Flower art projects tie in well with flower theme activities, spring fun and learning, and Mother’s Day too!
Painting With Flowers
If you’re looking for a fun spring or summer process art activity, or nature play idea for playgroup or kindy, then painting with flowers ticks all the boxes. It’s a great way for children to investigate and learn about flowers while also immersing themselves in a sensory learning experience.
PAINTING WITH FLOWERS
Flower painting, also known as flower printing, is a fun sensory painting activity that doesn’t need a paintbrush , because the flowers are the paintbrush. If you have flowers that are about to wilt, painting with them is a great way to preserve their beauty before the individual flower deteriorates. Instead of letting the flower wilt away, create a beautiful painting that can be displayed.
Flowers can also be gathered on a nature walk at the local park, school, your backyard or in the local neighbourhood. Flower painting is a great way to combine a nature activity, sensory play and process art. It can also be done by children of all ages, but will be particularly beneficial to toddlers and preschoolers because of the sensory and fine motor benefits which will help prepare them for writing later on at school.
Supplies for flower painting
- Flowers
- Washable paint
- Paper plate
- Paper
- Tray
We decided to do flower painting because we had some white roses and baby’s breath flowers that were starting to wilt and wanted to use them for an activity instead of throwing them away.
We went on a quick nature walk around our neighbourhood to find some other types and colours of flowers so we could compare the different shapes and textures they would make with the paint. We ended up with a collection of daisies, princess flowers and a frangipani to go with our rose and baby’s breath.
The girls did our flower painting inside on a large plastic tray with washable paint to try and limit the mess. As you can see from the photos there was still some mess, but it was easy to clean up with a wet wipe. If you’re worried about making a mess inside you can always paint with flowers outside.
HOW TO PAINT WITH FLOWERS
Always make sure children paint with flowers under adult supervision, especially children who are still mouthing. Also make sure you use flowers you’re familiar with as some flowers may be poisonous to humans or toxic to animals.
1. Collect flowers. Use store bought flowers, or collect local flowers from nature.
2. Put paint onto paper plate. Pour paint colours you’re going to use onto the paper plate, or into a paint palette. Make sure the colours are spread out far enough to leave room for each flowers petals.
3. Dip flowers into paint and press them onto the paper. This is where the fun begins! There are no rules for painting with flowers, just let the kids explore and create.
She started out by printing each flower in a different colour to see what different images they created. The frangipani print didn’t look much like a proper frangipani because it was probably a little too wilted and the petals were too limp to stay in shape. The rose created a lovely layered print as long as the right amount of paint was used.
Her favourite were the daisies as they looked the most like flowers. We used 2 different ones, one was more open than the other, and it was obvious in the imprints they made.
Tips for painting with flowers:
- Try to cover all the petals with paint as it will create a better print.
- Pushing the petals onto the paper can help create a more realistic image.
- Use a different colour for each type of flower.
- Experiment with different amounts of paint.
- Dip the flowers in more than one colour.
While I cleared away our initial paintings she kept doing more painting and when I came back I was so excited to see she was experimenting with all the flowers in all the different colours. She was also colour mixing by dipping some into more than one paint colour.
4. Hang the paintings to dry. Once they’re dry display them in an art wall or they can be repurposed into gifts for friends and family .
Flower Painting Projects
This Pom Pom Painted Flower art project is perfect for little hands, and a fun springtime project for your little ones.
Let your kids get a little hands-on with this Fingerprinted Snapdragon Flower art project.
Your kids will love dipping celery into paint with these creative celery stamped flowers.
These Easy Watercolor Flowers are a great watercolor craft for beginners.
Use pipe cleaners to make your own flower stamps using this Pipe Cleaner Flower Stamping tutorial.
These adorable Bubble Paint Flowers are a fun hands-on way to paint!
This Painting with Flowers Activity is a great way for preschoolers to practice process art.
Let your kids explore art and science using these Coffee Filter Art Flowers.
Use your extra art supplies and odds and ends from your kitchen junk drawer for this spring flower collage art project.
This Hyacinth Flower Craft is perfect for preschoolers and toddlers.
These water bottle flowers are a great way to teach size and color to your little ones while doing a fun painting activity.
Using just a fork and some paint, your kids can have a blast with this Tulip Painting activity.
Sponge Flower Painting is a simple and easy way for your kids to make beautiful floral creations using household materials.
Use kitchen utensils to make unique stamps and add a dark background to really make the colors pop in this flower art project.
Flower Collage Projects
Try some new fun painting techniques with this Flowery Tree Spring Craft.
Practice math concepts and get a little creative using this Spring Flower Art Invitation.
Your kids will love the texture of this Feather Flower Craft.
Use flower petals to make this beautiful Flower Petal Card.
These Nature Art Flower Collages are a simple process art activity is one that your kids will want to do over and over again!
Use up your toilet paper rolls to create these cool Paper Roll Flower Art projects with your kids.
After using flowers for your learning activities, use them to make this Sticky Flower Garden Sensory Art with your kids.
Use your leftover yarn to add texture and dimension in these Mixed Media Art Flowers.
This Flower Petal Art project is an easy craft idea that uses real flower petals!
Your kids will have a blast making their very own cupcake liner flowers!
Use fresh flower petals to make these adorable Spring Flower Butterflies.
Use hammered flowers and leaves to make this pretty Hammered Nature Art.
Flower 3D Sculpture Projects
Turn an empty egg carton into a beautiful bouquet with this egg carton flower craft.
Combine creative play and fine motor skills to make these Air Dry Clay Flowers.
This Paper Plate Flower Craft will help your child get practice with scissors and put together a fun floral craft.
Invite your kids to create their own little gardens using this Flower Play Dough Invitation.
Your kids will have so much fun putting together this Paper Plate Spring Wreath.
Let your kids add a splash of color to this beautiful Painted Spring Flower Craft.
Use your leftover egg cartons to make this cool Egg Carton Flower Kids Craft.
Use craft sticks to make this easy Craft Stick Spring Flower Craft.
Let your kids make their very own flower garden using this Flower Garden Play Dough activity.
Extend the Learning
Check out these Flower Books for Kids and talk about how unique different flowers are while you learn. Reading about flowers can help your kids visualize details they’ll want to include in their own flower art projects!
PRINTABLE FLOWER THEME LESSON PLANS
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
This set currently includes active hands-on learning ideas and the following printables:
1) Initial Sound Flower Building Activity
2) Flower Number Cards
3) Flower Petal Counting Emergent Reader
4) Flower Alphabet Matching Set
5) Uppercase and Lowercase Flowers for Hands-on Games and Activities
6) Flower Life Cycle Cards
7) Flower Roll and Graph Game
8) Flower Patterning and Sorting Cards
9) Name Letter Sorting Activity Mat
10) Shape Pieces for Flower Building with Shapes
