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Spring Flower Painting with Marshmallows
Flower painting with marshmallows definitely needs to be in your art projects for kids collection! This flower art activity fits perfectly into your spring lesson plans, as well as a flower unit.
Of course, you don’t need a reason to set up the marshmallow flower painting. It can definitely be done any time of the year. And it is super low-prep, so you can get the children creating in a snap.
You can even jazz up the marshmallow flowers to create a more in-depth art experience for the kids. Or have the children use their creations as gifts for loved ones.
I think marshmallow stamping flowers is fun for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten kids. But don’t hesitate to try it with older children, too. Maybe you’ll even get in on the fun!
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Flower Painting with Marshmallows
This is a pretty straightforward art activity, but I’m still going to share supplies and tips below. Be sure to save this post for future reference.
Materials for Spring Marshmallow Painting
There’s not much to the basic list of supplies for the marshmallow art fun! Here’s all you really need to get started (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Mini marshmallows
- Washable paint
- Paper
Of course, if you want to change things up a bit, you can grab a few additional materials, too:
- Giant marshmallows
- Lollipop sticks
- Canvases
- Paintbrushes
But don’t let my suggestions limit you. If you think of more supplies to make the marshmallow flower art even more fun, go for it!
How to Paint Flowers with Marshmallows
Once your materials are all ready to go, it’s time to set the marshmallow art experience up for the children. Like the supply list, the steps for flower painting with marshmallows is pretty short:
- First, set out a few paint color choices. We did so on a paper plate, but you can use reusable plates or trays.
- Then put some marshmallows into a bowl near the paint, along with some paper or canvas.
- Finally, place some cleaning supplies nearby just in case.
Then it’s time for the children to make their marshmallow flowers! To do so, they grab a marshmallow, dip it into the paint and then stamp it onto paper. That creates the center of the flower. After that, the children stamp the flower “petals” around the original circle.
And that’s all there is to it! I recommend modeling how to use the marshmallows to stamp, as well as showing the kids how to get rid of excess paint as needed. This way, your students know what the options are ahead of time.
Keep in mind, the children don’t have to only make flowers! If they want to stamp their names or paint a self-portrait with marshmallows, that’s fantastic. Or they can even try marshmallow painting process art, where they’re focused on exploring different techniques.
If possible, encourage the children to use their pincer grasp as they focus on flower painting with marshmallows. Using the mini marshmallows will definitely help with this. Practicing the pincer grasp will serve them well as they go onto become writers. And it gives their finger muscles a good workout.
How to Tweak the Flower Painting with Marshmallows Activity
As I mentioned earlier, you can change things up. If you and your students are excited to marshmallow stamp flowers, but want to do something a little different, that’s great! Here are a few possibilities to consider:
- Swap the mini marshmallows for their giant counterparts. That will yield much bigger flowers! Give the kids the option to incorporate both into their art.
- Glue the marshmallows in flower shapes on paper or canvas. Once they’re dry, let the children paint the marshmallows. This will give their art a more three-dimensional look.
- Once the flowers are done, have the kids go back and use paintbrushes to create stems and leaves. They can even do this with more marshmallow stamping!
- If the children are concerned about getting their fingers into the paint, place flat toothpicks or small candy sticks into the marshmallows for easier stamping.
- Forgo the marshmallows and let the kids use their fingertips for flower painting, like we did in our Mother’s Day flower pot craft.
These are only suggestions! Feel free to come up with even more alternatives with your students. Be sure to share any new ideas in the comments below. I love hearing how other teachers are using the ideas I share on Fun-A-Day.
More Marshmallow Crafts for Kids
If your students enjoyed flower painting with marshmallows, here are a few more ideas to try:
- Marshmallow Name Craft
- Marshmallow Dough
- Arctic Animal STEM Activity
- Rainbow Marshmallow Science
- Marshmallow Pops
- Marshmallow Sensory Bin
Don’t forget to save these ideas for later!
DIY Nature Art Prints
Nature art is an easy way to get outside and explore the natural world around you and your creative side all at once! Experiment with making nature art prints using common plants from your yard, basic paper and tempera paint.
Use this straightforward “Paint & Press” process to get great results, fast! The instant gratification & the element of surprise makes this nature activity extra fun for everyone.
Materials Needed:
- Freshly gathered collection of plants
- Color Splash Tempera Paint
- Paint Palette or Paper plates
- Soft Bristle Paint Brush
- Art Paper– a thin smooth surface paper works best
- Scrap Cardboard or Kraft Board
- Scrap paper or newspaper
- Cups of water/paper towels
Take a walk outside to gather a collection of different types of leaves, ferns and other plants to experiment making a variety of nature prints with following the 4 easy steps below! I have found that small ferns and other delicate plants need to be used right away before they start to wilt. Larger ferns and leaves held up the best. So gather your nature specimens right before your ready to start this activity.
Step 1: Use a soft brush to paint directly on the plant. I limited my color palette to just blue, green and yellow to keep the prints looking fresh.
(NOTE: Sometimes when you give kids the entire rainbow of colors to use, their finished artwork can get brown and muddy looking.)
Step 2: Use a soft brush & water based paint (I used Color Splash Tempera) to paint directly on the plants you gathered outside. I used a piece of natural cardboard as a working surface to do the actual painting on. This sometimes turn into a work of art itself!
Step 3: Next, carefully place your plant with the painted side down on top of a clean piece of smooth art paper. Place a scrap piece of paper or old newspaper over the back of the painted plant and use your hand to firmly press the painted plant onto the paper creating a nature print.
Step 4: Remove the protective paper backing and carefully lift the plant off the paper to reveal your first nature print. You can make a second impression using the same plant to press the remainder of the paint off onto your paper creating what printmakers would call a “ghost print” or the second lighter print. You can see the different layers I built up to create an interesting effect below making two impressions from each coat of paint.
I found that the larger ferns held up much better than the smaller more delicate ones. I also noticed the back side of the ferns absorbed a lot more paint than the front side of the ferns that seem to have a water resistant surface. The back of the ferns were great for allowing 2 and sometimes 3 impressions each, depending on the amount of paint applied and how quickly I pressed them onto the paper.
Tempera paint dries really fast, so this becomes a fast paced creative process that’s full of surprises! My niece Audrey loved this project. No need to wait for the paint to dry in between impressions – just keep adding to your nature art print until you feel it’s done!
Audrey had a great time exploring with a variety of plants. Her favorite leaves to use were from Phlox and Beech Tree. You can create a whole bunch of prints in a short time and then go back later once the paint is dry, and use colored pencils to add detail to the prints that look incomplete. The painted surface proves a nice toothy texture that really grabs the colored pencil making it a very satisfying to draw on. I’ve found even the budget colored pencils work well on this surface.
Once Audrey and I were done making the prints, we let them dry and then decided to cut the “ugly” ones out and add detail using colored pencil to create a more finished look. By cutting the leaves out, we gained the flexibility to experiment with different placement options to find the perfect composition. I think the contrast of the black background really make the decorative leaves pop!
What kind of plants can you find in your local area to create nature prints from? Have fun experimenting, the possibilities are endless!
About the Author:
Kate Algiere aka “Crafty Kate” is now our Product/Content Marketing Specialist here at S&S Worldwide. Kate has been with S&S for 13 years and started as an Inside Sales Representative. Since late 2012, she’s been a valuable member of our merchandising department.
In addition to being a wiggly eye enthusiast & Reiki Master Teacher, Kate is a VERY talented artist with great organizational skills. Did you know that Kate is the artist behind many popular velvet art posters and other S&S-exclusive crafts? She’s also very involved in testing new crafts to see if they meet our standards for fun and quality.
With Kate’s vast knowledge of our products and customers, we think she’s the perfect person to take over some blogging and social activities and we hope you all agree!!
