Kid and Family Crafts: Flower Painting

Flower painting does not have to be limited to the use of a basic brush and canvas or paper. Creative interpretations use everything from fingers to sponges and textured papers to wall murals. Whether abstract or realistic, basic or detailed, the varieties in flowers lend themselves to many different ways of expressing their beauty. Use your imagination with one of these flower-painting activities.

Fresh Flower Stamping

Use the flowers themselves to stamp a flower picture. Pick open blossoms such as daisies or pansies for quick painted and stamped images. For compact or closed flowers, either use the top of the flower or take the flowers apart and use the parts of the flowers as separate stampers.

Use craft acrylics with small paintbrushes or foam craft paintbrushes. Paint the surface of the flower or flower parts. Press the painted image on paper.

Instead of painting the flowers, pour the acrylic paints in shallow pans or on dishes and dip the flowers in the paint. Wipe of excess paint before you press the flowers on the paper to make the print.

Make cards, wall hangings or pictures for the wall with the images transferred from the flowers.

Try fabric paints to make an impression on a T-shirt, tablecloth, and cloth napkins or to create handmade gift bags.

Flower Murals

Use acrylic craft paints to create a field of flowers as a wall mural either painted on a large sheet of paper to hang or painted directly on the wall, from the floor or baseboard up. Make the flowers oversized and tall between knee and waist high. Paint them in bold primary colors for a little girl's room. Add large ladybugs, snails, spiders and butterflies to give the oversized garden life.

To create different textures on the flowers, use regular brushes, foam craft brushes, sponges, wadded up rags or paper towels dipped in paint to create the flowers.

Help guide your painting by lightly drawing the planned design on the wall in pencil before you start painting. Paint over the lines as you fill in the flowers.

Sponge, Finger and Paper Flowers

Cut small sponges into petal, stem and leaf shapes. Try open grained sea sponges, kitchen sponges and compact rubber stamp sponges for different textures. Dip them in the paint and press the sponge pieces onto the paper. Use a small brush to outline each part of the flower with a fine line to give the flowers definition.

Use your fingers to paint flowers. Use finger paints. Put the paint on a plate. Dip your fingers in and paint on the card, paper or canvas. Use your finger nails to create detail.

Paint small flowers on textured paper using small art paintbrushes. Paint the background color on a card, piece of paper, poster board or canvas. Add cut or torn pieces of textured papers like rice paper, handmade paper or use a crafting paper corrugator and make the background wavy. Cut out the textured flowers and glue them on the painted background to give the flower scene more depth.

Enjoy the blossoms nature provides and get creative when you use any of these flower painting craft ideas suitable for kids or adults.