An excellent painting project for children as young as 3. We use sponges to stamp our scoops of ice cream and tissue paper collage to create an interesting layered effect. Pick your favourite technique and be playful with your favourite flavours. We love discussing how colours can be used imaginatively to build the perfect cone, light green can be so many different tastes and flavours across a group of children. Children will love creating their perfect cone!

Materials & Resources

• Heavy weight A3 cartridge paper or any paper suitable for painting on

• Brown craft paper

• White & brown pencils

• Scissors & glue

• Paint in a range of ice cream colours

• Kitchen sponges cut in to circles

• Tissue paper (if you wish to try making your scoops this way)

• White craft/PVA glue and a medium sized paintbrush

• Scrap coloured papers

• Hole punch

Create a garden of sunflowers in this vibrant project, suitable for children as young as 3. We begin by using cotton tips stamped in paint to create striking, patterned seed pots. We then paint the petals and use watercolour paint to make watery, green backgrounds. Children will love using simple painting techniques to make flowers.

Materials & Resources

• Black & white heavy weight paper/card

• Cotton tips

• White, yellow, brown, black, gold & black acrylic paint

• Pencil

• Scissors

• Glue

• Thick & thin paintbrushes

• Watercolour paint in shades of green

Complete our ‘Pinch Pot’ tutorial before moving on to this project. We add colour & pattern to our pinch pots to bring them to life. Children will love decorating their pots with bright colours and mark making.

Materials & Resources

• Completed/dried pinch pots

• Acrylic paint in a range of colours

• Paint pens, we use Posca

• Paintbrushes in a range of sizes

• Modge podge, we use a matte finish

Pinch pots are a fantastic introductory way to start using clay in the classroom or home, and air drying clay works perfectly well. They are simple and effective and give children the opportunity to play with and explore the medium. Once you have a collection of dried pinch pots, move on to our decorated pinch pot tutorial to add colour and pattern. Children will love the tactile nature of this project.

Materials & Resources

• Air drying clay

• Small dish for water

• Mini sponge

• Clay cutter

Use our collage pack and enjoy making your own robots!

Materials & Resources

• Robot collage pack printed and downloaded here

• Scissors & glue

• White card

• Split pins

"Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles" by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky was created in 1913. This abstract artwork showcases Kandinsky's exploration of color and form. The painting features colourful overlapping circles within squares. In this project we are inspired by Kandinsky’s use of colour and have used oil pastels to replicate the work. We encourage children to consider the symbolic use of colour and how colours interact with one another. Is it possible to attach an emotion or a feeling to a colour, or to a combination of colours? Consider the use of warm and cool colours in this project or look closely at complementary colours.

Materials & Resources

• Paper cut in to small squares

• Oil pastels in a range of colours

This is a lovely colour based project using ink to dye folded paper towels resulting in a range of brightly coloured, symmetrical patterns. Children will love using coloured inks to dip and paint paper towels and will especially enjoy unfolding their papers to reveal beautiful, symmetrical designs. A number of folds are introduced in the tutorial to create different results. A combination of dipping and painting is used to decorate papers, children are encouraged to experiment with both techniques.

Once the dyed circles are completely dried they can be stitched together to create beautiful wall hangings, or can be used to make beetles. Both are included in this tutorial.

Materials & Resources for Dip Dyeing

• A roll of kitchen roll or paper towel. This should be absorbent but not extremely thick. Make sure it is plain white

• Something circular to trace around. This should be the size you want your circles to be

• Lead pencil and scissors

• A damp cloth

• A pot of water and medium sized paintbrushes

• Drawing inks in a range of colours. If you have the three pirmary colours you can use these to mix purple (blue & red), orange (yellow & red) and green (blue & yellow). We also use neon pink, turquoise and black inks. We do not dilute the inks. We use the brand Art Spectrum, but can also recommend Winsor & Newton and Brian Clegg drawing inks

Materials & Resources for Beetles

• Your dip dyed circles

• Black paper

• PVA glue

• scissors

• Coloured papers

• Black paint

• Cotton buds

• Small strips of thick card

This is a lovely painting and drawing based project using inks, watercolour paint and chalk or oil pastels to create a painting of a secret garden. Children learn to create gradients by blending inks and use the results as a background for their work. They experiment with painting a range of botanical shapes using watercolour paint and inks to create their own garden. They learn to incorporate pastels after painting to add extra details to their work, using drawing techniques to enhance their work. The work is then cut in to a circle shape making it an interesting alternative to rectangle or square shaped works. The jungle paintings of Henri Rousseau can be used to inspire children and encourage them to use a range of leafy shapes in their work.

Materials & Resources

• A3 watercolour or heavyweight cartridge paper (watercolour paper is best if you can access this)

• Drawing inks in yellow, green or turquoise, blue and black. Red and pink are optional. We use the brand Art Spectrum but Winsor and Newton are good too, as well as Brian Clegg

• A large, medium and small paintbrush

• A tray of watercolour paint, we use Reeves

• Chalk and / or Oil Pastels. Chalk pastels are best

• Lead pencil and scissors

• A pot of water

• Something round to trace around, a dinner plate is perfect

This is a fun and engaging way to explore colour theory and texture whilst creating a beautiful mixed media lion artwork. This can be taught within a colour unit of work or as an isolated activity. It is wonderful for an art club and a great take home artwork for children. Children learn to mix and blend the primary colours using drawing inks and are taught to use different materials to create texture.

Materials & Resources

• 2 x A3 sheets of cartridge paper

• One medium sized paintbrush

• Scissors & Glue

• Black permanent marker

• HB pencil

• Chalk markers in the 6 colours of the rainbow, we use Chalkola Platinum series neon chalk markers

• A printmaking roller and red block printing ink

• Yellow, red and blue drawing inks, we use Brian Clegg drawing inks

• Small square of black and brown paper

• Small strip of craft foam, we use Colorations foam sheet super pack

In this project we use watercolour to paint a range of flowery, botanical shapes. Attach your flowers to skewer sticks to make a garden bursting with life. We love this project for experimenting with wet on wet techniques in painting. Children will love making a whole garden of shapes.

Materials & Resources

• Watercolour paints

• Watercolour paper

• Drawing inks (optional)

• Small & medium paintbrushes

• Skewer sticks

• Masking tape

• Blue tack

• Green card

• A pot of water

• Scissors

Be inspired by colour & the work of Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky in this watercolour painting project. We experiment with soft & crisp edges in watercolour painting to create a coloured diamond inspired by Kandinsky’s work. Fantastic opportunities for exploring the relationship between colours and how some colours blend more harmoniously together than others. Children will love having an unlimited choice of colours. Allow 1 hour for this project.

Materials & Resources

• Watercolour or thick cartridge paper

• Pencil & ruler

• Watercolour paint (we love Reeves)

• Thin and medium sized paintbrush

• Pot of water

Experiment with watercolour paint and wet on wet techniques to create little watercolour lion paintings. This is a great project for learning about warm colour schemes. Children will love the simplicity of the shapes and the ability to create character and personality in each of their lion paintings. Allow up to one hour for this project.

Materials & Resources

• Watercolour paper

• Watercolour paint in shades of red, yellow, brown, orange, black & purple

• Pot of water

• Medium and thin sized paintbrushes

This is a fun and playful activity where children enjoy designing and decorating their own little artist or elf made from recycled card. Bursting with opportunities for play at the end of this project, children will love adding character and personality to their character. Suitable for an art club or a smaller group of children, this one requires a little more support from an adult. Shape, pattern and colour are explored through the use of paint, paint pens and oil pastels. A lovely keepsake for children.

Materials and Resources

• Recycled card

• Acrylic paints in favourite colours

• Paint pens, Posca are best but cheaper brands work well too

• Medium sized paintbrushes

• Split pins, easy to find on Amazon

• Oil pastels

• Sharp and sturdy scissors

• Downloadable template found here

Ink is a wonderful medium for experimenting with and playing with colour. The fluidity of the ink as it swirls and blends with colour and water makes it an exciting painting resource. Using it with children teaches them to be less rigid and enjoy the painting process without fear of making mistakes. The results can be magical as colours run together and spread across the page. This project uses ink and water to create snail bodies and shells separately. Children will learn ways to play and paint with ink to create different results. There are lots of opportunities for discussions related to colour mixing, complementary and harmonious colour combinations. Once the bodies and shells have dried, children will enjoy pairing the two parts to create their snails. This project can be completed over two 30 - 60 minute sessions.

Materials & Resources

• Drawing inks in a range of colours. We use black, neon pink, blue, turquoise, yellow and red. Recommended brands include Winsor and Newton, Art Spectrum and Liquitex Acrylic Ink

• A tray or pots to pour ink in

• Watercolour Paper

• A medium and a thin paintbrush with a round tip

• A pot of water

• Scissors

• A black marker

• A glue stick

Following on from the success of our ‘Ink Tiger’ project, this is a complementary painting project using ink for the base colour and then a range of other art materials to create the details and features of a Cheetah’s face. Children will love learning to replicate the pattern of a Cheetah’s fur, using watercolour paint and black markers. This is a lovely project to go alongside ‘The Ink Tiger’, making a gorgeous pair. Look closely at the differences between the patterns found on a Tiger and a Cheetah, what makes them different and unique? How can we use art materials to create these results? Allow up to 2 hours for this project.

Materials & Resources

• Cartridge paper

• Drawing inks in red and yellow (brown ink optional)

• Medium and small paintbrushes

• A tray of watercolour paints

• Black marker or paint pen

• Pink or orange chalk pastel

In this project we’re inspired by American artist Jasper Johns who frequently used letters in his artworks, either layered or depicted individually. We use oil pastels to explore the shapes and lines of each letter of the alphabet and then paint with watercolour around them. Children will love designing their own colourful alphabet. Allow up to two hours for this project.

Materials & Resources

• A3 cartridge or heavy weight paper

• Oil pastels in a range of colours

• Watercolour paint

• Paintbrushes and water

Japanese Carp Streamers are carp shaped windsocks traditionally flown in Japan in celebrate Children’s Day. This is a lovely project for exploring line and pattern and a beautiful way to bring movement to children’s artwork. Children will love adding colourful streamers to their work and watching their carp streamers dance in the wind.

Explore watercolour paint and wet on wet techniques to design colourful bunny ears. We then paint toilet rolls and finish our bunnies with a pom pom nose, eyes and furry details. Children will love making a family of colourful rabbits, great for Easter!

Materials & Resources

• Toilet rolls

• Acrylic paint in a range of colours

• Watercolour paint in a range of colours

• Medium and small paintbrushes

• Pom poms

• Watercolour or heavy weight paper

• PVA glue & scissors

In this project we use torn tissue paper in the spectrum of colours to make lanterns. We collage torn pieces of tissue paper on to tracing paper and then wrap it around the bottom half of a plastic bottle. Children will love watching their lanterns light up. Take these outside for a walk after dark for best results. Allow 1 - 2 hours for this project.

Materials & Resources

• Tissue paper in a range of colours

• A3 tracing paper

• Ruler

• Pencil

• Scissors

• Glue

• Plastic 3 litre bottle

• Tape

• Hole punch

• String

• Battery operated tea light

This is a wonderful painting activity that can be taught to children as young as four. Children learn to use different shades of paint to create depth, space and perspective in their work to produce a landscape. They learn different painting techniques using sponges, brush types and strokes. It is best taught over two lessons to give the background time to dry.

Materials and Resources

• One A3 sheet of cartridge paper

• Three shades of acrylic paint, dark, medium and light green

• Light blue, white, yellow and black acrylic paint

• A selection of different sized paintbrushes

• Different shades of green chalk pastels

• Small cut sponges

• Pot of water