Today’s art project for kids doubles as a wonderful STEAM challenge: Ask kids to make DIY Paint Brushes. The sky is truly the limit with this project, all you need are some clothespins and some creative ideas for what might make an interesting paintbrush. So if you are ready to make some DIY Paint Brushes let’s get started!

When I was planning projects here on Babble Dabble Do I remembered seeing some homemade paint brushes on Fantastic Fun and Learning.  Given that clothespins can hold just about anything I decided to make this an art experiment for my kids.

My daughter and I collected materials, made brushes, and then decided which brush was the most fun to use. And guess what? We both picked the same brush as our favorite. I’ll let you know our hands down winner at the end of this post.

DIY Paint Brushes

Materials

• Clothespins
• Scissors
• Paint & Paper
• Fun Items for brushes! See suggestions below.

Brush Ideas:

• Sponges
• Twine
• Burlap
• Felt
• Feathers
• Pipe Cleaners
• Pom Poms
• Cosmetic wedges
• Cotton Balls
• Foam
• Muffin Liners
• Netting
• Crepe Paper
• More?????

Instructions

• Step One Gather your materials and cut larger materials down to size. We cut strips of the fabric and foam to fold into brushes.
• Step Two Use the clothespins to clip in each material and make a brush

That’s it! I mean it! Read my lips: YOU.ARE.DONE.

Get some paint and paper together and ask your child to start testing out the different brushes. We tried both painting and stamping with them. Some of them made great homemade stamps. My daughter and I had a blast testing each of the brushes out.

You may also want to keep brush materials handy to make new brushes once you see how they are working. My daughter made an awesome pipe cleaner brush shaped like a “Y” that made two lines. What a great idea!

Looks Like

Fabienne Verdier. One thing I love about writing this blog is researching artists, designers, and scientists to tie into each post. I had never heard of Fabienne Verdier until I researched artists who use unusual brushes and now I am completely awestruck by her work.

Ms. Verdier is inspired by calligraphy and uses enormous brushes  to make calligraphic type paintings. And when I say enormous, I mean gigantic! Google her, you’ll see! She needs a special steering device to control these brushes which hang from the ceiling of her studio. She is an inspiration!

More

So which of the DIY Paint Brushes did Clara and I decide was our favorite after trying all of them out? Drum roll please…..the cosmetic wedge! It can be used like a stamp or a brush and nicely absorbs just enough paint to make it useful and controllable. Plus it makes a super squishy sound!

What I love most about this art project for kids is that it was all about the process, not the product. It truly is an art experiment and a great way to show your kids how to be resourceful and imaginative when it comes to art.  So the next time you run out of paintbrushes, stop and scour your house for some materials and make your own brushes from scratch!

If you enjoyed making paintbrushes you’ll surely love making a homemade stamp! And for more ideas on DIY art materials be sure to visit a super popular post here on Babble Dabble Do: 40 Art Materials You Can Make At Home.