# Painting on Burlap Cloth > Kids draw big, simple shapes on burlap with a permanent marker, then fill them in with thick strokes of watered-down acrylic paint. The rough cloth makes a new kind of canvas and turns into colorful wall art. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-for-kids-painting-on-burlap-cloth/ - Ages: 3–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 15 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class - Skills: fine-motor, colors, creativity, sensory-exploration ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Burlap cloth - Acrylic paint, watered down - Small paint storage bottles or cups (optional) - Paint brush set - Permanent markers - 1 roll Rags or paper towels (household) - 2 piece Bowls of clean water (household) - Newspaper (household) - 1 piece Spill tray ## Substitutions - Instead of burlap: Reused burlap sacks (coffee, produce or gift sacks) (TurkeyMom says honestly you can reuse burlap you have lying around the house.) - Instead of paper towels: A bag of painter's rags from the hardware store (Reusable and more environmentally friendly.) ## Safety - Acrylic paint and permanent markers are not taste-safe. Supervise young children so nothing goes in mouths. - Acrylic paint is hard to remove once dry. Cover clothes with a smock or old shirt and line the table with newspaper. - Supervise permanent marker use and keep the room ventilated. - Burlap is rough and its cut edges shed loose fibers. Wash hands after painting. ## Before you start - Cut the burlap into canvas-size pieces, one per child. - Water down the acrylic paints a little in small paint storage bottles. - Line the art space with newspaper. ## Steps 1. Set a spill tray at each spot and lay a piece of burlap on it. 2. Set out the watered-down paints, brushes, water bowls and paper towels. 3. Feel the rough burlap and talk about where you've seen it before, like gift sacks or bags of rice and potatoes. 4. Draw a big, simple picture on the burlap with a permanent marker. 5. Fill in the shapes with thick strokes of watered-down paint. 6. Try a sponge brush or print-making tool to stamp round shapes like grapes. 7. Keep it simple: add more big shapes, like a whole platter of fruit. 8. Or just explore colors by painting big blocks of bright color. 9. Let the burlap paintings dry flat before hanging them up. ## Tips - Use thick strokes. The paint has to go on the burlap cloth really thick. - Better to keep the design simple. Not a project for details! Skip anything too busy or intricate and go big and bold. - I would strongly recommend at least mildly diluting the acrylic colors as opposed to using them straight up from the bottle. - Watering the paint in small paint storage bottles means no wastage. - I definitely preferred the lighter colored burlap cloth over the darker one, but depending on the colors used, both can make wonderful wall art. - All I had to do was remind them to keep it simple. - We buy paper products from the dollar store for art activities. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2016) We have tried plenty of **art activities for kids** on this blog and you can see the entire collection here. The kids especially enjoyed experimenting with bold colors when they were younger and we have done our fair share of kids art with acrylic paints and water colors like this **color mixing grid** or this [**fold and dye tissue paper art**](https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-for-kids-fold-and-dye-tissue-art/). Painting on Burlap Cloth **Set up time :** About 5 minutes **Clean up time :** About 5 minutes { if you line your art space with newspaper} **Primary Materials** - **[Burlap Cloth](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005598YUY/?tag=blmemo-20)** - Watered down **[acrylic paint](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATJSD8I/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Paint Brush Set](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U68YJI/?tag=blmemo-20)** - Permanent Markers **Secondary Materials** - Rags or paper towels - At least 2 bowls of clean water - Newspaper to line the art space - A spill tray { available at many stores} The supplies mentioned above are items we always use for any art project involving paint. To minimize clean up and the number of times we run to the kitchen or bathroom we have the following items handy. A roll of paper towel or painter's rags. We buy paper products from the dollar store to use in art activities. If you want to reuse and be environmentally friendly I would recommend buying a bag of rags from hardware stores. I purchased the burlap cloth from the craft store. But honestly you can reuse burlap you have lying around the house { from coffee grounds, produce sacks, gifts etc} For any art activity we usually set out the supplies and invite the kids to give the activity a try. This art activity was quite straightforward forward and the children were excited to use a new type of canvas. They were eager to try painting on burlap cloth. They explored the rough texture of the cloth itself and were both curious to find out if this burlap cloth can be used in painting projects. The kids are very familiar with this material as they have received many gifts in cute little burlap sacks. I even mentioned that this is the material bulk rice and potatoes are sold. For this burlap painting activity we simply used acrylic paints from the craft store. I watered them a bit in small paint storage bottles which come in very handy with art activities. No wastage! Both the kids had a picture in mind that they wanted to try out on the burlap cloth. Here my older child used a permanent marker to draw a few flowers and started to color them in with watered down acrylic paints. With this art activity that you don't want to use any pattern that is too detailed, busy or intricate. You want to use big and bold designs since the paint has to go on the burlap cloth really thick. The paint brush set we had a few print making tools too and the younger child was attracted to the sponge brush to make her grapes. She started off making a bunch of fruit pictures on her cloth. The bigger prints were well suited for this project. We did a whole bunch of fruits and all I had to do was to remind them to keep it simple. My older kid and I also tried our hand at just exploring with colors. It was great to see the burlap take in the bright acrylic colors. I would strongly recommend at least mildly diluting the acrylic colors as opposed to using the straight up from the bottle. I definitely preferred the lighter colored burlap cloth over the darker one. However I can see depending on the colors used both have the potential to create wonderful wall art. Finished fruit platter art. Our design created for the sole purpose of exploring the colors on this fabulous cloth. We have lot of others kids art activities planned with this burlap cloth. We are still figuring out fun ways to display the burlap painting art. **Highlights** - Use thick strokes - Better to keep the design simple. Not a project for details. - Dilute the acrylic colors.