The Imagination Tree

Creative play and learning for kids

Painted Blotto Creations

by

Today’s feature article is from the fantastically creative Melissa at
Enjoy!

I’m happy to be guest posting here on one of my favorite blogs!  It was difficult to decide on what to share, but Anna told me pretty much anything would do so…I decided to share some of our Blotto Creations.  The whole last month of February we focused on Blotto Heart Creations and now we decided to take this process in another direction: using our imagination to create pictures with out painted blottos. It seems fitting to use our imagination on The Imagination Tree! Here are just a sampling of our creations.
To create Painted Blotto Creations, all you need is:

  • Paint/Brushes (We used Paint Dabbers)
  • Folded Paper

For later:
  • markers/crayons
  • scissors
  • glue

To begin, lay out some newspaper and paint.  I pre-folded a bunch of papers so they would be ready to go.  The process goes quickly and you want to have paper at hand so you can do multiple paintings. No one can just do one! (I know I can’t!)


Then use a paint brush or dabber and place the paint on one side of the fold or directly on the fold like this.  There is really no need to be precise in this part! Make sure the paint stays wet.  You can paint in a few sections to create 3 small creations Like pictured here) or paint right down the center for one large creation.


Next simply fold your paper and press down and smooth the palm of your hand over the paper to transfer the image to both sides of the paper! This is always a great lesson in symmetry.


Now open up your paper and here you see the 3 separate creations. You can also see this would be a fabulous way to teach color mixing, since the yellow and blue created some green and the red and yellow made orange.  We thought these creations kind of looked like insects or flowers.  What do you think?


On some creations my daughter already began adding eyes and legs with the paint dabbers.


We made tons of creations and let them dry for a few hours.

With some of our creations we kept “as is”, but with others we cut them out and glued them on our paper and added detail with a black marker.  Here you can see my daughter adding detail to her “blotto insects.”


Here is a close-up of some of her Insect blotto creations.  Some happy and some sad! She loved this part of using her imagination!


The possibilities are endless of what can be created with paint blottos! Hope you find the time to try this activity out!  


This is my creation of flower blottos!

Melissa Jordan blogs over at The Chocolate Muffin Tree http://www.thechocolatemuffintree.com/  She is the mother of a wonderful 5 year old daughter and is a former Elementary Art Teacher,  She loves sharing her artsy ideas with others and inspiring her readers to make things!

If you haven’t checked out Melissa’s blog before, you will fall in love with it instantly! Check it out!

Comments

  2. Melissa Taylor says

    I love this — it’s simple yet so fun and you never get the same thing twice! (Also does it tell you about our personality if we see crazy images a la Rosarch Test – or whatever the name was.)

  4. Allie says

    These were my absolute favorite as a child . My mom’s fridge was packed with them constantly. I love how you turned them into bugs, I would have been all over that too.

  7. rachelle | tinkerlab says

    I love this blotto extension, Melissa. We always stop at the smoosh and reveal step, but I know my oldest would get so much more out of drawing on top of the dry creations. What a great imagination-builder!

  10. Krissy Sherman Bonning says

    I love the ones with the added details. I know ours wouldn’t make it through without the addition of some googly eyes! Thanks for the inspiration. My little ones are going to love this. 🙂

  12. Mullin Avenue Workshop says

    Melissa,
    These creations are wonderful!
    I will definitely be making this extension of blotto painting apart of our art experience soon – I also like the idea of cutting out the creations, and love the vivid, almost neon colours you’ve used. They pop out so interestingly.
    I’m absolutely sure that my children will enjoy this!
    Thanks for the wonderful idea!
    Brenda