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Salt and Watercolor Fall Leaves

I came across this beautiful technique at the Happy Hooligans blog.  She practiced letter writing with glue, salt and paint.   I thought this technique would be a fun experiment for my third graders and make beautiful fall leaf paintings.

Glue LeavesHere’s how this works.   First, we used real fall leaves for inspiration while drawing.  We drew leaves with pencil on watercolor paper.  Then, we used regular Elmer’s white glue to outline the leaves.

Salt Glue and Watercolor Leaves

While the glue was still wet, we poured salt on the glue.  Shake off the excess salt like you do with glitter.  We did the salt shaking inside a shallow box, so we could reclaim the salt that had fallen off the project  (obviously don’t use for eating later.)

Watercolor and Salt

We waited until after the glue was dry, but you could actually do the next step while the glue is still wet.  Use watercolors to dot colors on top of the glued salt.  The paint spreads and makes a beautiful effect.

Glue Watercolor Leaves

That’s it!  Super fun, easy and feels almost magical!

Glue Watercolor Leaves Glue Watercolor Leaves with Salt

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About Marcia Beckett

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

5 Responses to Salt and Watercolor Fall Leaves

  1. Diane says:

    Thank you for sharing! What a great idea, and what beautiful art is created! Thank you for sharing, so simple, yet elegant! Parents will love it.

  2. Wow, these are so pretty!!
    I love the way the colors blend together.

  3. Joelle says:

    Great result! I also love the colours used to complete the background! It makes it more complete!

    • Thanks Joelle for all your comments. I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and leave your thoughts. I was wondering if I should encourage the kids next year to paint he background or just leave the leaves painted.

  4. Pingback: Fall Activities for Kids: 30 of the Best Classroom Ideas – Proud to be Primary

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