Easy painting ideas for kids

Whether it's painting with cotton buds, straws, bubble wrap, or your kids' own hands and feet, each idea allows your child to explore colours, textures and tap into their creative side. Let the paint fly and the fun begin!

Finger painting | Sponge painting | Collage painting | Hand print and foot print | Q-tip painting | Blow painting with straws | DIY stamps | Bubble wrap painting | Marble painting | Salt painting

Finger painting

You will need:

• Old clothes/apron/paint smock
• Protected surface (for example, spread newspaper or a wipeable tablecloth all over the floor/table)
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints, we find that acrylic paints work best)
• Tray to squeeze the paint onto
• Painting surface: paper or card
• Cleaning materials: soapy water, a cloth, etc.

Finger paint guide for kids:

1. Spread a range of colours of paint onto your tray
2. Let you child dip their fingers in to the paint and start painting on the paper or card
3. That's it! You can join in too, ask your child what you should paint, follow their lead and talk about what they're doing

Let your child's imagination run wild and see what creations they paint, or try follow some of these brilliant finger painting ideas from Gathered.

Sponge painting

You will need:

• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints, we find that acrylic paints work best)
• Sponges
• Marker pen
• Scissors
• Paper
• Tray to squeeze the paint onto

Sponge painting guide for kids:

1. If the sponges aren't new, wash them thoroughly with soap and let them dry
2. Once the sponges are dry, draw shapes such as flowers, starts and hearts on each sponge using the marker
3. Cut out the sponge shapes
4. Spread a range of colours of paint onto your tray
5. Let you child dip a sponge shape into the paint and press into onto the paper
6. Use the sponges to create a colourful sponge-painted print! You can encourage them to create a specific picture or scene, or just let them run wild with the sponges and see what picture they create

Collage painting

You will need:

• Tray to squeeze the paint onto
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Paintbrushes or sponges
• Paper
• Collage supplies: old newspaper, tissue paper, crepe paper, fabric scraps, buttons, sequins, etc.
• Scissors
• PVA glue/glue sticks

Collage painting guide for kids:

1. Spread a range of colours of paint onto your tray
2. Use the paintbrushes or sponges to create a colourful background with the different colours of paint onto the paper — encourage your child to create swirls, blobs, stripes, etc
3. Once finished, leave to dry
4. Whilst the paint is drying, cut and rip the collage supplies into different shapes — make them small and big, the more the shapes and sizes vary the better!
5. Once the paint is dry, use glue to stick the different collage pieces to the paper — overlap them, layer them, do whatever feels right!
6. Optional: once the glue has dried, add extra paint or glitter/sequins on the top

Hand print and foot print

You will need:

• Tray to squeeze the paint onto
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Canvas/paper/card to paint onto
• Newspaper to cover the floor or table
• Old clothes for your kids to wear
• Optional: paintbrushes, pens, scissors

Hand and foot print painting guide for kids:

1. Spread the paint onto your tray (make sure it spreads wide enough for your child's hand or foot)
2. Put the newspaper down and then lay your canvas or paper on top
3. Have your child press their foot or hand into the paint, making sure it covers their whole foot/hand
4. Press their foot or hand onto the canvas or paper, making sure it presses down completely
5. Optional: use paintbrushes to fill in any spaces that your child's foot/hand has left
6. Leave to dry, then you could then decorate the hand or foot print with some extra paint or pens to create different designs such as a dinosaur or duck
7. Alternatively, you could cut out the hand or foot print and create woodland animals or butterfly

Q-tip painting

You will need:

• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Tray to squeeze the paint onto
• Cotton buds (Q-tips)
• Canvas/paper/card to paint onto
• Optional: A pencil

Q-tip painting guide for kids

1. Optional: Sketch a shape or template onto your canvas/paper that your child can colour in with the paint
2. Pour small amounts of different colours of paint onto your tray
3. Dip a cotton bud in a paint colour and make dots on the paper (we recommend using a different cotton bud for each colour)
4. Either fill in a template you sketched earlier, or kids can create their own dot patterns, borders. Other ideas include rainbows, fireworks, or they could try spell out their name too!
5. Optional: experiment by mixing and blending the colours, dab two colours next to each other and swirl them with another clean cotton bud
6. Leave to dry then showcase their cotton bud paint masterpiece!

Blow painting with straws

You will need:

• Paper/card to paint onto (we would suggest using card or heavy paper if you have it)
• A plastic tray/baking tray
• Paper or plastic straws
• Scissors
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Dropper/pipette or paintbrush

Blow painting with straws guide for kids:

1. Place your paper or card onto the tray/baking tray (make sure the tray has sides!)
2. Cut the straws in half (if you’re doing this with a young child, poke a hole halfway up the straw with a pin. This will prevent your child from sucking paint into the straw by accident)
3. Use the dropper or paintbrush to transfer a few drops of paint onto the paper
4. Blow at the paint through the straws and watch the paint move along the paper
5. Repeat with different colours of paint
6. Leave to dry

DIY stamps

You will need:

• A4 white card
• Black pen
• Ruler
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Tray to squeeze the paint onto
• Paintbrush
• Cardboard (thicker cardboard works best)
• Sponges
• Glue

DIY stamps guide for kids:

1. Optional: create a fun template by using a pen and ruler to create 12 equal squares on the piece of white card. Fill in the squares with different colours of paint (if doing this with young children, it might be best for an adult or older child to do this step)
2. To make the stamps, cut out some cardboard squares, a similar size to the squares on your grid
3. Draw and cut out a shape from your sponge (for example, a star, heart, circle, etc)
4. Glue the sponge shape onto your chunky card backing
5. Use a paintbrush to cover the stamp in a layer of paint, or just dip it directly into the paint (if you do this, just be careful to keep the paint only on the raised sponge, and not the card, to achieve the best effect)
6. Now print with your stamp!
7. If you created a pattern when painting your grid, you can follow that with your stamps. Or, just choose colours and stamps on a blank piece of paper and get creative!

Bubble wrap painting

You will need:

• Bubble wrap
• Scissors
• Masking tape
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Tray to squeeze the paint onto
• Paintbrushes/foam paint rollers
• Paper

Bubble wrap painting guide for kids:

1. Cut pieces of bubble wrap into a square or rectangle
2. Tape the pieces of bubble wrap to the table
3. Pour small amounts of different colours of paint onto your tray
4. Use the paintbrushes or foam rollers to paint the bubble wrap, they can also use their fingers to spread the paint around
5. Carefully place the paper onto the bubble wrap (try and make sure there isn't a lot of paint on the raised edges of the bubble wrap)
6. If you have a clean foam roller, roll that over the top of the paper. Alternatively, hold onto the paper and gently press from the middle outwards (make sure the paper makes contact all over the bubble wrap)
7. Repeat with different colours
8. You can then cut out the fun bubble wrap colours into shapes, such as hearts, stars or letters

Marble painting

You will need:

• Marbles
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Small bowls or pots to hold the paints
• Paper
• Baking tray or other shallow tray
• A wipeable tablecloth or old sheet
• Spoons

Marble painting guide for kids:

1. Put some paint in the small bowls or pots
2. Place a sheet of paper in your shallow tray
3. Cover your work surface with a wipeable tablecloth or old sheet
4. Drop your marbles in the paint and mix them around to ensure they're fully coated with paint
5. Transfer the marbles to the paper in the shallow tray
6. Lift the box and tilt it in different ways so the marbles roll around
7. Optional: repeat with the marbles in a different colour and add them on top of your first colour
8. Leave to dry

Salt painting

You will need:

• PVA glue
• Paper
• Table salt
• Paints (look out for washable, non-toxic paints)
• Paintbrush

Salt painting guide for kids:

1. Grab the PVA glue and create a design with it on the paper (if doing this activity with young children, an adult may have to do this part)
2. Sprinkle a large amount of salt onto the glue, then pour the excess off the paper
3. Leave to dry
4. Once the glue has dried, dip the paintbrush into your paint then dab onto the glue design
5. Leave to dry

Pics: Getty

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