Easter Eggs: Lines

This activity evolved from experimenting with different types of lines!

Materials

• Watercolour paper
• Liquid watercolour paper
• Containers
• Water
• Paint brushes
• Thicker paint (we used this Crayola brand, but you could use printmaking ink)
• Brayer
• Painter’s tape (or masking tape)
• Tray
• Bubble wrap
• Scissors
• Permanent marker
• Glitter paint

We always find a smock helpful too! 

Directions

• Don your smock.  Dilute your paints.  Depending on your children’s or students’ ages, you can use plastic or glass jars to store your paint.  We usually pop them on a tray to catch any drips.

• We taped our paper onto the table, making a border around the piece.  (Taping half on the paper and half on the table.)

• We then used our watercolour paints to make various types of lines.  If you need a prompt to help you with this, you can play different types of music and create a line that match the mood of the music.  Think about the thickness of lines, the shape, are they dotted or continuous?

(7 year old)  (Almost 5 year old)  (2 year old.  He accidentally split the blue paint onto his paper which we mopped up with paper towels.  He then decided to dip the leftover roll/tube in the purple paint.  This spontaneous idea is a great example of letting your child lead.) 

• Once dry we added highlights with gold paint to our lines.  (Our daughter’s idea.)  Our son’s idea of using cotton swabs to correct any paint that went off the lines was quite helpful!  Allow to dry.

• Our son said that the lines reminded him of an Easter egg and the next step was born!  First he measured out bubble wrap so it was the same size as his paper and cut it.  He then drew an egg on the smooth side.  He had an interesting tip- first form an oval and then draw a more narrow top to form an egg.

• Pinch your bubble wrap in the centre of the egg and make a snip.  Cut the egg out.  You could easily modify this to any shape that you like or simply layer the bubble wrap over your work if you like.

• Using your brayer, coat it with paint and apply it to the bubbly side of your bubble wrap.  You could also use a brush.  You want to do this part fairly quickly so that the paint layer doesn’t dry.

• Apply your wrap, paint down, onto your lines.  Depending on your age, you may need a bit of adult help with this step.

• Rub your bubble wrap (on the smooth side) to assure contact of the paint to the page.  Carefully remove your bubble wrap and voila!

• Remove your tape carefully from the edges of your work and display your work!

Purpose

• Exploring different types of lines.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
• Be sure to store bubble wrap out of the reach of young children.