Looking for a creative ocean-themed art project that’s fun, colorful, and full of texture? Don’t be jelly—you can absolutely make this magical jellyfish masterpiece at home! This activity is perfect for summer and a great way to spark conversations with your kids about marine life and watercolor techniques.

The best part? Kids love watching how the salt reacts with watercolor paint—it’s like art and science rolled into one.

Materials:

• Watercolor or thick paper
• Liquid watercolor paint (or watered-down food coloring)
• Paintbrush
• Pipettes or droppers
• White school glue
• Table salt

Instructions:

1. Start by wetting the entire surface of your watercolor paper using a paintbrush and clean water. This helps the paint spread in beautiful, ocean-like patterns.
2. Use pipettes to drop liquid watercolor paint onto the wet paper. Watch as the colors spread and blend together like waves. Let the paper dry completely before the next step.
3. Once dry, use white glue to draw the shape of a jellyfish—don’t forget the tentacles! You can also add seaweed, algae, and some bubbly details around it.
4. While the glue is still wet, cover it generously with table salt. Gently shake off the excess. The salt will soak up some of the glue and add a fun, crystalized texture.
5. Using your pipettes again, drop small amounts of liquid watercolor onto the salted glue lines. The colors will spread through the salt in fascinating ways. Let it dry fully—this may take several hours.

This jellyfish craft is more than just beautiful, it's also a wonderful way to explore how different materials interact. It’s a hands-on way to introduce texture, watercolor techniques, and even some ocean science.

Perfect for summer afternoons, ocean unit studies, or just a fun creative break, this project will make a splash with your young artists!

What's the easiest supply for making kids summer crafts? Cardboard boxes!

Instead of throwing them into the recycling, save them and make some art. Here are some simple boredom-busting ways to do it.

1. Break down the cardboard box so that it lays flat. Put it on your driveway, pull out some paint, and give your children a paintbrush. If you want to get even more creative, use an easy paint-resist technique. Just put some painter's tape or washi tape on the cardboard before painting. Then, pull it up when the paint is dry. You can all enjoy the sunshine while the kids create large-scale art!
2. Cut a circle out of the cardboard and have your children make self-portraits. They could draw on cardboard, use construction paper, or paint to make their features.
3. Make a cardboard collage. Use one large piece of cardboard as a background. Then, cut several smaller pieces of cardboard, paint or color them, and glue them onto the background. Add any embellishments you have around your house!
4. Use your largest boxes to make a costume! You can make a robot, a house, a rubik's cube, or anything else!

Andy Warhol's flower prints are iconic, bold, bright, and full of contrast. This project takes inspiration from his pop art style and turns it into a hands-on creative activity your kids will love. Using foil and vibrant paper, you’ll create a graphic background and layer eye-catching flowers on top.

Materials:

• Aluminum foil
• Flat foam brush
• Green paint (tempera or acrylic)
• Square black cardstock
• Colored cardstock (for flowers)
• Scissors
• Glue stick or school glue
• Black crayon

Instructions:

1. Tear a sheet of aluminum foil slightly larger than your black cardstock. Lay it flat and smooth it out on the table.
2. Using a flat foam brush, paint long green lines across the foil. These lines will transfer onto the black paper and give your piece a cool, abstract background that mimics Warhol's bold use of color and pattern.
3. Carefully place your square black cardstock on top of the painted foil. Press down gently to help the paint transfer evenly.
4. Lift the black paper straight up to reveal the textured green print. Set it aside to dry.
5. Use different colors of cardstock to cut out four large, simple flower shapes. These should be bold and graphic, just like Warhol’s!
6. Once the green paint on the black cardstock is dry, glue your colorful flowers onto the page. Spread them out or let them overlap slightly for a layered, dynamic look.
7. With a black crayon, draw dots or scribbles in the center of each flower to give them a finished, stylized appearance.

If you still want to play outside but want to stay cool, playing in water is the way to go! Use a huge plastic bin (the large under the bed ones are perfect), add water, and things you find around the house! It only take minutes to put together and keep them busy for a long time! Here are a few themes you can add to your bins:

• Kitchen utensils: pots, pans, funnels,…
• Balls and strainer
• Duplos or legos
• Plastic water animal figurines
• Foam brushes, rollers, sponges
• Ice cube
• Soap foam
• Wooden toys

Just prepare the bin and let the kids experiment with it. It is very easy to setup and easy to switch to a new theme, too!