our eyes! Many a teacher has dampened the soul and spirit of a young artist by critiquing a piece of art or a little poem. Cows don’t have to be brown and the sky doesn’t have to be blue. Encourage your little artists and it will inspire them in many things they do.

Felt is one of those fun and flexible materials that can be used for so many projects. For this art project, we used only colored felt squares that are available at any craft store. Buy lots and lots of bright colors for fun results.

Materials:

Felt
Scissors
White glue

felt craft project

Instructions:

Start with one felt square to use as the background.
Cut shapes from other colorful pieces for felt for a fun painting on felt.
Make fun animals, buildings or just an abstract design.
Glue chosen pieces of felt onto the background with white glue. Set aside to dry completely.
Most importantly … have fun!

Clothespin Cardboard Animal Zoo

by zzlivingSeptember 30, 20200

Cardboard Animal Project

Teachers, home school teachers and parents, this is a fun and simple craft project from recycled cardboard that kids love. You know we like simple to make projects for the kids and this fits the bill. Kids can actually draw their own stylized or fantasy animal body and then add the clothespin legs. These fun animals can be made in herds of one animal or a whole zoo of different animals. Paint them in an array of colors with dots and stripes for extra fun.

Materials List:

Thin cardboard (recycled food boxes work well)
clothespins
scissors
paint/ brush

Instructions:

Find boxes to recycle, such as discarded cracker boxes or cereal boxes. Break down boxes so that you have flat surfaces to work with.
Draw an animal body shape with head and cut out.
Use two clothespins for legs and attach securely.
If painting, you can choose to just paint the cardboard or paint cardboard body and legs.
Be creative and make animals fun colors or paint realistic colors. Encourage creativity.

Tissue Paper Sun Catcher Project

by zzlivingApril 20, 2017January 2, 20190

Art Project for Kids

If you love colorful as much as I do, you will appreciate these fun suncatcher. It’s a super easy craft to do with the kids at home or in the classroom. It’s even a great little gift for mom for Mother’s Day or to give for a birthday present.

All you really need is some sticky back craft foam, colored tissue paper and that’s about it. Place it in a window or hang it near a window to catch the sun.

Sun Catcher Project

What You Need:

Sticky back craft foam ( or foam and glue stick)
Assorted tissue papers
Scissors
Pencil
Glue stick (optional)

What to Do:

Draw a 5 inch circle on the backing of your craft foam.
Now draw 3 more circles inside of this circle. One, about 3/8 inch inside the original circle, another about a 1 inch circle in the center, the last about 3/8 inch from the center circle.
Draw 6 little windows, spaced equally apart, around the sun catcher, using the drawn circles as guides.
Poke a hole into the center of each space with the tip of your scissors, then cut an X to each corner. This will allow for better cutting. Cut out each little window area and the center circle.
Draw a paper pattern to the shape of the windows, but a little larger, as shown in the photo. Cut out and trace onto each color tissue you will be using. Cut out.
Remove the backing from your foam and press each window tissue into place. If you aren’t using sticky-back foam, use the glue stick to attach tissues.
If you will be hanging your sun catcher, poke a tiny hole in the outer circle of your sun catcher and attach a string.

Portrait Art Project for Kids

by zzlivingJanuary 31, 2017February 21, 20170

Here at ZiggityZoom, we believe in encouraging creativity. We think that art, in all forms, contributes to a happy environment. So anytime we can introduce our kids to an art project, we support their efforts and encourage their individuality. Art does not have to be realistic to be fantastic. It can be abstract, whimsical or even humorous.

One of our favorite art projects that kids can try is making a portrait of themselves, a friend or a family member. Remind them often that their portrait does not need to be anything like a real photo. That’s the true fun of art. And if they decide to paint themselves blue? They might just have more artistic abilities and vision than you imagined.

To start, gather all needed supplies and choose a space to work. A kitchen or family room table is perfect.

What you Need:

Drawing paper / canvas
Pencil / eraser
Black marker
Colored pencils/ inks/watercolors/poster paints/markers
Acrylic paints for canvas

The selection of pencils, paints or markers can vary depending on what you have on hand. The great thing about creating art is taht many artists use the materials available to them at the time. For example, if you don’t have paper on hand, use a piece of cardboard (one of my favorite things to paint on) or a discarded box from the kitchen. Paint the inside of the box. Fun, right?

What to Do:

Begin by sketching with pencil. Draw on oval for the face, then add details such as the neck, ears and eyes. Draw lightly so you can erase as you go if necessary.
Sketch in other details, such as eyebrows, nose and mouth. You can use our wonderful examples to show the kids or just let them draw as they envision the face.
Paint in areas of face, hair etc. with pencils, markers or paints of choice. Add background colors and coloring for clothing is shown.
Now, use a thin line permanent marker to outline the face and other details.
If painting on canvas, you will obviously need a brush but sketching with pencil and finishing with marker for outlines will still work well. If desired, you can skip the outline if painting on canvas, as shown in the fun portrait below.

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Printable Bunny Mask

by zzlivingJanuary 30, 20170

printable Bunny Mask

Bunny Mask printable

A cute and funny Bunny mask to make. Kids love to act like bunnies so here is their chance to make a cute bunny mask and hop all around. Great halloween mask for little ones or just for dressup play. Kids can color if desired or leave as a white bunny. Fun school activity to combine with learning about rabbits and their habitats.

Items needed:

Heavyweight paper, suitable for printers.
Scissors
Elastic string

Instructions:

Print image on paper. Click here to print pdf
Only print the second page of pdf file to avoid wasting paper.
Cut out around mask and then, carefully, cut out eye openings. Adjust if necessary.
Make small holes on sides of mask and attach elastic string. Tie off through the holes.