Join the club to access all our art lessons, camps, and printables!  👉

How to Make Neon Cardboard Sculptures for Kids

by Caitlin Mansfield
July 24, 2025
neon cardboard sculptures

Create vibrant neon cardboard sculptures with kids! A fun process art activity using recycled materials. Perfect for kids of all ages. Project and photos by Caitlin Mansfield from Messy Art.

This vibrant process art activity is a hit with kids aged 4-10, though older kids love diving in, too! Using recycled cardboard and neon paint mixed into glue, children build bright, messy sculptures that lean right into creative chaos. It’s bold, colorful, and it’s perfect for engaging kids’ imagination.

Neon cardboard sculptures have become one of my favorite workshop projects. Kids get completely absorbed in the process. The joy, the mess, the glow! It’s the kind of art activity that keeps them building and experimenting for ages, and reminds me why process art is so powerful.

Here’s how to make these sculptures with your kids!

Photo by Caitlin Mansfield

How to Make Neon Cardboard Sculptures for Kids

MATERIALS

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Prep cardboard

    Prepare your cardboard pieces ahead of time using any scrap cardboard you have. Cut the pieces into a mix of shapes and sizes. Be sure to have a larger piece for each child to use as a base.

    Cover your workspace or do this project outside!

  2. Mix paint and glue

    Mix a small amount of neon paint into bottles of glue (this is a great way to use all of those half empty glue bottles!). Or you can pour some paint and glue into squeeze bottles and mix. A little paint goes a long way!

  3. Create sculptures

    Let kids start building by stacking, gluing, and layering cardboard pieces. Encourage experimentation, there’s no right or wrong way!

    adding glue to cardboard

    As they build, they can squeeze the neon glue all over their creations. The messier the better!

    adding pink glue to cardboard

  4. Let dry

    Let the sculptures dry completely. They’ll harden into colorful, structural artworks.

adding glue to cardboard-2
Photo by Caitlin Mansfield

This project is all about process, not perfection. Kids stay engaged for ages, and every sculpture is totally one of a kind! 

We hope you try it with your kids this summer!

cardboard sculptures
Photo by Caitlin Mansfield

More Sculpture Projects for Kids

Pin It for Later

How to Make Neon Cardboard Sculptures for Kids How to Make Neon Cardboard Sculptures for Kids How to Make Neon Cardboard Sculptures for Kids
Print
Share
Pin