Greetings Everyone! This is Jessica from scrumdilly-do! bringing you a swanky take on diy wall decor. I love to create and make things but sometimes find that I do not have the time I wish I had to create.
Here is a kiddo friendly project that can be take as little as thirty minutes to create but has big impact on your wall, especially when grouped together in a happy jumble. Instead of paper, why not paint on shallow baskets that can be found at your local thrift store?
Materials:
- shallow handleless baskets
- white acrylic paint
- acrylic paint in three other colors
- washi/masking tape (optional)
1. Gather ye baskets! If you are lucky enough to live in a town where thrift stores actually have thrift store prices you can probably find a handful of shallow baskets for a dollar or two. You may even find one for mere pennies, I find that there appears to be an endless supply of baskets floating out there in the world. In my classroom we use baskets to corral art supplies, play dough toys, jewels, and whatever else catches our fancy. My favorite type of basket are the flat wicker trays made to hold paper plates. Round in shape they are often found in a set of 4-8 for small change and make excellent canvases for this project.
2. Assemble supplies. Acrylic paint will work best for this project, a little will go a long way so small bottles are all you need. Paintbrushes can be found in all sorts of size, you will want to have one that is flat and at least an inch wide and maybe two or three others with varying widths. Make sure you have white paint to prime your basket with. In a pinch, Mom or Dad can spray paint the baskets with a matte floral paint to have a pile of baskets ready for your kiddos to art up. If using spray paint, use a matte paint not a glossy. The glossy paint tends to dry with a bit of sticky and the shine really isn’t very pretty.
3. Prime the bottom of the basket with white paint. A wider brush makes for quicker work and the paint will dry in 10 to 15 minutes. The wicker is quite porous and absorbs a lot of the paint. Painting your color directly onto the wicker will leave it a little faint and lackluster. The white will help your paint pop and adds a nice background.
4. See? It’s almost pretty enough as is. Let it dry before you add your color.
5. Don’t forget to rinse your brush for the next round!
6. If you want to color block your basket with clean lines, use washi or masking tape to tape of a few areas.
7. Limit your color palette to keep things from getting muddy. Also, having a palette that everyone uses will make for a cohesive cluster of art. They will each look different but will all go together.
8. Small canning jars and shallow bowls are nifty to use for holding your rinse water and paint. Work with one color at a time and see if your kiddos can determine a design idea. Sometimes sketching the idea onto a piece of paper helps. I have done this with 4 year-olds and it works!
9. After you finish with each color, rinse out your paint dish and rinse water so that everything is fresh and your new color will not get muddied. Keep adding your colors to your designs. Allow 5-10 minutes between each color so that the previous color may set. How many different ways can you paint a basket bottom?
10. If you used tape. Wait until the entire basket is dry before removing your tape.
Use small nails, thumbtacks, or wall putty (if the baskets are light) to hang on your wall. Such a happy cluster of fun! Have each member of the family paint one up to hang or get goofy and instead of a design paint self portraits! There are all sorts of possibilities, most importantly have fun!
Jessica blogs at scrumdilly-do! and scrumdillydilly. She works as a preschool teacher on California’s central coast and just may have a problem with collecting children’s books. You can find her both on Pinterest and Instagram.
