Looking for a fun, easy (and a wee bit messy) Easter art project for your older kids and tweens? Okay, maybe you don’t want messy, but I bet your kids will love getting their fingers sticky with Mod Podge!
In this post, I will give you step-by-step instructions for creating a cute, colorful Easter art piece with which your kids can decorate their rooms. And, I’ve got options if your kids aren’t interested in “cutesy” Easter baskets.
- Are your kids into certain fandom themes? Instead of bright colored eggs, let them geek out with “Fandom Eggs”:
- Star Wars: Create BB-8, R2-D2 or R4-P17 “eggs”
- Doctor Who: T.A.R.D.I.S. or Dalek “eggs”
- Harry Potter: Eggs with the colors of the Hogwarts houses (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff)
- Don’t want to make an Easter basket? Use these same steps to create a bird’s nest with the paper shreds (just leave off the handle, and paint the nest brown). Then make robin’s eggs or speckled sparrow’s eggs for the nest.
Art Supplies You Will Need for This Easter Art Project:
- 8×10 canvas (stretched or panel)
- Acrylic craft paints in your favorite springtime colors
- Decorative papers
- Old book or hymnal
- Paintbrushes
- Foam brush
- Mod Podge
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Black permanent pen
- White paint marker (water-based)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cover entire canvas with a sky blue (or your favorite color). Allow to dry.
Step 2: Paint some green blades of grass at the bottom of the canvas. Allow to dry.
Step 3: With a pencil, sketch out a simple basket in the shape of an egg. Then add a curved horizontal line for the “bowl.”
Step 4: Sketch out a small egg on one of the decorative pages, then stack several underneath and cut out. I cut out seven eggs for this basket.
Step 5: Smear Mod Podge above and a bit below the “bowl” of the basket, then layer your eggs inside (making sure to keep the eggs inside the handle). Put another layer of Mod Podge over the tops of the eggs. Allow to dry.
Step 6: While the eggs are drying, take your book or hymnal pages and cut them into thin strips. (I ran mine through a paper shredder.)
Step 7: Spread Mod Podge over the entire canvas and while it is still wet, start laying down the strips of paper following your basket outline. (Yeah, I know, but told you it was messy!)
NOTE: Add a little twist to the strips every now and then to give it a woven basket look. Allow to dry.
Step 8: Once the piece is dry, it’s time to add more paint. In the image below left, I gave the “basket” a light coat of straw-colored paint and added some yellow highlights (being careful to let the hymnal pages show through the paint).
In the image on the right, I decorated the eggs, painted a couple of tulips on the left side of the handle, a vine on the right side, and added grass blades back over the front of the basket. Don’t try to make your eggs or flowers perfect. This is “mixed media” art, so embrace imperfection and wonkiness!
Step 9: After the paint is completely dry, it’s time to cover the entire canvas with Mod Podge again. Allow to dry.
Step 10: Below left – Take a black permanent marker (an extra-fine Sharpie will do), and outline the basket, eggs, and flowers. Add a basket weave pattern if you’d like. I also outlined over the grass blades. Rather than trying to outline everything perfectly, use wispy, short pen strokes and go outside the lines often.
Below right – Next, take your white paint pen and add highlights all around the piece. I also used the white pen to add more details to the Easter eggs.
Finally, dip your finger in a bright-colored paint and rub it around the edge of the canvas to “frame” the picture and make it pop a little more. (I used both yellow and white paints around the edges.)
The Finished Piece
And now you have a fun mixed media Easter art piece! Add a little hanger to the back to display on your wall, or simply prop it up on a shelf.
Would you like more mixed media projects for your kids (tweens & teens too)? I’d love for you to join me for my mixed media art workshop, Springtime Splendor. Each unique art piece reflects a different aspect of spring — the return of birds, butterflies, bees, the blossoming of trees and the blooming of flowers, rain showers, springtime critters, spring poetry and the simple delight in the beauty of God’s creation! Click on the image for more info.
