Crafty Kids: Word Art

Ready. Set. Paint! Explore your kid’s creativity and create Word Art on canvas or paper. A perfect gift idea for grandparents and parents alike.

My Pinterest addiction is fairly serious. I find so many ideas for around the house. For example, outfit ideas; all of which leads to shopping. But, my favorite part of the addiction are the ideas for doing crafty activities with my kids.

I originally pinned this Word Art idea for kids painting their own name in early 2012 and saved the idea in the back of my mind until the perfect project opportunity popped up for me.

We were setting up a playroom for our kids (because I wanted to reclaim my living room) and I was looking around my favorite kids retailers PBKids, Land of Nod, etc.) and noticed a trend in graphic arts with simple words about play for kids. So I thought, why not combine those two things and let the kids create their own word art?

I dug out my old pinned idea and started to figure out how to make this come together. So, here are the steps I took to make my playroom wall art. You can let your kids go crazy with this project and they will tell everyone who visits the house that they created the artwork on the walls (and this time it won’t be crayon directly on the walls).

Steps to creating your own Word Art

1. Decide on the words you want to use. The example I pinned is a child’s name, but I chose,”Play, Read and Create”. I was hoping for some inspiration for the kiddos.
2. While the pin described taping off the word, I chose to print out the words on cardstock and tape the words to the canvas. This way, I could pick out a font that I liked.
3. Gather your supplies: A tarp or something to lay on the ground to save your floor and washable paint.
4. Optional items: Paint brushes, aprons, art canvas to paint on (you can just use paper and frame it as well).
5. Get it all ready and make sure that you and the kids are wearing clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.
6. Ready, set, PAINT! Have fun and let them paint all over just make sure the cardstock is securely attached to the canvas (Scotch tape is not recommended).
7. Once they are done take the cardstock off and voila! You have an original masterpiece.

These also make great gifts for grandparents. We recently created one for the room all the grandchildren sleep in at my parents’ house that says, “Sweet Dreams” and have a request from my mom for a yellow and orange design that will say, “You are my sunshine”. It’s a really enjoyable adventure for the kids and something they can be proud of. The best part is that you will treasure it for years to come.