last week started our first week of toddler tuesdays and i shared our frozen-inspired canvas snowflake resists! the kids had a blast using acrylic paint +glitter to make their snowflakes and begged to participate in the adapted version i made for miller! while mills isn’t ready for the acrylics {he still mouths!}, i wanted to do a simple crayon resist on construction paper and the girls of course hopped in. you can use liquid or standard watercolors to make the most beautiful snowflakes! we couldn’t just stop at one!
watercolor snowflake resist
materials needed
paintbrushes {these and these are my toddler go-to!}
white construction paper {i buy paper in bulk and have them all year for various projects!}
liquid watercolor – my favorite {or classic watercolors if you have that handy – and these toddler size are perfect for miller’s age!}
**we used turquoise, blue + purple**
white crayon
spray glitter {or modge podge / glue + glitter}
baby wipes. always baby wipes!!
process
1. using a white crayon, draw snowflakes on white construction paper as desired!
{for miller, i did one big chunky snowflake while i drew many smaller ones for the girls
2. set out paint… i always dilute the liquid water colors a bit because they’re SO potent. these cups are way more efficient for miller’s age..and the girls really could have used them too. we had a few dumped bowls but it cleaned up just fine. **note… these DO stain hands. the kids hands were stained from fingerpainting but i threw them in the tub after and they soak off just fine!
3. paint! i told the girls to go on a treasure hunt and paint the whole paper to find how many snowflakes they each had!
**miller {18 months} for SURE needed some assistance in holding the bowl. do not try to take pictures or you will wind up with lots of dumped paint! it worked fine for us but if the mess bothers you, opt for the standard water colors for this age! he truly loved this activity and when i tried to stop him early, he was devastated until i told him he could take a bath! the concentration… he was so proud of himself!
4. the girls are obsessed with glitter right now so after the paintings dried, we added a quick coat of spray glitter to complete our beautiful paintings!
above all else, remember that art should be a process for this age! it’s all about exploring, mixing and coming up with their own masterpiece. just like a snowflake, no two will look the same. if they only paint half the paper? no problem. mix all the colors or only use one? great! remember to try to engage with the process rather than focusing on the product!