Simple art project for the home studio: TREASURE BOX!
Treasure Box!
In this project, your artist will explore paint and collage to turn a cardboard box into a colorful container for all kinds of treasures.
Recommended age: 2-5 years old
THE SUPPLIES:
Unneeded box (any size: jewelry box to shoebox size is best)
Tempera paint
Paint palette (can be a paper plate)
Paint brush
Collage elements if wanted: any paper you have (construction, tissue, wrapping, magazines)
Scissors
Glue + glue brush
The steps:
Find a box that is no longer needed. Tell your child that they can make a treasure box for whatever kinds of treasure they want to put inside. First they’ll be mixing colors to paint the outside (and inside if they wish!) of the box. Once that’s dry, they can add collaged elements.
Start with just two primary colors (red, yellow or blue) and have your child experiment to see what colors they make when they are mixed together.
Add white to their palette (which can be a paper plate) to see what that does to the colors they’ve made. Have your child identify the colors they are mixing and how they are different from each other, if they are old enough to articulate that (if they aren’t, you can tell them). If they want another pair of primary colors, remember to wash their brush and palette, or start with a fresh one.
Have your artist cover all the surfaces of the box with as many colors as they can mix.
Once the paint has dried, your artist can move on to collaging if they wish. Offer them different kinds and colors of paper to cut up into interesting shapes. Toddlers can do this with help and toddler scissors! Name the shapes they cut (if they have names) as they go.
Once they have a good supply of cut up paper, they can use their glue brush and liquid glue to collage the paper onto the box.
Boost your artist's creativity by asking:
What color did we make with red and yellow? Yellow and blue? Red and Blue?
What happened to the colors when you mixed white into them?
Can you cover the whole top with colors you’ve mixed? The sides? The inside?
Can you use your brush in different ways? Can you drag it, dab it, twirl it?
Can you cut a pointy shape? A rounded shape? A long shape? A tiny shape?
Can you spread the glue so the paper sticks to it?
Where will you glue this (describe it) piece of paper?
What kind of treasure will you store in this box?