Supplies:
- Art canvas in the size of your choice
- Acrylic paint in the colors of your choice
- White acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes (1 medium and 1 small for touch-ups)
- Clear adhesive sheets (like clear Con-Tact paper)
- Small utility knife
- Cutting board
- Paper plates for palettes
- A young artist
Directions:
1. Choose and cut out a shape
Have your child choose a letter or shape that she'd like to use as the template for this project. (We used a butterfly graphic that we found on PicMonkey.) Protect your work area completely. Place the template beneath the adhesive paper. Tape around the edges of the template to secure it in place.
2. Cut out shape
Adult step: Working on your cutting board with a sharp utility knife, cut out the letter or shape, discarding the surrounding adhesive paper. (Beginning with the small interior parts of the letters or shapes first makes cutting much easier.)
3. Apply sticker to canvas
Peel the back off the adhesive and apply the sticky side of each letter or shape to the canvas as smoothly as possible. Place a book beneath your canvas to use as a hard surface so that you can smooth your letter or shape onto the canvas. (Otherwise, you could stretch the canvas by putting too much pressure on it without support it from beneath.) Use the back of your fingernail (or a wooden craft stick) to secure the edges of the shape onto the canvas to create as tight a seal as possible and prevent the paint from seeping beneath the adhesive paper.
4. Allow child to paint
Put your paper plates on your work surface. Have your child go crazy with painting the canvas, using as many colors as she likes and in whatever pattern makes her happy. Allow paint to dry.
5. Remove the sticker
Adult step: Using the tip of your utility knife, lift up the edge of your letter or shape and slowly and gently peel it off the canvas. If necessary, use a small paintbrush and white paint to touch up any areas where the colored paint bled through.
6. Display and enjoy
Hang on your wall and enjoy.
More canvas fun
DIY canvas crafts
Cool crafts for kids: Glitter canvases
DIY heart-striped canvas