Sidewalk Color Camp: Neon Cardboard
Paint: Prep: 30 min | Paint: 1 hour
Assemble: Prep: 15 min | Assemble: 1 hour
We’re going NEON on NEUTURALS, kids! It was so fun transform cardboard from our recycling bin into little neon canvases. Nothing gets me giddier than making bold neon patterns on cardboard. The kids were equally giddy to dive into our paint tray and pattern it up! Okay, maybe they just loved slinging neon paint. But I’m pretty sure they loved the patterns as well.
Note: Ages 7-10 can complete this project in a one day desired. (Allow for dry time). Ages 4-6 should split the project over 2 days.
This supply list is good for 5-8 kids.
Amazon Prime
Crayola Washable Kids Paint Kit
SchoolSmart Neon Tempera Kit
White Washable Tempera
Foam Brush Pack
Neon Parachute Cord
Popsicle Sticks (optional)
Recycle Bin
Paper towel rolls (2 per artist)
Cardboard Box flaps (4 per artist)
Plastic fruit carton or egg cartons
Aluminum casserole pan
Around the house or Grocery
Clothespins
Scissors
Sharpies (optional)
Craft paper roll (optional)
Part 1: Paint Cardboard
Get your kids to help with set up!
Gather up paper towel tubes and boxes. Break off box flaps to make perfect rectangle canvases. You will need 2 tubes + 4 flaps per artist.
Make 1 large white paint tray with 3-4 foam brushes and (optional) patterned brayers.
Make 1 neon paint tray, with 2 brushes per color. See tutorial below on mixing tips.
Set up your sidewalk: white paint tray, brushes, box tops and tubes. Optional: brown paper underneath. (Keep the neon tray aside.)
Brush a light layer of white on the blank side of all cardboard and tubes. Use only a few strokes, so that these will dry quickly (10 minutes).
Remove white tray, and bring out the neon paint tray.
Start painting with NEON! Get crazy! Make bold patterns! Have fun!
Lay all cardboard out to dry. Work as a team. Keep the brush colors clean. (We had 8 kids working from 1 tray, and amazingly, they did a great job keeping the colors clean.)
Part 2: Assemble
String the Necklace
Cut about 2 feet of cord, per necklace.
Have each artist gather their 2 painted tubes, and their favorite painted box top.
Punch 2 holes in the top of the box top and string onto the cord.
Cut 1 tube into 4-5 smaller tubes and string onto the cord. String the last full-sized tube onto the cord.
Decorate with sharpie marker if you like. Optional.
Tie and wear!
Hang the Color Tree Line
Take remaining parachute cord and tie it up between two trees to form a clothesline.
Divide artists into teams of two. Have them work together to hang all the painted box tops on the line. Fill the line with the artwork side-by-side.
Take neon selfies!
Tutorial: Mixing Neons to Pop on Cardboard
To get the best pop from your neon paint, you’ll need to do a little mixology. Neon paint is known to be transparent, and it's common to add white paint to thicken it up. But when painting on a cardboard surface, that's extra porous, you'll need to go a couple more steps by adding color tempera.
Quickie Formula: 1/2 cup neon + 1 TSP white + 1 TBSP colored tempera
Swatches below show that adding both white and color tempera to neon will pop the best color. We chose to play it safe and put a base layer of white on the cardboard. But truly, mixing all three should pop on both surfaces.
Happy Neon-ing!
Check out the rest of Sidewalk Color Camp:
Geek Out on the Art of Lettering (1-2 hr)
“No Mix” Chalk Painting (1 hr)
