We haven’t had our painting easel out for a long time. It takes up a lot of space, and we don’t have much of that at the moment. But Morgan was keen to do ‘something special’… ‘not just boring old painting’ so I dragged the easel in and surprised him by setting up something really special!
Ok, so it’s not that special, just some regular old aluminium foil to paint on instead of paper. But it’s shiny and shimmery and you can see a very hazy reflection of yourself in the foil while you paint which feels rather magical.
The foil is a little delicate and can rip and tear easily which can be frustrating. It is also light and moves around a lot if laid loosely on a flat surface which is also frustrating. So if you don’t have easel to attach your foil to, try taping it to a table or large piece of cardboard for some support.
It also helps to add a small amount of dish washing liquid to your paint mix. Not only will that make cleaning up easier but it also helps the paint to stick to the foil better and not flake off when it dries.
I think I managed to meet his request of something ‘special’!
I love doing art with my kids but I don’t believe that doing art at home needs to be complicated. Check out some more of our easy painting ideas…
Water Colour Painting, Magic Painting, Cotton Bud Painting.
Joining the It’s Play Time link up with Quirky Momma this week.
Amanda says
I love this idea!!! Definately going to do this :)
Rebecca says
this is a cool idea! I’m going to take that to the Playcentre we go to tomorrow! YAY!
Kate @ Puddles and Gumboots says
I think that looks fabulous! All kids are going to think this is a special painting activity. The bright colours look fabulous against the alfoil. I just love your boy’s art apron too by the way :-)
katef says
my mum made the apron (we have several) from this free pattern at Sew Liberated
http://sewliberated.com/free-tutorials
It’s a fab apron because even little kids can get them on and off on their own and not that tricky to sew either.
Kate @ Puddles and Gumboots says
Haha I might give it an attempt someday. I have always wanted to learn to sew
Shae says
Not only do I love this idea…I love this picture of Morgan
katef says
I know… it’s very him isn’t it!
Aussie Mum says
Thanks for the dish washing tip – our paint always seems to flake off the foil once it drys!
katef says
sometimes it can depend on the type of paint too. I’ve found that powder paints flake a lot, even with some detergent added (though that does help). We use liquitemp and it seems to stay on quite well, even with folding.
Kristy says
What a fabulous idea! I will definitely remember this!
Melissa @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree says
Love that you put foil on the easel! That really makes an easel intriguing again! Love the reflection of Morgan’s rainbow apron in the foil! (I thought that was part of the painting at first!)
Mickey says
Love this idea! Also for easy clean up put contact paper on your easel. Easy to wipe down or just throw away after a while of using!
Kristy says
LOVE THIS!! I am a preschool teacher and have struggled with the paint adhering. Thanks for the tip!! :)
Kristin@SenseofWonder says
These turned out so cute. I love painting on foil in the winter time with blues and whites. It looks so icy and cold. I have never tried the dish washing detergent before though. That’s a good idea.
Jackie says
I love this idea. my baby boy loves to paint and paint and paint… this will help bring something new to the endless painting ;)
Lynette says
This is SPECIAL! H e looks very happy. I wonder if adding glue to paint would help with it not cracking. We just did this at school to adhere paint better ot the foam egg cartons (we made dragons for Chinese New Year) IN that case we did almost 2 parts glue to one part paint. It worked famously. Love your paintings and cant wait to try it. Perhaps I will look for the heavy duty foil, see how that works out for the ripping issues. Awesome idea, thanks.
Adina says
It would be cool to try a self-portrait on the foil with older “artists”. In the meantime I’ll try getting my little one to put some dots on it. Very fun idea!
Liz Hallberg says
Thanks for the dish soap tip! We love painting on foil here, and we use a variety of “paint” every time we do it. Next time, dish soap in the paint it is! What bright colors! Pinned it :)
Laura S. says
If you sprinkle a little water on the table before putting the foil down the foil will stay in place. I do this when I’m rolling out cookie dough on foil.
Kandace says
Try Martha Stewart’s foil +parchment it won’t tear as easy and its still shiny
Kate Hunter says
Great project to do when studying Gustav Klimt…thanks for the great idea!
jamie says
I work w 3 yr olds ay a daycare always can use great ideas really dont got much to work w… so if anythin will help….thanks
Stephanie @ Lifes Little Adventures says
I love this idea! I would like to invite you to link up this post to Money Saving Monday so others can find this great idea as well. I hope to see you there.
Thank You,
Stephanie
http://lifesallaboutlittleadventures.blogspot.com/2013/04/money-saving-monday-week-3.html
Miriam says
What kind of paint do you used por this project? Acrylic? Because I would love to try it with my kids
katef says
We just use regular kids liquid tempera paint… just add a dash of dish washing detergent and it will help the paint stick to the foil.
Shary says
Great idea. I thought that wrapping the foil over cardboard squares before they paint would maker a nice presentation of the artwork. Also, it might keep it secure while they are painting. I will try this next week.
mariyam says
NICE!