Have you ever looked at a piece of modern art and thought “my two-year-old would make a killing in this market”? That very same thought is what inspired me to hold a canvas painting party one afternoon with my toddler.
Originally, I was looking for a few paintings to perk up his nursery, when I realized we could do this ourselves and save a bundle, plus it would be way more meaningful.
So, I set out to our local craft store and bought a few inexpensive canvases, acrylic craft paints, and simple brushes. I also picked up some plain white poster boards to use underneath the canvases for surface protection (and an extra surface to paint!).
Seeing as my son has a “signature style” that he scrawls on all surfaces (think swooshes and lines), I had to plan ahead, picking out the best colors for the project, and timing everything right to avoid chaos.
TIPS FOR GETTING A CUTE PAINTING OUT OF A TODDLER
- Buy several inexpensive canvases. I bought one nice, larger canvas for him and a multipack of smaller canvases that cost about a dollar each.
- Pick out a few inexpensive acrylic paints and decant them into little plastic condiment cups or small paper plates.
- On a table or stable surface, lay out a big white poster board to protect the surface.
- Only offer your tot one color at a time!!! I know this from years of volunteering at a local Paint-a-Plate event. If sitting in front of six paint colors, that kid is going to use ALL THE PAINTS at once and you will end up with a something that can only be described as “swamp creaturesque”. Instead, offer one paint color to your tot. Then, after they have scrawled their little heart out, swiftly switch out the canvas to another one of the clean, cheap canvases and offer a new brush and paint color. Meanwhile, let the primary canvas dry.
- Speed up the drying of the painted canvases by holding a blow dryer over the painting.
- Once dry, you can offer that original canvas back to your kiddo to add some accent swooshes in a new color (or just leave it one color a grab that glass of wine you earned).
- Continue swapping out the inexpensive canvases, making sure to only offer one paint color and clean brushes each time.
- Once you are happy with your little one’s work, take the canvases away to dry and let them continue painting on that white poster board you laid out earlier. This was key for my little guy, as he didn’t want to stop painting (just know when to walk-away kid!).
- Don’t forget to date and initial the back of each canvas before you hang them with pride!
TIPS FOR PAINTING YOUR OWN CANVAS NURSERY ART
- Find inspiration. At first I wasn’t sure what to draw for my son’s nursery art, so I kept my eyes peeled for days looking for inspiration, which I eventually found in an adorable vintage tin ornament that was a crescent moon with a face on it. I’ve always loved that little guy, so I set out to make him into a painting.
- If, like me, you can’t even draw a decent circle, I recommend painting one large object like the moon I mentioned above. Other subjects might be dinosaurs, cupcakes, minotaurs. Whatev, just stick to easy shapes on a solid back ground.
- Lay your canvas on a piece of white poster board and trace around the perimeter of the canvas. Remove the canvas and set aside.
- Sketch out the design (full sized) within the canvas-sized box on the white poster board with a pencil.
- Trace over your best lines on that poster board with a Sharpie and then cut out around the Sharpie line. You will be left with a nice stencil to trace.
- Lightly trace around the stencil on your canvas with a pencil.
- Then, once your design is sketched out on the canvas, start painting!
- Make sure to let one color dry before moving on to another color that touches it.
- Sign, date, and add some glitter for heaven’s sake.
SUPPLIES
INEXPENSIVE FLAT CANVASES For toddler to play/paint on. Not necessary if you just want to DIY some nice nursery art.
LARGER STRETCHED CANVASES These are the nicer canvases, stretched and stapled over a wood frame.
SEVERAL SHEETS OF WHITE POSTER BOARD To sketch out your subject and potentially turn into a stencil. Also for use a surface protector and backup “canvas” for kids to paint.
SMALL WHITE PAPER PLATES or SMALL PLASTIC CUPS For doling out paint to kids.
This project ended up being a fun way to spend an afternoon and the paintings are all so special, even if they do just look like some crazy swooshes to the untrained eye. And if you really want to make them sing, you could have these works of art framed for extra prominence on your wall!
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