This doesn’t actually have to be a Valentines project. Your kids can make this framed heart art as a Mother’s day gift, for a birthday, or even as a piece of custom artwork to display in your home.
The inspiration for this piece came from the cardboard stamped hearts we made the other day. For that piece, we used bright paint colours on a white background, and for our canvas, we primed and painted a second-hand poster plaque.
This time, I thought it would be neat to do the same piece with the black background, and frame our art, but here’s the thing: I didn’t have anything for us to use for the canvas. It occurred to me that a painted paper bag would make a good canvas, so that’s what we used.
It worked out really well! Good to know – if you ever find yourself without a canvas to paint on, just grab a paper bag!
To make our framed heart art, you’ll need:
- grocery bag
- acrylic paints
- toilet rolls or kitchen rolls
- picture frame
Begin by opening up your paper bag, and smoothing it out on a flat surface.
Have your child create prepare the paper bag by brushing it with a coat of black paint.
If your child has chosen a lighter colour for the background, more than one coat of paint might be required to sufficiently cover the bag.
Let your paper bag dry, or give it a shot with the hair dryer to help speed up the process.
Now it’s time to stamp some hearts.
You’ll first need to make your cardboard roll stampers. You can pop over to our other stamped heart project to get the how-to, and then come back.
Once your stampers are made, your child can stamp a flurry of hearts all over the canvas.
Have your child fill the canvas, overlapping the hearts by dipping their cardboard rolls in the paint, and pressing firmly on the paper bag.
When your child has finished stamping and the hearts are dry, trim the paper bag to fit the picture frame.
We traced around the back part of the frame, and then cut our painting to size.
To finish, pop your piece of art into the frame, and find a place to display it!
Our framed heart art is displayed in our living at the moment, and it looks quite sharp. I love the contrast between the pale, pastel hearts and the black background.
Wouldn’t this be a lovely gift for a child to make for a parent or grandparent for Valentine’s Day?
More Framed Art for Kids to Make:
25+preschool activities by 25 bloggers, 10 printables, 50 links to activities not featured in the book all for $8.99!
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
