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Fun and easy kids activities

Fork Tulip Painting

Apr 1, 2013138,574 views
Spring
Spring Art :Tulip Painting Save
art projects for kids with forks Save
printing activities with fork Save
kids art projects Save
toddler art projects Save
art activities for kids Save

by TurkeyMom in Spring

Ages2–6 yrs
Prep10 min
Activity20 min
Leveleasy
MessMedium
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class

Press a 3-pronged fork into paint and print it in two motions to make tulip blooms, then paint on green stems and leaves. Simple printmaking with a kitchen tool.

⚠️ Safety first

  • Watch toddlers so they don't put the painted fork in their mouth.
  • Use washable kids' paint for little ones.

Steps

  1. Pour each paint color onto a plate.

  2. Press the fork firmly into the paint so both the prongs and the base get paint.

  3. Print the prongs on the paper first.

  4. Press the base of the fork right below to finish the tulip.

  5. Print more tulips in different colors.

  6. Paint green stems and leaves under each tulip.

  7. Let the painting dry.

Tips

  • It is very important to use a 3-pronged fork to get the tulip print.from the author
  • Keep it open ended for younger kids — my 2-year-old just printed with the prongs in different colors, and that's her spring art!from the author
  • Join in — my children love it when I paint with them and we look at all our art work together at the end.from the author
  • Wait until little ones are old enough not to eat the paint off the fork.from readers

Make it your own

  • Make the print into a Mother's Day card or gift.
  • Use it to decorate the cover of a spring scavenger hunt book.
  • Pair with a seeds and plants theme.

Questions readers asked

Where can I get a three-prong fork?

The post links a 3-pronged fork on Amazon; any fork with three tines works.

What type and brand of paint did you use?

Crayola Washable Kids Paint for the tulips; the stems and leaves were painted with green acrylic.

The story behind it

By TurkeyMom · April 2013
fork painting art projects
Using the 3-pronged fork, we pressed firmly into the paint while making sure both the prongs and the base got paint.
1 / 8

Fork Tulip Painting: the original post

Printmaking with kids : Use kitchen cutlery to create beautiful spring art.

My favorite season used to be fall. Now I’m a convert. To celebrate the wildflowers in full bloom, we have been having fun outdoors with tons of hikes and nature walks. To bring the season indoors we did this fun spring art activity which is great for both toddlers and preschoolers.

Materials

It is very important to use a 3-pronged fork to get the tulip print

Process for creating this gorgeous fork tulips spring art

Using the 3 pronged/tined fork we pressed firmly into the paint while making sure both the prongs and the base get paint.

fork painting art projects

art projects with kitchen tools

While printing she made sure to print using a 2 step motion. First to get the tines of the fork printed, then she got the base printed to complete the tulip.

printing activities with fork

Once we printed using our forks, we drew the stems and leaves using green acrylic paint.

kids art projects

My toddler on the other hand is not very focused on the design or the pattern element of the spring art activity. Well yeah she is 2. For her the fun was to simply print using different colors. As you can see only the prongs got the paint and hence the prints. But that’s her spring art! It’s always best to keep the art project as open ended as possible when playing with younger kids. My preschooler however starts any art activity with the ” What design are we making?” So it’s different with her.

toddler activities art

I love my toddler’s unique and original open ended art work. She enjoyed every bit of the process.

toddler art projects

My “design and pattern” loving 4 year’s old work.

art projects for kids with forks

It’s always fun to participate in the activity with the kids. My children love it when I join them and finally we take a look at all our art work.

art activities for kids

Some more spring crafts we have done in the past.

For more spring activities take a look at our Spring category page.

You will like our

Spring Potions

Spring Sheep Craft

Sticky Garden

Butterfly Crafts

What readers say

💬 33 comments ✍️ 4 answered by the author 🍎 tried with 3 classes or groups

🍎 In the classroom

A preschool teacher's next project

A preschool teacher, sent the link by a kindergarten-teacher friend, plans to make this one of her class projects.

“My friend is a kindergarten teacher and she sent me the link -- I teach preschool. THIS WILL BE ONE OF MY PROJECTS for sure.”
Ducks 'n a Row (@SineaPies), May 2014

🍎 In the classroom

Tried with a group of children

A reader used the fork-printing technique with the children she works with and reports they had a lot of fun.

“We used your technique last week”
Maureen, Apr 2013

🍎 In the classroom

Fits a seeds and plants theme

A teacher planning a seeds and plants unit is adding this tulip printing to her theme.

“I am working on seeds and plants for our theme. I will be using this awesome art activity.”
darlene, Apr 2013

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Wait if your toddler mouths paint

One parent is holding off with her 1.5-year-old so she doesn't learn that licking paint off the fork is okay.

“don't want my 1.5 yr old thinking it's acceptable to eat the paint that's on the fork!”
xo Dee, Apr 2013

✨ Readers' twist

Turn it into a Mother's Day card

A reader featured it in a Mother's Day roundup as a card or gift idea.

“Perfect for a Mothers Day card / gift :).”
Reader, Apr 2013

✨ Readers' twist

Decorate a spring book cover

A reader used the fork tulips to decorate the cover of a spring scavenger hunt book for young children.

“We used your technique to decorate the cover of our "Spring Is..." scavenger hunt book for young children”
Sue Lively, Apr 2014

Tried it?

Reviewed before it appears. No links, and please no children's names.

Read all 33 comments

  1. Anishsa · Mar 2021

    :) :)I like it and my sister likes it to. :) :)

  2. pan · Jul 2019

    what type and brand of paint you use?

  3. Ducks 'n a Row (@SineaPies) · May 2014

    This is adorable. My friend is a kindergarten teacher and she sent me the link -- I teach preschool. THIS WILL BE ONE OF MY PROJECTS for sure. Pinning! If you enjoy blog hops, will you please come to my party on Tuesday night (7pm EDT) and share it? My blog is Ducks 'n a Row and it is the start time for my Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!

  4. Sue Lively · Apr 2014

    Love this idea! We used your technique to decorate the cover of our "Spring Is..." scavenger hunt book for young children over at I linked back to you! Thanks for the great idea!

  5. shayna mciver · Mar 2014

    Not sure where to get a three prong fork. Any ideas?

  6. Alice (@mumsmakelists) · May 2013

    This looks great - so much fun! I would love for you to link up at the Empty Your Archive party which has fun painting ideas as one of it's themes this week - Alice @ Mums Make Lists x

  7. lori · May 2013

    Such a great idea. Thanks for sharing!

  8. Reader · Apr 2013

    Brilliant!! Perfect for a Mothers Day card / gift :). Thanks for linking up to the Kids Co Op. I'll be featuring this post as part of my Mothers Day roundup. xo P

  9. darlene · Apr 2013

    I am working on seeds and plants for our theme. I will be using this awesome art activity. Thanks for sharing.

  10. xo Dee · Apr 2013

    so cute! I have to wait til she gets a bigger to test it out though.. don't want my 1.5 yr old thinking it's acceptable to eat the paint that's on the fork! :)

  11. thejennyevolution · Apr 2013

    Visiting from Tuesday Tots. My Family-Focused Monday hop is live now and I would love to see one of your awesome posts linked up @ www[dot]mondaykidcorner[dot]blogspot[dot]com. Have a wonderful week.

  12. Stephanie @ Lifes Little Adventures · Apr 2013

    Thank you for sharing this great idea! I found this idea on pinterest. I would like to invite you to share this post on my Money Saving Monday Link Up! Thank You, Stephanie

  13. Debs · Apr 2013

    This is just so lovely. I couldn't not feature it this week! (love the double negative, right? haha). Thanks so much for linking up. You can see your feature here:

  14. Maureen · Apr 2013

    We used your technique last week, you can check it out at the end of this post Thanks again for the idea the children had a lot of ufn.

  15. Savannah @ HammockTracks · Apr 2013

    Brilliant! I love the fork marks. I would enjoy doing this all by myself. I hope you'll consider sharing this and many of your posts at Look What We Did, a month long link up hosted by HammockTracks.

  16. TurkeyMomAuthor · Apr 2013 · replying to jackie

    Oh yeah. Fewer the items needed the better it is for us.

  17. TurkeyMomAuthor · Apr 2013 · replying to Maureen

    Thanks Maureen

  18. TurkeyMomAuthor · Apr 2013 · replying to Deborah

    Thanks a bunch Deborah

  19. TurkeyMomAuthor · Apr 2013 · replying to Tulip

    Janine, it was funny to see your name pop up on our "Tulip" Painting. I bet it'd be cool if your family eventually ends up trying this out.

  20. wildflowerramblings · Apr 2013

    I will be making these with my son today :) So beautiful!!

  21. jackie · Apr 2013

    These are just too cute! This kind of art activity is right up my alley! Easy, unique and adorable! I love it!

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