# Tin Can Roll Painting > Give tin cans texture with yarn or foam stickers, roll them in paint and then roll them across big sheets of butcher paper. This is an open-ended, whole-body art activity that works for toddlers and preschoolers side by side. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-for-kids-tin-can-roll/ - Ages: 2–5 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high - Time: prep 25 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class - Skills: gross-motor, fine-motor, process-art, patterns, texture - Cautions: ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Empty tin cans, cleaned, labels removed (household) - Yarn - Foam stickers - Glue or tape (household) - Paint - 1 piece Paper plates for paint (household) - Butcher paper (optional) - Paper rolls (toilet paper tubes) (optional) (household) ## Substitutions - Instead of tin cans: Paper rolls (toilet paper tubes) (The author used them alongside the cans. Wrap them with yarn the same way.) - Instead of yarn: Yarn dipped in glue (Lets you build a better, more complicated yarn pattern on the can.) ## Safety - Adult checks every tin can rim for sharp edges before kids handle it. Cover or tape any rough edge, or use paper rolls instead. - Foam stickers are small parts. Supervise toddlers closely so stickers and paint don't go in mouths. - Use washable, non-toxic kids' paint. - Paint on a smooth floor gets slippery. Watch kids moving around barefoot on the painted paper and floor. - Supervise art play at all times. ## Before you start - Collect, wash and dry tin cans and remove the labels. Check the rims for sharp edges. - Tape large sheets of butcher paper to the floor, or one sheet to a table for a smaller version. ## Steps 1. Peel foam stickers and press them all over a tin can. 2. Tape one end of the yarn to another can, wrap the yarn around and around, then tape off the other end. 3. Leave one can plain to compare the prints. 4. Pour a puddle of paint onto a paper plate. 5. Roll a can in the paint until it is coated. 6. Set the can on the paper and roll, roll and roll more. 7. Try rolling a yarn-wrapped paper roll too. 8. Switch cans and colors and compare the prints each one makes. ## Tips - With two kids in different age groups, open-ended art seems to work best for doing an activity in tandem. There are no rules to follow, and at 4 and 2, who wants rules? - My stickers-loving toddler was happy with an endless supply of foam stickers. Peeling off the backing is serious fine motor work. - For my pattern-loving preschooler, the yarn wrapping did the trick. I helped tape one end while she wrapped the rest. - I didn't expect a super clear print from the sticker cans. It was more about exploring a new way to paint. - The yarn-wrapped can was clearly the best for patterns. - I taped the butcher paper to my kitchen floor because the wooden floor is easier to clean. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013) This entire tin can painting idea was spurred after I came across **Hands on: As we Grow's** post on a tin can **[art activity](http://handsonaswegrow.com/crafty-art-eric-carle-caterpillar/)**. With two kids in different age groups, only art activities seem to work well when it comes to tandem hands on kids activities. Open ended art activities seem to get the best response from my kids, simply because of its nature - allows freedom of expression, independent thinking and best of all no rules to follow. At 4 and 2, you think kids will get a kick of following rules? For the super easy tin can roll art activity we used only just a few basic supplies. - Tin Cans - Yarn - Foam Stickers - Glue/Tape - Paint - Butcher Paper (optional) - Paper rolls (optional) The base of this art activity is to get some texture on our tin cans. We used stickers and yarn to do the trick. My stickers loving toddler was more than happy to get her hands on an endless supply of foam stickers and cans. Peeling off the backing and sticking on tin cans called for some serious fine more skills. If you think about it, almost all kids activities, especially art activities will have some form of exercise to develop fine motor skills. So if you can't go out and setup some fine motor activities for kids, just engaging them in some form of art activities will by itself will do the deed. For my pattern loving preschooler, it was the yarn wrapping which did the trick. She enjoyed getting the yarn around the tin can which yet again was a fantastic fine motor activity. I helped her tape one end of the yarn to the can while she wrapped the rest around the can and we taped off the other end. Alternatively, you could use yarn dipped to glue to get a much better and more complicated yarn pattern. My preschooler was happy with her yarn pattern for this art activity. You can do this tin can roll art activity 3 ways 1. Just roll the paint dipped tin can 2. Roll the tin can with stickers 3. Roll the yarn wrapped can. Again just like any art activity, you can do this on a smaller scale with a sheet of butcher paper taped to a table or go bigger like us. I taped down large sheets of butcher paper to my kitchen floor ( easier to clean the wooden floor) The kids got their little hands on the tin cans and rolled them with paint first. Next step was to simply roll around. Roll, roll and roll more. I did not expect a super clear print from the tin cans with stickers. It was more to explore the new way to paint. The yarn wrapped tin can was clearly the best for patterns. With an older child you could more intricate yarn patterns and get stunning results. Here is what we had. Our finished products. Some foam sticker roll printing results. This is how we ended our art activity. Thanks for stopping by our little space here. We encourage you to stick around and take a look at [**couple of**](https://www.funlittles.com/paint-with-spaghetti-brooms/) our [**popular posts.**](https://www.funlittles.com/animal-resist-painting/) --- --- Some open ended art activities we have shared in the past. [](https://www.funlittles.com/art-projects-for-preschoolers-and-toddlers-cotton-rounds-art/) [](https://www.funlittles.com/spring-art-tulip-painting/) [](https://www.funlittles.com/easy-art-project-for-kids-just-add-water-art/) [](https://www.funlittles.com/window-clings/)