Vibrant Paint Chip Mosaic For Kids

Here's a fun way to add a splash of color to your home while creating a fun paint chip mosaic with your child! The potential for making mosaics with paint chips is endless. The colors are vibrant, rich and the weight of the paper is nice and thick and they are a great resource for teaching colors.

Get yourself a bunch of paint chips (also called paint samples or paint swatches). These can be found anywhere paint is sold such as hardware stores like Menards, Lowe's, Home Depot or even Walmart. Pick several different colors (rainbow) or stick with different shades of one color. Yes, the paint chips are free, but don't go overboard. You might even ask the manager if they have packages of old samples!

Now find a background to make the mosaic on. This can be any heavyweight type of paper: cardboard, ceral box, poster board, tag board or file folders. Prepare the paint chips by cutting off the names and numbers of the color so that only the solid color remains. They don't have to be perfect squares and the size can vary. As a matter of fact, make some triangles and rectangles too! If your children are old enough to use scissors- let them do this step.

Now get out the glue stick and let the kids put the paint chips in random fashion all over their background. It really doesn't matter if they leave a space between the pieces. Let them overlap, stack or butt pieces right up to each other. Just let them stick them on and see what they come up with! They're creativity will increase the character and charm of their artwork. Besides, consider a famous quote from Goethe: "Personality is everything in art and poetry."

For more information about the Ankeny Art Center, our exhibitions, class schedules, events or volunteer opportunities, please visit us at www.AnkenyArtCenter.com, stop by and visit our gallery at 1520 SW Ordnance Road, Ankeny. Our gallery hours are: Tu-Fr: 9a-1p, Th: 4p-7p, Sa: 9a-noon and you can reach us by phone at 515-965-0940 or email at: ankenyarts@ankenyartcenter.com. Like us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AnkenyArtCenter