Post by Christina of Christina Williams Blog

We’ve still got about a month of summer vacation, and despite my best efforts, we need some new ideas. I have a summer goal of doing more art projects with the kids. Especially the messy, memorable ones; and now is the perfect time to get cracking on our list. Most of our summer camps have dwindled down; swimming lessons are over; as is our family vacation; so now I’m pulling out the (washable!!!) paint.

I’m planning on inviting friends, family and neighbors to the back yard at the end of summer for a gallery walk where the kids can show off the projects art projects they’ve completed this summer.

For easy reference, I made a list of 50 Art Projects for Kids; and you can print it out here. My kids really liked painting with race cars and bouncy balls, and I have to admit that I gave it a whirl, too. If you’re going to paint with bouncy balls, or other projectiles, for that matter, here are a few tips: 1. Use washable paint. Obviously. 2. Wear old clothes 3. Work outside. Cover the ground or a table with a drop cloth; or use a table you can easily wipe down when the fun is over.

I think my favorite summer art project though, was the salted watercolor paintings. The example above is my 9-year-old’s masterpiece. Even he isn’t too cool for most of these projects. (Hooray!) Simply “draw” a picture with Elmer’s glue, sprinkle liberally with salt; shake off the excess. While the glue is still wet, use watercolor paints and just touch the salt gently with your paintbrush. It’s so much fun to see the salt absorb the color; and it’s also a great exercise in color mixing.

I’m sharing our 50 summer art projects for kids over on Instagram, so feel free to follow me there @christinawilliamsblog; and if want to play along, use that hashtag #cwsummerart so we can create a virtual gallery walk for our kids! I hope you’ll join in the fun!

Christina Williams is a blogger and graphic designer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. She’s a night owl and a bookworm, as well as a mother to three children ranging in age from two to eight. She shares her latest DIY and design projects along with her adventures in parenting on her self-named blog, Christina Williams.