crafts
Kids Craft: How To Make Mixed Media Photo Frames
Valentine's Day lends itself to festive food, fun decorations, and special gifts to share with your loved ones. One of my favorite crafts to make with my grandchild are these mixed media photo frames. We get to share quality time with each other and he gets to make a gift for his Mom from the heart.
Mixed Media for kids? Does it sound a little too artsy? Trust me, it’s not. When it comes to little boys, I don’t do "artsy." After raising three stepsons full-time and now relishing "craft time" with my four year-old grandson, I want crafts that are simple, fast, and fun.
Plaid Crafts sent me a fabulous gift pack of paints, pouncers, Mod Podge, and glitter paint. I snagged some wood photo frames from Michael’s (the dollar tree has them too) and couldn’t wait for my next craft date with my Grandson.
How To Make Mixed Media Photo Frames
Ingredients:
Here’s our supply list for our not-so-artsy Mixed Media Photo Frames:
- Foam plates (for paint palette)
- Foam brushes
- Wood frames
- Acrylic paint – two shades of pink, two shades of turquoise
- Glitter paint
- Mod Podge
- Tissue paper
- Newspaper or any other table and chair protectors
Even though my grandson wanted to mix the turquoises and pinks, I kept them on separate plates with separate brushes. I learned with his daddy about 20 years ago.
Here’s the awesome thing about Plaid paints — they not only dry quickly since they’re nontoxic acrylic, they also have great coverage. This means you don't need two or three coats. It also means you can stand half a chance of keeping a four year-old’s attention for longer than five minutes.
Since the paint dries so quickly, he was able to add glitter paint. Have you tried glitter paint yet? I am in complete and utter love with glitter paint. The great part is that it spreads like paint. Plaid has different types of glitter paint too.
We started with Extreme Glitter which had a turquoise base. Personally, I liked the effect. But I was overruled by the Craft King who wanted to try Chunky Glitter. I knew we had a winner when he proclaimed that the turquoise frame with Chunky Glitter was going to his mommy. He liked it so much he wasn’t really sold on covering it up with glue and tissue paper.
The only way I convinced him was to pull out Sparkle Mod Podge. After he tore the tissue paper into pieces, we brushed on the Sparkle Mod Podge and pressed down the pieces.
I usually let my first coat of Mod Podge dry before applying a topcoat but this frame had a few edges popping up here and there. While my grandson got busy with the turquoise frame, I just dabbed a little more mod podge on any unruly edges.
Tissue paper is the perfect medium for younger children because it’s so thin. You don't need scissors and any wrinkles are easily sealed with Mod Podge.
Once the topcoat and sealer coats were dry, it was time for even more glitter paint!
We also added pouncers. Pouncer are a great way to add another layer of dimension.
There you have it — a fun and easy ‘mixed media’ photo frames. A perfect gift for someone special on Valentine’s Day, or to brighten any other day.
Products used in this project were supplied by Plaid Crafts. All opinions are my own.
What painting projects do you enjoy doing with your kids?
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