Christmas Art for Kids - Candy Cane Suncatchers

Toddler made candy cane suncatchers - Christmas art for kids

This week we have been sharing candy cane activities for kids including candy cane sensory play, candy cane cloud dough, and candy cane rice. Today I am sharing the candy cane suncatchers we made. We've had ocean animals from one of our Kiwi Crates on the window by our train table for a long time now. I decided it was time to replace them with something festive for the holidays. We aren't super crafty. We mainly stick with process based art. Suncatchers are the perfect compromise. The boys could paint and get arty, and then we could turn their artwork into suncatchers. Win! This is the first of my Christmas art projects for kids I plan to share this season.

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Supplies:

corn syrup
red liquid watercolor paint or food coloring
white liquid watercolor paint or tempura paint
wax paper
contact paper
paint brushes
scissors

How to Make Candy Cane Suncatchers

Directions: I made candy cane sticky paint, much like our fall sticky paints, using corn syrup and liquid watercolors. All you have to do to make the paint is mix a little coloring in with the corn syrup. Tempura paint can be used or even straight liquid watercolors. I made the sticky paints, so the boys could experiment with the texture.

I set out wax paper for the boys to paint on, and all four of them got right to creating.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the process. JZ (6) worked quickly and methodically and used both the white and red purposefully. The white looked cool on the wax paper, but you can't really see it in our finished product. You could easily make candy cane sun catchers with just red paint.

Peanut (28 months) painted the longest. He dipped both his brush and his hand into the paint, he mixed both colors, and he even kept all his painting on his own wax paper.

Tank (28 months) used his hands. The sticky texture of the paint captivated his attention. He kept showing me his hands.

J-Bug (4) made it clear from the beginning that he only wanted to use red paint. He added his drops with precision and walked with me when I carried his artwork to the counter to dry to be sure I didn't mess it up in transit. He could hardly wait to hang his candy cane suncatcher on the window!

This next step is important. Be sure the paint is dry before continuing. I left the boys' Christmas art out on the kitchen counter all afternoon. Once it was dry I covered the wax paper with contact paper. This step could be skipped if desired. I like all of the paint sealed in, so tiny hands don't try to peel off the paint when no one is looking. I would hate for one of the twins to ruin one of the big boys' candy canes. Also, the contact paper smooshes the paint a bit, giving it a cool, arty look.

Finally, I cut the art into candy cane shapes and taped them to the window. I love how each candy cane reflects the way my boys approached this Christmas art project.