THANKFUL Folk Art Project: oil pastel & watercolor resist

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and this easy project is a great reminder to think of everything you have to be thankful for this season.  It's kid friendly-- older kids can do the lettering too, and younger kids can help with the watercolor washes.

Materials:  9 little squares of paint-friendly paper (I used 3 X 3 squares of textured card stock in various autumn colors, you could also use plain white water color paper, cut), oil pastels (or crayons), watercolors, a 12 X 12 square of card stock or scrapbook paper (12 X 12 was fine for the size squares I used, you can adjust as needed depending on how large/small your little squares are), and complementary card stock for the background, glue stick.

1.  Draw your letters with oil pastel or crayon.  Since the wax or oil in the medium will be used to "resist" the water color, make sure to apply it thickly.  You can leave gaps in the lines to let water color settle within the letter, or color it in completely.  I chose a limited pallet of colors since I was also using colored paper, to keep things cohesive.  I also drew a cornucopia for the center square.  Not too detailed, it's just folk art folks!

2.  Apply a water color wash over your letters.  This is done by lightly brushing slightly pigmented water color over the wax.  Again, I chose only a couple colors per square, enough to allow them to mix, but if you apply too much it can become muddy.  You can lift off excess water with a crumpled tissue for some extra textural effects.

3.  Allow your squares to dry completely.  Then glue them to your square of scrapbook paper.  I used some more card stock to give a wider border--just glue strips or pages to the back, straight edges out.

You could frame, but I usually don't bother for seasonal art work.  I just hung it on our pantry door with double sided tape.  All done!