Monday, May 14, 2018

Gorgeous "Painted" Oil Pastel Crystal Sun catchers

Have you ever tried "painting" with oil pastels?  Every so often I feel all artsy-smartsy and pull out my big 'ol box of oil pastels and do an easy oil pastel craft with my kids.  This past week I felt the urge and we made these crystal suncatchers by "painting" with oil pastels.  The results were pretty gorgeous and the process was fun too!

"Painted" Oil Pastel Crystal Sun Catchers

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids

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First, we googled some easy crystal/jewel clip art.  We used those as models for our own drawings. 

After we sketched out our designs, we traced them with Sharpies.

(It was hard for my 1st grader to draw big crystals, so it took several tries before we got large enough designs.)

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids



Then, I opened my ancient box of oil pastels and we colored the designs in.  (Can you believe that I've had this box for more than 15 years?  Gosh. It just shows how infrequently we pull it out!)

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids


Then, I poured out some cooking oil into plastic cups.  We used Q-tips to smear the colors.

(My son went to town and ended up smearing everything more than he liked.  So just remember that the colors will mix with the oil!  So change up q-tips and make sure to "paint" only what you want to smear.)

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids


Then, we let them dry on paper towels overnight.   (Warning:  The oil WILL continue to spread!) 

The next day, we cut them out.  (Surprising note:  Sharpies smear with oil too.  Who knew?)  The oil mostly dried by that point.

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids


Here's what they looked like cut out:

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids


Here's the magic:
The combination of oil and oil pastel resulted in beautiful translucent colors, which made these paper gems lovely sun catchers. 

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids


Oh!  And if you're looking for more oil pastels crafts, check out the links below:


More Fun Oil Pastel Crafts:


Happy creating friends! 

"Painting" with oil pastels to create beautiful "crystal" sun catchers with kids