20+ Art Ideas Using Just the Basics

Arts and crafts projects you can do with just the basics:

If you gather together a basic art kit you can do do a huge variety of fun projects and it won’t take so long to set up.  Gather your basic arts and crafts supplies into one spot with a drop cloth and possibly an old shirt for a smock and start exploring some of these art projects.

Painting and Drawing:

• Read a story- ask your child to draw a character or scene from the book
• Draw three squares on a paper, help your child draw a comic.
• Play pass the drawing– great doodling fun for many ages
• Draw with crayons, then paint over the crayon drawing with water colors.
• Paint with water color then draw over the dried painting with markers.
• Gently heat crayons over a candle flame and let your child make dots and blops.
• Place flat objects on the table and do rubbings– try leafs, coins, fabric or string
• Write a secret message with white crayon, let your child paint or color with marker over it to discover the message.
• Paint water over a page and then draw with washable markers, alternatively, draw with washable markers and then paint over with water.

Glue, Tape and Decorate:

• Make a 3-D paper sculpture by taping or gluing pieces of folded or looped paper to a page.
• Dive into the recycle bin and create a junk sculpture. (A robot, a town or a spaceship are popular here.)
• Make a card for anyone for any occasion. Draw, glue on decorations, write down what your child would like to say.
• Decorate a shoe box  or jewelry box to make a treasure keeper.
• Find some #6 Plastic in your recyclables and try making recycled shrinky dinks
• Try making a collage picture with ripped up pieces of construction paper.  Draw a shape and fill it with bits of paper.
• Draw with glue on paper and allow to try, paint or color over the bumpy picture.

Cut and Fold

• Make crowns to decorate by taping a strip of paper into a circle.
• Fold a piece of paper a few times and experiment with cutting out shapes.  Cut out snowflakes.
• Make Paper Dolls or a paper doll chain to decorate.
• Fold a paper airplane and give your child the coloring supplies to decorate it.
• Trace your child’s hand and your hand, cut each out and compare.
• Make a paper chain for decoration or to count down to a special day.
• Make a book and let your child dictate a story to you.  Stories of events in your kids life or re-tellings of storybooks work well.