: : good crafternoon : :

Summer time has led to a lot of crafternoons around our house.  Whatever Mom happens to be dabbling in, the Two Peas and Sprout undoubtedly want to get in the middle of and I'm glad, usually, to let them explore.

Our 2nd pea choose art as one of her 4H projects this summer so we have been sampling different ideas.  She finally decided she liked this mixed media painting best and had lots of fun trying out different pictures and methods.  Here's our crafternoon share with you (in a few weeks - we will open this up as a linky party so get your ideas brewing and ready to share!)

::Gather your Supplies::

• Craft paint {acrylic craft paint you can find most anywhere.  Our Meijer store carries, so does JoAnn's fabrics or other craft stores}

• Paint brushes

• Paint Palette {or you could use a plastic plate / bowl.  I like the plastic because these paints wash right off, even after they dry, you can peel the paint right off of the plastic palette.  These little trays pictured here can be found at JoAnn's}

• Paint pen {a paint pen will allow you to accent over the top of your painting with more detail after it dries.  You could also use a Sharpie marker}

• Canvas {we found these 5x7 canvases in a 3 pack for under $5 at JoAnn's and the larger size canvases were also on sale.  3 for $9}

• Paper with text {we have several old books that we picked out of our neighbors garbage.  yes.  They were throwing books away that had gotten wet.  They work great for our crafting.  You could use magazines, newspaper, etc.}

• Mod Podge

1. First, prepare your paper strips by tearing into interesting strips or shapes.  Prepare enough to cover your entire canvas.
2. Cover your canvas generously with the Mod Podge.
3. Place your paper all over your canvas, completely covering your surface.
4. Paint Mod Podge over the top of your paper and let dry completely.
5. Next, choose one of your paint colors as a background color.  Add some water to the paint a little at a time until it is runny.  Using a large brush, cover your canvas entirely with this background color.  It should be like a water color and very thin and translucent.

Finally, paint your canvas.  Fill it with some flowers, butterflies, something abstract.  Be creative.  I have my kids look through magazines and find images they like and then sketch out their ideas first.  Make suggestions to them about how to create different objects.  Add to your painting 3D objects like string or buttons, bottlecaps, feathers or fabric.  Once it's all dry, you can use your paint pen to add more fine details to your picture.

The kids had so much fun with this project and have asked to repeat it several times.  It's pretty darn fun for big kids, ahem, adults, too.

Happy Crafternoon!