Snowflake Crayon Resist Watercolor
Last week I looked at the weather and saw there was snow in the forecast for the weekend, so I decided to get some non-washable crayons. Why? I was thinking it would be fun to make watercolor resist snow scenes this weekend, and we don’t keep the non-washable crayons needed for this project in our house. Years ago, a very wise friend of ours said that she only allows washable markers and crayons in her house. We thought this was a great idea, and we have done the same… it has probably saved us from a lot of impossible cleaning jobs over the years.
As our 3 year old is a budding mural artist and furniture decorator, I hid the crayons when I got them. When the snow was falling today, I thought it would be a perfect time to do this project… but I had forgotten where I hid the crayons. Fortunately, I eventually found the crayons, and we had a wonderful time drawing snowflakes and painting together.
With art projects, it’s great to have inspiration. Today, we were able to be inspired by looking at the falling snow. Another way we love to find inspiration is through looking at illustrations in children’s picture books.
We’ve been guided in letting books inspire us through Five in a Row (a lovely picture book-based curriculum for preschool and early elementary) and the Read Aloud Revival (they invite wonderful published authors to give really inspiring online classes to kids, and they also have amazing book lists). Whether you are a homeschooling family or not, I highly recommend Read Aloud Revival for their book ideas!
Here are a few of our favorite books with great snow illustrations:
Ella Bella Ballerina and the Nutcracker
Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas
Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day
Books by Lita Judge: Red Sled and Hoot and Peep: a song for snow
We hope during the next snow fall where you live, or the next time you are dreaming of snow, you can have fun making crayon resist watercolor snowflake scenes too! Let’s get started…
Gather your supplies:
Water color paper
Crayons (the non-washable kind)
Watercolors
Paint brushes (wide brushes are probably best for this project)
Cup of water (a cup that is not tippy is best)
Paper towels (to clean up spills and dry the paint brushes if needed)
Let’s create!
Draw snowflakes (and other pictures) with your crayons - be sure to press hard
When you are done with your crayon drawings, brush with watercolors and watch the snowflakes appear.
You can use the snow you see outside or a picture book to inspire your painting.
Sometimes little ones like to create a painting together with an adult or older sibling.
Happy Snow Day!
Note: The book links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links. Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
