Kids' Projects With Crayons and Paint

While young children are often fascinated by arts and crafts, they often do not have the skills necessary to complete advanced projects. However, they are more than adept at working with basic supplies such as crayons and paint. Inexpensive compared to many other art supplies, and available in a wide range of colors, crayons and paint can be used by children to create many interesting projects.

Antiquing

Have children experiment with crayon antiquing by drawing thick layers of crayon over thick pieces of paper, such as a brown paper bags. Once the majority of the paper has been covered in the child's chosen color of crayon, dip a paintbrush in water and black paint and apply it to a small area of the crayon. Wipe the paint off the crayon and then use a tissue to "polish" the area. Repeat this until the entire crayon drawing has been antiqued.

Crayon and Watercolor Paint

Have kids draw pictures with crayon on construction paper, being sure to instruct them to color their picture quite heavily. Once the pictures are complete, cover the images in a layer of watercolor paint. The children will love watching the thick, waxy layer of crayon emerge through the layer of paint. Experiment with using different amounts of water with watercolor paints, as well as other types of craft paint.

Crayon and Paint Insects

This art project, which is suitable for young children, requires full crayons with the labels removed. Place a crayon in the middle of a piece of plain or colored paper and hold it in the center. Rotate the crayon back and forth until you see two solid areas of color emerge that resemble wings. You can then have children use craft paint to add insect bodies, such as those of butterflies, to complete the crayon wings.

Additional Ideas

There are many exciting art projects for children that utilize crayons and paint separately. Take a small group of kids on a nature walk, where they can take rubbings of leaves and tree bark using crayons and small sheets of paper. Kids will also enjoy taking rubbings of things indoors, such as sandpaper and plastic. For a fun craft involving paint, decorate smooth, flat rocks to resemble ladybugs; these can be given as gifts or used as garden decorations.