Rain Process Art

Posted on April 18, 2022 by danielleridgway

Happy Earth Week, friends! If you’re looking for a fun way to explore the rainy April season, this Rain Process Art is perfect for kiddos

It’s a great way for kids to show how they think of rain and to see their creativity too!

To celebrate and honor our planet this week, all our DIYs will be made with recycled products. We usually try to reuse items as much as we can, but this week it will be a priority that I’ll showcase.

Even though Mila and I aren’t particularly fond of rain, we can appreciate its beauty. Blue is a special color to us and we love that rain helps water our plants. It’s important that we celebrate our earth and all its weather.

For this process art, I just found some items that reminded me of rain…

Shades of blue paint
Bubble wrap
Paint brushes
Stuffing
Cardboard
Pipe cleaner
Glue

For all of this, I let Mila decide what she wanted to do. That’s the best part about process art.

She started off painting bubble wrap dark blue. This makes such a cool effect on the cardboard that we love. Then she used the dark blue bingo dauber to make more blue dots.

After we experimented a little.

I added water in the lighter blues. She tried squirting some on the cardboard. Then she used a straw to make the paint look like water dripping on the window.

When she was done panting, I added left over stuffing to the top to make it look like a cloud. Then a pipe cleaner to hang it.

Like all of Mila’s artwork, I think it’s perfect. It looks like the most beautiful storm.

Keep checking in this week to see more ways we celebrate our earth. If you can’t wait until then, check out these fun Earth Day activities we’ve done in the past:

What’s your favorite type of weather? Mila and I love sunshine!

Preschool Craft: Christmas Process Art

Posted on December 6, 2021 by danielleridgway

Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle!

Christmas crafts don’t always have to be ‘perfect’ to be adorable. Toddlers and preschoolers love to learn by using the things around them, especially through art. This Christmas Process Art Mila created was a great reminder of that!

There’s a huge pressure to have the most perfect crafts online. It seems kids have to follow instructions step-by-step to create the best craft. When you give them the power to create on their own, they can create something even more spectacular.

I’m not going to say Mila and I haven’t been doing specific crafts together, but she needed this free project to showcase her creativity.

All we used to create this beautiful piece of art was from other Christmas items we had at home:

Canvas
Red and Green Washable Paint
Gold Acrylic Paint
Craft Pinecones
Bells
Fake Pine

To set up this activity, all I did was pour the paint and tell Mila to use these objects to paint.

She did ask for a paint brush and I did let her use it to push the bells around. Then she used it to paint after trying all the objects. She really went to work when she could use the brush at the end!

As much as it was a process art activity, I did not want to put a limit to her creativity. I think she had fun feeling the different textures and she loved shaking the bells too. It puzzles her why the items don’t paint as well as the brush… but that’s what it’s all about!

When she was finished, we talked about what her artwork symbolized and what we wanted to title it. She said it was just about Christmas and it didn’t need a name. So, it’s left untitled, but I did have her sign it and I dated it. I told her it reminded me of a Christmas tree, just REALLY close up. It honestly just makes me smile, like all of her artwork does.

We love making art as Christmas gifts… and will probably do it again this year! Let me know in the comments… What’s the best Christmas or holiday present you’ve received? Handmade or store bought?

Toddler Activity: Mardi Gras Beads Process Art

Posted on February 16, 2021 by danielleridgway

Happy Fat Tuesday!

If you’re looking for a quick activity to do with your child today, this one goes perfectly when listening to some jazz music.

You probably have most of the supplies at home too. Here’s all you need:

Paint (purple, gold, green)
Canvas
Beads

Since everyone knows we love process art here, using beads is a fun way to create.

I chose traditional Mardi Gras colors for Mila to use and we had some random beads already here. There were two different sized beads she used too!

All you have to do is instruct your child to dip the beads in the paint and drop them on the canvas.

It can get a little messy, so put paper underneath.

I had to help Mila get paint on the beads. It’s a little tricky, but older kids shouldn’t have a problem with it. It’s also nice to make sure to leave one part of the necklace clean so it’s easy to grab.