Ankle Biter Art: Marble Painting: Fall Leaves

FALL TUTORIAL:

Marble Painted Leaves

a.k.a Roly Poly Painting :-)

I borrowed my friends adorable children (Sam & Molly) to document this project...thanks T! Marble painting is super easy, quick and each piece is unique. It creates such a cool effect and could be used to decorate a nearly infinite number of fun shapes, but since it's Autumn, we painted leaves.

SUPPLIES:

Any box with a lid - small enough for a child to hold and easily manipulate (shoe boxes are perfect for this).
Paper - I recommend using cardstock...the leaves will get pretty wet and jostled about, so you want to use a thicker paper that won't tear.
Marbles (I like to use a larger sized marble) - I couldn't find marbles when I was shopping for this project. If this happens to you (for some reason) you can substitute them with large wooden beads from a craft store...but marbles work better because they don't absorb the paint.
Tempera paint - any colors you like
Small containers (for the paint & marbles)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Enlarge or shrink as desired

Using a template (or free-hand), trace and cut out leaves from your cardstock.

Enlarge or shrink as desired

Mix your paint in your small containers with a tiny splash of water to make it a bit more fluid and add your marbles (or Roly Polies).

Add some leaves to the box (being sure to not overcrowd them) and drop the marbles (which have been rolled around and covered in paint).

Put the lid on the box and have the children shake the box from side to side (for a few seconds), rolling the paint covered marbles all over the leaves.