Before You Try These Easel Craft Ideas: Pick One of 5 DIY Easels

Start with the easel. Then the paint. Then the project.

Each easel craft idea below needs three things: a board at your child’s height, paper, and paint. The easel builds come from two free plan roundups, BuildEazy’s easel projects and DIYCraftsy’s easel plans. The paint can come from your kitchen. The age ranges are a starting guide for matching a project to your child, not a rule.

NAEYC calls play “essential for all children, birth through age 8” and says it fosters self-regulation, language, cognitive and social competencies. An easel just gives that play a place to stand.

Ages 2-4 (suggested): Big-Arm Finger Painting With Paint From Your Kitchen

Activity card

• Age: 2-4 (suggested)
• Prep time: 10 minutes (suggested)
• Mess level: high (suggested), because wet paint goes straight onto bare hands
• Skill: big-arm movement (suggested)

You don’t need store-bought fingerpaint. Wikipedia’s fingerpaint entry says it can be made from household products such as flour or cornstarch. The paint section below covers the label checks.

Materials

• 1 easel or a board fixed at standing height
• 3 large sheets of thick paper
• 1 roll of masking tape
• 1 batch of homemade fingerpaint, split into 2-3 shallow dishes
• 1 smock or old T-shirt
• 1 damp cloth and 1 old sheet for the floor

Steps

1. Spread the sheet on the floor under the easel.
2. Tape the paper at all four corners. Make sure it can’t slide, or a flat-hand stroke will crumple it.
3. Set the paint dishes on a tray beside the easel, not on its ledge, where an elbow can tip them.
4. Show one long stroke from top to bottom with a flat palm, then hand over.
5. When the paper starts to pill or tear, put up a fresh sheet.
6. Lay finished paintings flat to dry so the paint doesn’t run.

If it goes wrong: If the paper tears under wet hands, tape a second sheet behind the first, or switch to cardboard.

Ages 5-7 (suggested): Themed Paintings and Collage on a Cardboard Easel

Activity card

• Age: 5-7 (suggested)
• Prep time: 20 minutes plus the easel build (suggested)
• Mess level: medium (suggested), because brushes and glue keep paint off most hands
• Skill: planning a picture in layers (suggested)

Two builds in the pool are made from cardboard, and both suit glued-on layers. BuildEazy’s Quick and Dirty Easel for Kids uses a ladder, cardboard boxes and tape, and both sides can be painted, per the plan roundup. DIYCraftsy lists the Artbar, a cardboard easel made from boxes, duct tape and velcro that folds for storage.

Materials

• 1 cardboard easel (either build)
• 2 sheets of paper
• 1 handful of collage scraps: tissue paper, magazine pages, leaves
• 1 glue stick and 1 bottle of white glue
• 2 brushes, one wide and one thin
• Paint in 3-4 colors

Steps

1. Choose a theme together, such as a storm, a garden or a favorite animal.
2. Paint the background with the wide brush.
3. Cut or tear collage pieces while the background dries.
4. Glue the pieces on once the paint is dry to the touch.
5. Add details with the thin brush or markers.
6. On the ladder easel, a second child can paint the other side at the same time.

If it goes wrong: If the collage pieces slide off, the paint is still wet. Wait, or switch from the glue stick to white glue.

Ages 8-11 (suggested): Building the Easel Is the Craft, Starting With a Four-Piece Folding Plan

Activity card

• Age: 8-11 (suggested)
• Prep time: one afternoon (suggested)
• Mess level: medium (suggested), because sawdust comes first and paint second
• Skill: measuring and following a plan (suggested)

BuildEazy’s Easy DIY and Portable Painting Easel is made from four pieces of wood and folds up, per the roundup. With so few parts, the list of cuts and hardware is short enough to plan together.

Materials

• The wood and hardware the plan lists
• 1 tape measure and 1 pencil
• Sandpaper
• Paint or markers to decorate the frame

Steps

1. Read the whole plan together and write down every part before you buy anything.
2. Decide who handles each tool, including the saw and drill, before work starts.
3. Measure and mark each piece, then check every mark a second time.
4. Sand every edge a hand will touch.
5. Assemble the easel following the plan, then open and close it several times.
6. Decorate the frame, then paint the first picture on it.

If it goes wrong: If it wobbles when open, measure each piece against the plan before you add more hardware. A short leg is the usual cause.

Five DIY Easel Builds: Bolted Plywood for a Fixed Spot, Folding Wood to Carry, Cardboard to Try It Out, Outdoor for Mess

Build	Plan source	Made from	Fits	Trade-off
Sturdy easel	BuildEazy	48 x 33 in plywood backing on a carriage-bolt frame	A fixed indoor spot	The standard build is the heavier one; the plan suggests thinner wood to make it lighter
Easy DIY and Portable Painting Easel	BuildEazy	Four pieces of wood, folds	Carrying and storage	It folds, so you set it up every session
Quick and Dirty Easel for Kids	BuildEazy	Ladder, cardboard boxes, tape; both sides usable	Two kids at once, a trial run	Your ladder is part of it while it stands
Artbar	DIYCraftsy	Boxes, duct tape, velcro; folds for storage	Small rooms, a trial run	Cardboard and tape hold the whole thing up
Outdoor acrylic easel (Fix This Build That)	DIYCraftsy	Step-by-step plan for a durable, easy-to-clean easel	Outdoor acrylic painting	If it stays outside, BuildEazy calls for treated lumber with galvanized bolts and nails

The bolted plywood easel has two real costs. Its 48 x 33 in board needs a permanent home. If that home is outdoors, BuildEazy says to use treated lumber with galvanized bolts and galvanized nails. In return you get a large painting surface on a frame held together with carriage bolts, so build it if you have a fixed spot and want one big board that stays put.

Who should skip it:

• Easel has to fold away? Build BuildEazy’s four-piece portable easel.
• Not sure your child will paint standing up? Start with the ladder-and-box easel or the Artbar.
• Most of the painting happens outside? Use the easy-to-clean outdoor plan DIYCraftsy lists, with galvanized hardware.

Flour, Cornstarch or Instant Pudding Can Be Easel Paint: Read the Box First

If your child has a food allergy, ask their doctor before food-based paint goes on their hands.

Wikipedia’s fingerpaint entry names flour and cornstarch as household bases and notes that some childcare facilities use instant pudding as fingerpaint. Food-based paint can end up in mouths, so the label matters more than the recipe.

Before you mix:

1. Flour: If wheat is a concern in your house, check the bag for which grain it’s milled from.
2. Cornstarch: Read the allergen statement on the box as well.
3. Instant pudding: Read the full ingredient list and allergen statement. Flavors change what’s in the box.
4. Store-bought paint: Check whether the label carries the ACMI AP seal, and read any allergen information the maker discloses.

Mixing: Add powder to water a little at a time and stir until the paint spreads off a finger without dripping. Tint it, then split it into dishes.

If it goes wrong: If it’s runny, add more powder. If it’s stiff, add a splash of water. Change it a little at a time.

For more on this topic, see the Projects by age guides.

Easel Session Checklist: Measure First, Choose Indoor or Out, Mix Paint Last

1. Measure the spot before you choose wood. The bolted build needs room for a 48 x 33 in backing (BuildEazy). If no wall or corner fits it, go straight to the four-piece folding plan on the same page.
2. Decide indoor or outdoor before you buy hardware. Outdoors means treated lumber with galvanized bolts and nails, per BuildEazy. If cleanup is the main worry, choose the easy-to-clean outdoor plan DIYCraftsy lists.
3. Try cardboard before plywood. A ladder-and-box easel or an Artbar only needs boxes and tape, and it shows whether your child will paint standing up before you cut any wood.
4. Lighten the bolted build only if it has to move. BuildEazy’s thinner-wood suggestions are how you do it. Otherwise, build it as drawn.
5. Set up the station before the paint exists. Easel up, paper taped at four corners, floor covered, smock on, damp cloth in reach.
6. Read every label before you mix. That means the flour bag, the cornstarch box and the pudding box, all three of which Wikipedia names as fingerpaint bases.
7. Mix a small batch last, so it’s fresh when the first hand goes in.
8. Close down in order. Lay wet paintings flat, wipe the board, then fold away the folding builds.

Pick the build that fits your space, mix the paint last, and tape up the first sheet.

Next step: read more in Projects by age on Kids Art Magic.