Who doesn’t like ice cream? Here’s a Fun and Easy Art Project that helps children learn to make tints with paint.
We make tints by adding white to a color—the more white, the lighter the tint. In this project children will mix several different tints of one color and paint each tint on a square of paper. After the squares dry, children will draw the shape of a scoop of ice cream on each square and cut these out to make their ice cream cones.
Note: even quite young children can do this project with only a little help with the drawing and cutting. Their painting doesn’t have to be exact since they can just enjoy painting the squares.
Supplies:
- Any color tempera paint and white tempera paint
- Paint brushes
- Small containers or plastic covers for mixing tints
- Sturdy white paper cut in squares
- Background papers of any color and scraps for cone and cherry
- Pencils, scissors, crayons or markers
- Glue
Painting Directions:
- Put your “flavor” of paint—red for strawberry, green for mint chocolate chip, etc on a lid
- Put some white paint on that lid or another (don’t mix them until step 4)
- Paint one square with the pure color
- Mix a very little of the color into the white to make your lightest tint (mix the color into the white, not the other way round, as that would take way more white to lighten the color. It still always amazes me how little color it takes to make a tint!)
- Paint another square with this tint
- Keep mixing more of your color into the white to make darker and darker tints that you paint on squares (I did just 3 tints for each color, but you can do more, if you like)
- Let the squares dry (you may need to flatten them under some books once they’re dry)
Assembly Directions:
- While your squares are drying, you can make an ice cream cone and a cherry for the top of your scoops. The cherry is a circle shape, and the cone is a long triangle shape with 2 straight lines that come to a point). (use white paper scraps and color or use scraps of colored paper for these)
- Cut these out
- Also while you wait, draw a paper pattern for cutting out your ice cream scoops (it has a circular top and a puffy cloud shape along the bottom)
- Trace around this pattern on the back of each of your squares and cut these scoops out
- Assemble your ice cream cone on the background as if you worked in an ice cream shop (Start by gluing down the cone then add each scoop of ice cream so it overlaps the one below it)
- Last of all glue the cherry at the top
- With marker or crayon you may add chocolate chips to the mint ice cream
Voila, enjoy your ice cream cones!!
Molly’s Suggestion:
Nothing says love like a handmade card, and these make wonderful birthday cards for family and friends! Just make everything a little smaller so the cone fits on the front of a folded card. You may decorate your card first with confetti, streamers, or balloons, then glue the ice cream cone on top of these. Write a message inside and mail!
Note: If you do decide to make several of these, just paint larger squares so you can cut out more scoops from each square.
Molly and I hope to see you right back here next week for another Fun and Easy Art Project for Creative Kids!
Sunday is Mother’s Day. Be sure to tell Mom you love her!
Kathy, The Picture Lady 