As I mentioned in this post, I spent plenty of afternoons painting. Ellie loves to watch me, but even more she loves to paint herself! I decided that we needed to come up with a project that she could paint herself. She had an empty spot on her wall that desperately needed to be filled, and what’s better than some original toddler art?! With just a few simple supplies, we came up with an easy toddler paint project.
Supplies Needed for Toddler Canvas Art:
2 Canvases (I grabbed the double pack of 11×14 canvases at Michael’s. It was $8, but I always use a 40% off coupon)
Blue Painters Tape (We had plenty left over from painting our house)
Ruler and Pencil
Your choice of paint colors (I tried to match the colors in Ellie’s room)
Paint Brush
Kraft Paper or Painters Tarp
A cute toddler
First, I taped off the canvas. I used a ruler and pencil on the chevron canvas to keep the lines a little straight. (It’s no where near perfect, but it worked out great!) Looking back, I should have checked the tape to make sure it was completely pushed down (we had a few drips underneath the tape). Also, I made sure we had rolled out plenty of Kraft paper on the floor.
I made sure Ellie was undressed before we started. Acrylic paint washes off really easy, so I wasn’t too worried about her getting on herself, plus she needed a bath! I used paper plates for the paints and let her go to town. If only I had captured the look on her face – she was thrilled!
Ellie thoroughly painted her hands, legs, Kraft paper and the canvas.
Make sure the canvas is covered completely, with no white showing. I helped Ellie out by painting the sides of the canvas. She covered up the rest of the white parts by finger painting. 😉
Remove the tape while the paint is still wet. You can see in our final photos where the paint dripped below the paint a bit (remember to press it down good! You could also “Prime’ your canvas with white paint beforehand to seal the tape) The best part about toddler projects is that it doesn’t have to be perfect! That’s the beauty in it!
As they were drying, Ellie took a good long bath. (That was desperately needed!) Once dry, I hung the canvases up on Ellie’s wall. Voila! Our perfectly imperfect wall art. I love how much color they bring into the corner and they totally match the quilt on her bed. We’ve got a few more toddler crafts up our sleeve, and we’re excited to share them with you!
I love this! Thank you! Can't wait for more toddler craft projects!
SO fun!! Thanks!
So cute! When she's ready for another painting adventure, gram needs one! I'll buy the canvas!! xoxoxoxo
so fun! and they turned out really adorable too! love this idea!
Lex, this is such a cute idea! I love it. I'll definitely have to try this with Joshua. 🙂
How adorable! I've thought about doing something similar with violet. This may have just given me motivation! Especially with how cute yours turned out!
Wow this is awesome! I love when mamas let toddlers/kiddos get artsy 🙂 My David and I will definitely be doing this when we update his room this summer. Thanks so much!
Blessings,
Jacy
helloawesomeblog.com
Love this! I just found your blog and I'm glad I did! My son (21 months) LOVES to color and paint and this would be a perfect way to show his creative side! Look forward to see many more toddler things!
Amanda
duhitsmed.blogspot.com