Mixed Media Collage for Kids

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Paint your canvas or cardboard

   We LOVE to mix our own paints. You can read an easy step by step tutorial on how to mix paints with kids here. Any tempera paints will work great.
   
   Encourage your child to paint the entire background. For little kids who need a little extra push to spend more than a few seconds painting you might say something like this after their first go at it: “Wow, I see you added some colors. Now I have a challenge for you. I wonder if you can cover all the white spots. That’s a big challenge.”
   
   Or for older children you can say something like “What’s your plan for the background? Artists often have a plan. I am curious about your painting plan.” Then you can talk about what areas your child is going to cover and what colors he or she is going to use.
   
   

2. Add collage items

   Here’s where I talk about a plan as well. I demonstrate different ideas, like a border with buttons, or patterns with the paper cutouts, or outlining a picture.
   
   I think it’s important to slow kids down at this point and give some purpose to their art, rather than creating a big mess. The kids here were only three, but we still talked about artists having plans and their own plans.
   
   We started with the pictures and then added all the other materials. This can be done in several sessions, depending on your child and their interest level.
   
   *Note: If the paint is thick on the canvas it can act as glue. If it’s just a thin layer you will need to use glue. I recommend using either a squeeze bottle (kids love to squeeze) or putting some glue in a dish and giving your child a paintbrush to adhere the materials to the canvas.
   
   

3. Coat the finished product

   When everything is glued on and dried an adult can go over the entire canvas with mod podge or a glue mixture of one part water and two parts white glue. This will help everything stay secure on the canvas.