Salt and Food Coloring Art

The kids and I made some art today with salt and food coloring using a combination of techniques (salt painting, drip painting).

The materials were all things I had around the house - salt, food coloring, contact paper, droppers, and q-tips:

Spring Sun-Catchers

The kids and I made flower sun-catchers this morning.  We've used this contact-paper / tissue technique for other projects before, but this is the first time I made hanging art this way.  They really turned out beautiful, especially in the light (the photos I got just didn't quite capture how cool these look).

First we tore up some colored tissue paper and stuck them to clear contact sheets (we use Avery self-laminating sheets):

Once the contact paper was completely covered, I cut out flower shapes from the tissue-covered sheet as well as another contact sheet that had not yet been peeled:

Next I took a piece of thread (I used dental floss, but a piece of sewing thread would look more professional), threaded some colorful beads on the end, and placed it down the center of the flowers:

Then I stuck the other pieces of contact paper on top, tied the end to a straw (you can use a crafts stick, dowel, clothes hanger, etc..).

The kids loved dancing with these and looking at all the colors in the sunlight:

  

There is still snow on the ground outside, so maybe this craft will bring springtime along with it....

Impressionist Fingerprint Art

Today we made some impressionist-inspired art using our fingers.  The supplies we used included contact paper, ink pads, painter's tape, coloring sheets, and white paper.  It's a simple concept, but the results were wonderful (especially if you have kids who like coloring in the lines).

First I put the coloring pages on the girls' table, and then placed the contact paper on top - sticky side UP.  L helped me put blue painter's tape all around (basically taping the contact paper to the table, with the coloring page underneath).  After that, I gave the girls one color of ink at a time and told them to color the picture using the tips of their fingers:

L was very good about coloring in the lines.  I did help her by asking her which section she wanted to do next and what color it should be, as well as lend the use of my fingerprints to help her finish.  Meanwhile E decided to be a little more creative:

 Her baby chick (toy) wanted to use his feet on her artwork as well.  Once the girls were done, we removed the painter's tape and stuck the contact paper on top of a sheet of white paper so we could see the final masterpieces:

The masterpiece above was made by E and Baby Chick.

This was L's artwork (with a little help from Mommy).

I made the artwork above when I was trying out this technique to see if it would work 

before presenting the activity to the girls (Mommies like to play too!)

I've seen coloring books of famous artwork, which would probably turn out gorgeous using this 'impressionist fingerprint' technique for older kids or even adults.  Mandalas could be beautiful this way too.  This is absolutely an activity we'll be repeating in the future.

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