Quick and Easy Crafts: Beginning Plaster Painting for Kids

My mother is a wonderful artist. She introduced my sister and myself to numerous artistic outlets as young children. The photo above is one of my favorites from my childhood, and is a great way to get your child interested in arts and crafts.

The story behind the hippo photo started when I was seven years old. Mom took us to the art warehouse and we picked great projects. She taught me the colors, how to use the different brushes and much more.

If you would like to make this adorable hippo, you will need the following supplies:
1 plaster project
Folk Art paints
1 paintbrush
Glass jar for rinsing
Paper towels for dabbing and clean up
Newspapers
Creativity
Patience

This project is not only a learning tool for young artists, but also a treasure. I still have mine, as you can see above, and I have had my fair share of funny looks over the years. I love having this hanging up and love it even more when I get a funny look of disapproval for it not being the perfect piece of art. I look at it fondly and simply say that it is not bad for a seven-year-old thirty years ago.

To begin, have your budding artist select their colors. I was given the chance to choose my own colors and design. For some reason I thought it was perfectly normal to have a chocolate brown hippo with bright blue spots, blue nostrils and a big red smile. Take a close look: I even put brown dirt under the green grass! Mom taught me to paint the borders to accent the center art. I listened and decided to use the brightest colors we had. To this day, thirty years later, they have not faded and I don't think they will.

There is no need to varnish this craft as it is for indoor use only. With something this simple, take the time to teach your little one all about proper paintbrush care and even how to wash and to dab-dab-dab the brush dry. An old canning jar makes a great rinsing cup.

This is such a fun way to let your child learn and grow as an artist, or like me, a crafter.

Mom taught me that no matter how discouraged I became with my projects, that I needed to finish it. There were plenty of projects that discouraged me, but I always thought back to my unique hippo, smiled, and found new inspiration for my current project.

Take your kids to a local plaster shop or a ceramics shop. Some places even do birthday parties. Their little projects may become lifelong treasures, like my unique hippo. One thing to remember about plaster; it is extremely breakable. I have been lucky all these years to have it hang in the same place, in my parent's garage, and it has survived every earthquake so far. (Knock on wood!)

Sources: Personal Experience