inside the box

This super easy painting activity looks super pretty when it is all finished. You can prep the board and paper ahead of time or you have your kidlet draw their rectangle stencil before you do the cutting.

Materials:
*heavy sheet of paper
*paint of your choice
*cardboard square, larger than paper (food boxes work)
*painters tape (the blue stuff)
*paintbrushes
*water
*paint friendly area

scrumdilly-do it:

Cut your cardboard down so that it is about two inches larger on (two opposite sides) than your paper.

Plop the cardboard on top of your paper. If you are using a cereal box or other printed material, place the printed side down so as not to distract your wee artist. Flip the two pieces over so that the paper is on top and the cardboard edges are exposed. Fold those edges over so that they "hug" the paper. Trim the other two edges so that they match the remaining width.

Flip the whole thing back over and now you have a blank piece of cardboard the same size as the paper. Draw a rectangle in the center or have your kidlet draw their own rectangle. Make is fairly large, you are impersonating (shhh!) a matte here and want the impression of the finished work to look framed.


Carefully cut out the inside of th rectangle. This part if for grown-ups only! No super sharp objects should be wielded near the kidlets. Tape off the rectangle to keep the edges straight and to create a seal so the paint doesn't slip under. Flip over your paper/board and tape the folded edges down as well. Blue painters tape is sticky enough to hold everything down but not too sticky so that it tears the paper. You can use masking tape but it might tear things up.

Flip the board/paper back over and set out the paints and let your kidlet paint, paint, paint!

and paint....

and paint some more...

Set aside to dry and once it is dry(ish) peel off the tape and board and admire! You can make this even more funky by cutting out all sorts of shapes and squares. Use the paper more than once (ooh, how about their name?), just cut a stencil of a different size and let them paint in the new shape. Compare how the paint looks when it is painted over...do colors mix when they are dry? Can you see the brush strokes from the first round? Have fun and let me know if you have a finished dilly project you want me to post about or link to!