Fun Littles

Fun and easy kids activities

Rainbow Initials Art

Mar 20, 20207,932 views
Crafts
Ages3–8 yrs
Prep10 min
Activity30 min
Leveleasy
MessLow
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class

Kids color wooden initial letters in rainbow stripes with solid tempera paint sticks (Kwik Stix) to make their own room decor. There's no water, brushes or drying time, so cleanup is almost nothing.

⚠️ Safety first

  • Supervise young children with the paint stick caps, which are small enough to be mouthed.
  • Check wooden letters for rough edges or splinters before handing them to kids.

Before the kids arrive

  • For younger kids, mark off 7 stripes across each letter so they can color in rainbow order.

Steps

  1. Pick out the wooden letters for each child's initials, plus an ampersand if you like.

  2. Lay the letters flat on the table and line up the paint sticks in rainbow order.

  3. Color the top stripe red with a paint stick.

  4. Color each stripe below it with the next rainbow color until the letter is full.

  5. Color the ampersand the same way so it matches.

  6. Stand the letters up right away. There's no drying time.

  7. Display the rainbow initials on a night stand or shelf.

Tips

  • For my 5 year old I marked off the 7 sections in rainbow order and she colored them in. My 7 year old completed it on her own.from the author
  • We didn't need paper towels, water, cups, brushes - nothing! The whole project was virtually mess free.from the author
  • The texture is like a really smooth oil pastel with much brighter color, and it goes on wood very smoothly.from the author
  • Want to push boundaries? Add a drop of water to the color and blend with a brush. It's not mess free, but I'd recommend you take a chance and try blending.from the author
  • On paper, using the paint sticks just for the background makes the art really pop.from the author

Make it your own

  • Make grid art on a wood plank with the neon colors.
  • Draw diagonal rainbow stripes on a scrap piece of wood for wall decor.
  • Paint only the background of a paper drawing with the paint sticks and do the rest in regular colors.
  • Try the metallic colors.
  • Use the same materials for no-mess pumpkin painting.
  • Blend colors with a drop of water and a brush.

The story behind it

By TurkeyMom · March 2020
paint-wood-letters-with-paint-sticks
I have always wanted my kids to hand decorate their wood initials and place them on their night stand. I used the two wooden letters I had on hand and purchased the ampersand wood sign.
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Rainbow Initials Art: the original post

Edit: If you are following the “No Mess Pumpkin Painting” image from Pinterest, the project is the same one. Use the above materials to create gorgeous, vibrantly colored pumpkins without the mess. Read through to learn about the product and a chance to enter the giveaway!

Introducing Kwik Stix! A great way to engage in mess free art projects for kids.

They are basically solid tempera paint sticks that come in an array of colors. That means no waiting while the paint dries on your kid’s art project. That is a big a big selling point with many toddlers and preschoolers. These paint sticks do amazingly well on paper, cardboard and wood. To try out these amazing, vibrant solid tempera paint sticks, we first choose wood as our canvas. I have always wanted my kids to hand decorate their wood initials and place them on their night stand. I used the two wooden letters I had on hand and went ahead and purchased the ampersand wood sign. I just loved that the entire art project was virtually mess free. We didn’t need paper towels, water, cups, brushes - nothing!

paint-wood-letters-with-paint-sticks

The Kwik Stix kit comes in 12 regular colors, 6 neon colors and 6 metallic colors.

We went ahead and used up the regular colors since we wanted a vibrant rainbow initials art. I should say these colors did not disappoint. They went over so smoothly on wood and the colors were fabulous. My kids loved the part that this project was mess free and they get to create their own room decor. Such pride in kid made art. For my 5 year old I marked off the 7 sections in rainbow order and she ended up coloring them in. My 7 year was able to complete this project independently and she just could’t stop commenting over the wonderful texture of this mess free art supply.

rainbow-initials-art

We love to create wall decor and in the past the kids and I have created this popular turkey handprint wall art keepsake, nail polish art inside a picture frame and recently fall banner with burlap. So this kid made room decor with these gorgeous Kwik Stix was like a no-brainer. Both the metallic and neon colors were a great bonus.

art-projects-for-kids-with-rainbow-intials

paint-wood-letters-with-paint-sticks

This grid like art was made with the neon set

wood-plank-coloring-with-paint-sticks

The texture was like that a really smooth oil pastel with a much brighter color. We tried blending too. If you want to try something new and want to push boundaries {haha} add a drop of water to the color and blend with a brush. But if you are into this product since it is mess free then it probably wouldn’t make sense. I would recommend you take a chance and try blending.

paint-wood-letters-with-paint-sticks

kwik-stix-paint-sticks-mess-free-kids-art

They are currently adorning our night stand in the kids’ room. The girls are so thrilled to have these rainbow letters decorating the room. Isn’t it amazing that this vibrant colorful art is a completely mess free art project?

art-for-kids-with-paint-sticks

kids-art-with-mess-free-paint-sticks

We made a simple rainbow design on a piece of wood we had on hand. Soon we will turn this also in a wall decor for the girls’ room.

kwik-stix-paint-sticks-art

Finally my 7 year old also tried the Kwik Stix on regular paper and I must say this art just popped mostly because the background just jumped out of the paper. Here, only the background red is “painted” with Kwik Stix and rest are regular colors. See the difference?

kwik-stix-colors

Thanks for reading

Pin this for your reference

art-project-for-kids-with-rainbow-initials

Thanks Kwik Stix for giving us a chance for exploring this wonderful art supply for some vibrant mess free art projects.

If you can’t be bothered with the giveaway and just want to BUY it then this the image you want to click on.

GIVEAWAY

But wait! Here is a chance for you to win a 24 pc master set from Kwik Stix

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  • Commenting on our Facebook Post about Kwik Stix

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