Thanks to pinterest I saw a mixed media piece of art that I loved. It looked like something my kids would enjoy creating & is different than the art we typically make. Here’s how to make the kid version of this super cool masterpiece.

Supplies

• Tissue Paper (tiny scraps are fine)
• Art Paper
• Oil Pastels
• Glue Stick
• Fine Tip Sharpie, black
• Scissors

The Background

Trim art paper to 5″ x 5″.

Blend pastels to color the background.

Decorate 4 Squares Using Lines

Cut 4 squares out of art paper, each 2″ x 2″.

Use a fine-tip sharpie to create line designs. Before the kids did this part of the project we talked about how lines are one of the elements of design.

Make line designs on each of the 4 squares.

Cut Hearts

Cut out 4 hearts that are each smaller than 2″. Cutting tissue paper is a bit tricky, but we got it done.

Assemble Collage

Using the glue stick, assemble the collage. The oil pastel background is the bottom layer. The 4 line design squares are glued onto the background & the hearts are glued on top of those squares. We also matted the artwork to give it a finished appearance.

Other Valentine’s Day Projects

Here are two other projects we did this year. Farm Girl & Farm Kid2 used an empty toilet paper roll and paint to create a tree with heart shaped leaves. All three kids made a heart shaped mosaic using dyed egg shells.

I hope everyone has a nice Valentine’s Day.

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The entire month of January the girls have been laying us at least a dozen eggs every day. So, we took some of those eggs & got a bit crafty.

PREPARATIONS

First thing’s first. I hard boiled 2 dozen eggs. Then I dyed the boiled eggs using food coloring, water & vinegar. After the eggs dried, I peeled them. Then came the part that seemed to take forever. I tried to take most of the thin membrane off the shells. This was easy enough, but just took a long time. I also broke the larger shell chunks into smaller pieces.

We used 5 x 7 canvas panels for our mosaics. I got mine at Joann’s. Regular price is 3/$3.99 (but, don’t forget to use your 40% off coupon). I drew a simple heart on each panel.

WORKING ON THIS STICKY PROJECT

This is where the kids come in. I gave them each a panel to make their own mosaic. We used regular Elmer’s glue to adhere the eggshells. We found it easiest to dump glue on the panel then spread it around with our fingers.

After filling in the heart, the kids decorated the background.

For being such a simple idea, this project took longer to complete than I would have thought.

When the Elmer’s glue was dry I covered the mosaics with a decoupage finish. This wet glue did collect & spread color from the eggshells a little bit. It wasn’t a problem as long as I wiped off my brush before going over a new color.

COMPLETE WORKS OF ART

Our finished mosaic masterpieces just in time for Valentine’s Day.

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Oh, the holiday of love. I love, love, love this craft idea from That Artist Woman.

We didn’t get quite the detail she accomplished. But, the kids had fun creating the clouds and using cardboard to make a seemingly impossible Eiffel Tower.

Here are the finished creations by Farm Kid2 & Farm Kid1.

Anytime we can pull out the paints makes for a fun project. And, they get even more excited when the project includes a photo of themselves.

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