15 Minute Art Project: Hand-Painted Tissue Paper {for gift bags}

Art at our home is a MUST.  No matter how harried our homeschool days seem to be, once a week, I intentionally carve out a time and a space to create!  

While, many of our art lessons are the slow-and-steady, enjoy-the-journey kind, sometimes they have to be the create-a-masterpiece-in-three-easy-steps kind.  Because, let's face it, some weeks are more harried than others and art time has to be squeezed into the speed of a blink.  

This, 15 minute hand-painted tissue paper project, was not only fast, it was USEABLE.  We were able to stash our creations away to be used in a one-of-a-kind gift bag for a friend's birthday.  

You will need:

• a piece of white gift wrapping tissue paper 
• watercolor paints
• water
• a paint brush

Directions:  

Fold the tissue in half and then in half again.  

Repeat this folding process until your tissue paper is about the size of a 3x5 card.  

Paint a heavy wash of water on the front and backside of the tissue paper.  You want the water to seep through each layer of the folded sheet of tissue.  

Using only two or three colors, paint a simple design on one side of the tissue paper stack.  Allow the design to set for a minute or two and then reapply the colors.  

If the tissue is drying too rapidly, reapply a layer of water wash to allow the color to seep through to each layer.  (Be sure to apply the water to one section of the design at a time, as opposed to sweeping your wet paintbrush across the entire design at once.  This will help to prevent the colors from bleeding onto each other.)

Set your project aside to dry COMPLETELY.  Overnight is best.

Unfold the tissue to reveal the repetitive pattern you've created.  

Use your one-of-a-kind tissue paper to line a birthday gift bag of a friend!

Need more homeschool friendly art projects?  Here you go!