Ask your students concentrate on their coloring skills by starting with a simple drawing project. Here are four easy ideas to work with, a house, flower, bird and monster. If you haven’t tried Crayola’s Color Sticks yet, you should. They cost a little more than crayons and pencil crayons, but NEVER need sharpening and last a LONG time. I used … Read More
You can make an easy Father’s Day craft AND practice make all kinds of triangles at the same time. If you can treat yourself to the Sharpie Brush markers shown, give them a try. They truly are one of the best “painting” experiences you can have. The markers just glide on, never drip (or course) and leave some of the … Read More
You can add a lot of fun to a basic how to draw a cupcake lesson by drawing MANY of them, using lots of bright colors, and then maybe a shadow or two. These cupcakes were drawn on trading card size paper (2.5″ x 3.5″) and placed in a trading card sleeve. The repetition of a theme and cartoon style … Read More
You can share Sonia Delaunay for kids by imitating her love of concentric circles. An inexpensive template makes this project doable, and Sharpies make them very colorful. Sonia Delaunay was a ground-breaking female artist from the early 1900s who made some wonderful abstract paintings known for their rhythm and color. This project uses her style of many concentric circles, and … Read More
Use your old CDs to make a simple color wheel. It involves a bit of “eyeball” measuring, which works fine for this purpose. • View and download Divide CD Tutorial MATERIALS Old CDs Ruler Sharpie marker, black, fine tip Sharpie markers, assorted, fine or brush tip DIRECTIONS Print tutorial for each student. Students use a ruler to divide the … Read More
This easy watercolor painting idea makes the most of what paints and Sharpie markers do best. Markers stay black while paint runs and mixes together. My only tip is, be sure to have good black markers when you start this project. Preferably thick chisel tip ones. The trees look really bold and dramatic with solid black color. If markers are … Read More
Here’s a fun Mona Lisa art project, starting with her very famous face and then filling in your own background with lines, just for contrast. This photoshopped face of Mona Lisa was originally posted quite a while ago, but only with the one main page to draw on. When I taught this project, I realized students needed more references to … Read More
If you are looking for simple drawings for kids to copy, try sharing this “Jazzy Cat” painting. One of my students, Zack, was inspired to make this adorable drawing. I think it’s up there with my all time faves drawings by kids, and is even included in my “Sharpie Art Workshop for Kids” book on Amazon. The secret to having … Read More
This is my go-to art fundraiser idea. I’ve used it for years and often shared finished canvases, but never a full tutorial, so enjoy! • View and download Portraits on Canvas PDF Tutorial MATERIALS Stretched canvas (I used 16″ x 20″ for classes of 25) Dry wax paper (found at restaurant supply stores, and no, it’s not the same as … Read More
Valentine art projects that mix the rich color of Sharpies with hearts, pretty much can’t go wrong, if you ask me. This one involves mounting the drawings on to a stretched canvas. Change the size of the canvas to accommodate all your students, and you also have a very pretty collaborative fundraiser project. This is a technique I experimented with … Read More
Here’s a snowman drawing idea that just uses markers and some geometric shapes. A few templates will help keep the lines nice and neat. For some extra coloring fun, try coloring your snowman on a square of finger paint paper with Sharpie markers. The colors glide on and you will get a nice shiny finish too. • View and Download … Read More
Winter art projects for elementary students work best, I believe, when the subject and supplies are kept simple, simple, simple. The shadows cast by the moon are easy to see on the winter snow and offer a beginning lesson in perspective. For more drawing tutorials, see my “How to Draw” ebook in my PDF Shop. MATERIALS • View and download Winter … Read More
Here’s one of my favorite Halloween art projects for kids. Use permanent markers and liquid watercolors for a really vibrant work of art. PREP I opted to make a simple line drawing of a house and tree and fence for the students to trace, just for a starting point. They were to add as many Halloween details as they … Read More
Cut out tissue paper leaves outlined with a gold marker, and a bit of watercolor paint make a fun fall leaf art project. MATERIALS Madras tissue paper Poster board or chip board for templates Scissors White card stock paper Glue stick, purple type may be most helpful Gold Sharpie marker, fine tip Crayola’s Watercolor Mixing Set DIRECTIONS PREP: I … Read More
Paint a dandelion tutorial with bleeding tissue paper and rubber cement for masking the flower. Super fun combo of media. MATERIALS • Watercolor paper • Bleeding tissue paper* • Paint brush and water • Ultra fine tip black Sharpie markers* *The above product links are referrals. If you click through and take action, I’ll be compensated a small amount, at … Read More
Here’s a fun Warhol for kids lesson — making your own original Campbell’s Soup canvas. Andy Warhol popularized this image with his large, multi-colored prints, and now you can have fun with the same image. I’m providing a can template below so all you need to do is trace it on to dry wax paper, color with Sharpies, and then … Read More
My favorite class art project for fundraising is this one with Sharpie self portraits on canvas. I’ve done it with every kinder class for years, and some parents still think I send it out somewhere to have it made. MATERIALS Stretched canvas (I use a 16″ x 20″ size for classes with 25 or fewer students) Dry wax paper … Read More
Cinco de Mayo, celebrated on May 5th, is widely accepted as a day to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. Decorating food containers to look like sugar skulls is a fun and easy Cinco de Mayo craft for students of all ages. This is just one of the featured projects in my “Sharpie Art Workshop for Kids” book, now available at Amazon … Read More
I’ve always hated throwing away old tin cans. They just have too many recycling possibilities. These tin can crafts are just one of many included in my “Sharpie Art Workshop for Kids” book. MATERIALS • Old soup cans, washed and clean • Foil tape, from hardware store • Sharpie, fine tip, black • Sharpie, brush tip, variety of colors DIRECTIONS 1. Cut … Read More
One of the steps to go from drawing flat landscapes to ones with depth is to create overlapping art. This project plays with the idea, and need not follow any perspective rules. Young artists can just have fun making lots of 3D looking buildings that completely fill their page. MATERIALS • Overlapping Buildings PDF Tutorial • Drawing or multi-media paper … Read More