Watercolor Stained Glass Art

Crafting together has mental health benefits for kids individually & benefits the parent/child relationship, as well. For a child, making a project like this one can be gratifying & build self-esteem. Working alongside their caregiver, they feel connected & appreciated, especially when they don’t feel pressured to do things exactly “right”. As they work together, they can have healthy conversations about anything – even those difficult topics that might otherwise be hard to discuss.
https://www.onoursleeves.org/mental-wellness-tools-guides/conversation-starters

This project has the added benefit of lending itself to the development of mindful behavior. Mindfulness, or living in the present moment, means focusing on the task at hand. Mindfulness insists that you slow down & take your time.
https://www.onoursleeves.org/mental-wellness-tools-guides/helping-kids-stay-positive/help-kids-practice-mindfulness​

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• 8.5"x 11" Watercolor Paper
• Black Cardstock or Heavyweight Paper
• Watercolor Paint
• Paint Brush
• Cup (for water)
• Scissors

DIRECTIONS:
NOTE: Paint on 8.5"x 11" watercolor paper sheet with an assortment of colors and patterns. Use one or all of the techniques below to create a stained-glass art piece.
 

1. TECHNIQUE 1:
   • Paint paper with clear water and then drop paint from the brush onto damp paper to create watercolor blooms.


2. TECHNIQUE 2:
   • Paint paper in order of lighter to darker colors to create more saturated colors. Try zig zags, scallop, dots, stripes, paisleys, stars, hearts, flowers etc.
   • Allow the paint to dry between layers.
   • When the design is complete, allow to dry completely.


3. TECHNIQUE 3:
   • Color-block paint by choosing to paint one color at a time in sections of the paper.
   • Allow each color to dry before starting a new color to prevent paint from bleeding.
   • Repeat until the page is full.


4. TO FINISH:
   • Use scissors to cut out geometric shapes. Triangles work very well, but experiment with other angled shapes like diamonds and squares.
   • Glue the shapes on the black paper, leaving a gap between them to create the stained-glass effect.

JOANN HACKS:

• After all tiles are glued in place, lay a separate piece of paper over top the art and press firmly, yet gently, down on the art to secure all edges of each shape in place.