Watercolor Art Journal With Kids

The kids and I made simple, but high-impact sketchbook pages this week.  This project is excellent for playing with watercolors. Use it to practice blending colors, or try out other watercolor techniques on a small scale. (Sprinkle salt over the squares after you’ve painted them, color with white crayons before you paint, etc.)  We kept our pages simple and didn’t use any extra techniques and they turned our just lovely.

Materials Needed:

Sketchbook or loose watercolor paper (non-watercolor paper can be used, but be prepared for it to wrinkle) My kids each have this sketchbook and I have a bigger version.
Watercolor set.  This is an awesome one for kids to start with but I’d recommend using a different brush than the one that comes with the kit.  We’ve been happy with this set.
Paintbrush (es)
Water in cups (I like to use separate cups for cool colors and warm colors.  It keeps the water from turning brown and changing the color of your paint.)

Instructions:

Lay out the masking tape on your sketchbook page or watercolor paper in your desired pattern.  Ellie and I chose to make diamonds and Ethan did an arrow pattern. We used a mixture of washi tape and masking tape because that’s what we had on hand. Play around with thin and thick tape for different outcomes.
Make sure the tape edges are pressed down firmly to ensure a nice clean line.
Paint in each open space.  Have fun with this! Mix colors and see what happens. The results are always beautiful.
Let the paint dry for a few minutes and then remove the tape.
Enjoy your gorgeous creation.  
I’d love to see your beautiful sketchbook pages!  Tag me on Instagram so I can see your work.
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