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Craft outdoors with kids paint brush sets
If your child has a set of paint brushes that are being neglected and you’re looking for more outdoor craft ideas, you might be wondering how to use kids paint brush sets for crafting outdoors. With the weather warming up, why not take things outside for a fun craft activity?
Outdoor spaces are ideal for messy crafts, because it’s easy to hose down the mess with no worries about staining rugs or soft furnishings. We’ve got some excellent outdoor craft ideas for those paint brush sets and your kids.
Shop this article: River rocks for crafting, Acrylic paints and Terracotta flower pots
Rock painting
Kids can use paint brushes to paint rocks, turning them into fun characters or painting patterns of their choosing. Start by finding the perfect rocks. They should be smooth and roughly 2 to 3 inches across, so they’re large enough to have a decent surface area but not so large that they’re unwieldy.
Smooth rocks are more commonly found near a body of water, where movement in the water will have worn them down over years. If you can’t find any suitable rocks, you can also buy river rocks for crafting.
Once you have the rocks, all your kids need to do is paint them and just make sure to let each layer of paint dry before adding the next.
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Stick windchimes
To make stick windchimes, get your kids to collect between five and seven slim sticks, roughly 8 to 12 inches long. The kids paint each stick in colors of their choice with acrylic paints and leave them to dry. Once the sticks are dry, pick a single stick that will hang horizontally and then tie the remaining sticks vertically to it, using string or garden twine. Next, take one piece of twine and tie the ends to either end of the horizontal stick, creating a loop to hang the final product.
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Painted flower pots
Kids can use regular tempera or acrylic paint to create terracotta flower pots. Since terracotta clay is left raw, the paint adheres well to it.
What’s great about painting flower pots is that, after decorating them, you and your kids can use them to plant flowers or vegetables.
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Homemade paints
For this outdoor craft activity, help your kids to use natural items to make paints. First off, find color-rich natural materials either out in your yard or in the kitchen. These might include bright green leaves, strikingly red strawberries, vibrant spices like paprika or turmeric, or even brown soil.
Now, turn these everyday finds into paint! For dry materials, like soil or spices, just add a little water and mix. Some fruits you can simply crush, while leaves and similar will need to be pureed in a blender. Once your children have made these natural paints with your help, they can take them outside and use them to paint on paper.
Painted playhouse
Younger children will love making a painted playhouse in the yard. First, construct the playhouse using boxes. Depending on your kids’ ages, you may need to do the bulk of the building work. Once the structure has been made, children can paint the exterior using paint brushes and tempera paint.
Popsicle stick sculptures
Making popsicle stick sculptures can get a bit messy, but by taking it outdoors, you can save your rugs. Use kids’ paint brushes to apply a non-toxic glue to popsicle sticks to adhere them together. The only limit is the crafter’s imagination.
The great thing about popsicle stick sculptures is that they can be as simple or as detailed as you like, so they’re great for children of a range of ages. Unless you have an extreme popsicle habit, you may need to buy popsicle sticks in bulk.
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Stick creatures
Start by going in search of interesting sticks with forks, knots and other notable features. Once you have these sticks, paint them to turn them into made up creatures. This is a great way for kids to use their wild imaginations to come up with weird and wonderful creatures.
Mural painting
You probably don’t want your kids to paint a mural on the side of your house, but there’s a way to have a go at mural painting without it being permanent. Find the largest sheets of paper you have available and stick several pieces together to make one extra-large sheet. Now stick the sheet to your wall and let your kids paint a mural on it. Be sure to use washable paint though! This way you can hose it off if paint drips or splatters outside the mural zone.
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What you need to buy for outdoor crafts
If your kids go through paint brushes like there’s no tomorrow, this set of 30 wide, flat paint brushes should do the trick for painting and gluing.
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This safe, nontoxic washable glue is the perfect choice for outdoor crafts with kids.
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Handy Art Little Masters Tempera Paints Set
Easy to clean and nontoxic, tempera paint is ideal for kids’ crafts. This set includes red, yellow, blue, green, black and white.
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Lauren Corona is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
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