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
Keep your simple dinosaur drawing small, say trading card size, and then make a page of them. It’s the start of your own fun dinosaur collection. If you liked the brown paper and Sharpie paint marker look used in my fossil drawing project, then you’ll probably like this one too. It’s another reason to save and invest in those special … Read More
Looking for some more artist trading cards ideas? Try making these animals look either large or small, depending on what you draw around them. MATERIALS View and download ATC animal template Card stock or drawing paper Color printer Paper cutter or scissors Black marker, ultra fine tip Trading card sleeves DIRECTIONS Print an animal template sheet for each student. Students … Read More
My favorite artist trading cards for kids project involves starting with a color photo and creating a world around it using only a thin black marker. After all, if a drawing looks interesting before it even has any color, you’re on your way to a really nice work of art. To shortcut the magazine process, I’ve found these free images … Read More
This is still one of my favorite art trading cards ideas, just rotated squares on a rectangle. Makes for a fun color study too. I’m still so fond of how the plastic sleeves smooth out any less than perfect gluing and make cards look almost laminated. MATERIALS Card stock paper, cut to 2.5″ x 3.5″ size, lots of different colors … Read More
One of my favorite artist trading card theme ideas is this one that uses colored tape. Easy to cut, and of course, sticks like glue. MATERIALS Card stock paper, cream colored Scotch Expressions masking tape Scissors Black ultra thin Sharpie marker Trading card sleeve DIRECTIONS Cut 2.5″ x 3.5″ cards from card stock paper. Students use an assortment of … Read More
These art trading cards were simply made with stickers I found at Staples and some black card stock paper. My students got so creative today that they gave me new ideas of what could be made with a few circles and rectangles. For example, my collection from top left is: 1. A dog, 2. street divider line, 3. baby carriage, … Read More
You can make this winter tree drawing with the help of bleeding tissue paper. Just apply water to small squares and they leave behind amazing swirly winter skies. This worked for a series of art trading cards today, but I can’t wait to try it on a larger format. You would think that a bunch of tissue squares would leave … Read More
My favorite alternative to art texture plates is plastic embroidery mesh from the fabric store. They make a distinct pattern when used underneath a paper and crayon. MATERIALS • White cards that measure 2.5″ x 3.5″ • Plastic Embroidery mesh • Black Sharpie marker • Crayons • Trading card sleeves DIRECTIONS 1. Challenge is to think of things that come … Read More
I’ve had a lot of fun creating jumbo-sized projects, so I thought it these blank artist trading cards might be fun too. Just print and draw. My template will create 9 cards when printed and cut on the black crop lines. • View and download Little Letter PDF template page MATERIALS • Card stock paper, 8.5″ x 11″ • Little … Read More
This works as a great prompt for ATC ideas. The template has the animals, you need to provide the drawings. This time I plan to challenge students to play with scale, as in making the animals look very large or small, depending on their drawn surroundings. • View and download ATC animal template MATERIALS • Printed ATC animal page, one … Read More
If you paint and cut out coffee filters, you just might get some really pretty Valentine cards. My students let them sit on plastic canvas mesh while painting and drying, so sometimes the grid bleed through, which was kinda cool too. Happy almost Valentine’s Day everyone! MATERIALS • White round coffee filters • Old steam iron • Liquid watercolor paint … Read More
My Art Trading Card students practiced their geometric shapes by drawing a series of jewels. MATERIALS Watercolor paper Paper cutter (helpful for cutting the 2.5″ x 3.5″ size cards) Black Sharpie marker, fine tip Liquid watercolor Trading card sleeves DIRECTIONS Prep: I diagrammed on the board how to draw each jewel first, mostly starting with the inside shapes and then … Read More
You can make tissue paper art projects for kids with small squares of turquoise and purple (make sure it’s bleeding tissue!). Apply water and they leave behind amazing swirly winter skies. This worked for a series of art trading cards today, but I can’t wait to try it on a larger format. You would think that a bunch of tissue … Read More
This art trading card idea starts with old paper, anything that has type that you can paint over. It adds some visual texture to your art when complete. MATERIALS Watercolor paper Old phone book Watercolor paint Scissors Glue stick Black Sharpie marker DIRECTIONS Find an old phone book or equivalent, and paint the pages different colors with watercolor. Let … Read More
A hexagon paper punch makes the perfect stencil for students to draw their own cubes. Shadow painting techniques may also be applied to make things 3D. MATERIALS • Cardstock paper for making a stencil • Hexagon punch, 2″ size • Watercolor paper • Paper cutter • Liquid watercolor paint • Black Sharpie marker • Plastic trading card sleeve … Read More
One approach for an art trading card class is to think of a category, and challenge students to fill in the blanks. I offered a few orange supplies for prompts and then let the kids go to town. Any art supply that came in orange helped to spur ideas. MATERIALS Card stock paper, white Paper cutter Assorted orange art supplies … Read More
I’m calling this art trading card project a weaving sampler. it’s one way to introduce the very basic idea of “over and under” to young ones. MATERIALS • Card stock paper • Paper cutter • Scissors • Trading card sleeves DIRECTIONS PREP: Cut lots of cardstock cards to measure 2.5″ x 3.5″ and lots of thin strips that are 2.5″ … Read More
Lemon juice dropped on a watercolor art trading cards will make some pretty cool shapes if left to sit for a few minutes. Give it a few minutes to soak, dab away with a tissue, and some crazy shapes are left as a result. MATERIALS • Watercolor paper, cut to 2.5″ x 3.5″ ATC size • Dr. Ph. Martin’s paint … Read More
These leaves could be a study in the different types that live in your area. Add layers of markers and you’ll have some very colorful art. MATERIALS Finger paint paper Paper cutter (recommended) Sharpie brush markers Black Sharpie marker Metallic markers Trading card sleeves DIRECTIONS Coated paper works great with the Sharpie markers. If you don’t have access to … Read More