Sunday of the Cross

This year for the Third Sunday in Lent, I decided we would try a masking or stencil-type painting project.  I have been working with watercolors lately so I thought a watercolor project would be in order.  First we tried the project with a cross cut out of cardstock that we taped to watercolor paper.  We then splattered several colors of watercolor paint onto the paper around the cross.

This was an experimental project for me as I had not tried it before.  What we discovered is the watercolors ran a bit under the cardstock cross.  Also, lighter colors did not work very well because they did not provide enough contrast.  I also tried the project with masking tape in a simple cross pattern.  This one came out a bit better as it did not run.  This project would work well with acrylic or tempera paint (just dilute with a little water to make it more runny).

I have two sick kids today so just my oldest son and I did the project together.  He doesn't usually join me for things like this anymore, but when he was younger we did a craft project together almost every day.  So it was nice to do a project together again!

Materials used:
140 lb watercolor paper
watercolor paints
water
flat paintbrush
masking tape
cardstock

Steps:
Print template of desired shape and cut out.  Trace onto cardstock and then cut shape from the cardstock.  Place rolled up pieces of tape on the back of the cardstock cross (put plenty of tape on the edges to hold down securely).  Or alternatively, place masking tape on the paper in the shape of a cross.










Choose at least 3-4 colors of paint and add a bit of water to each color on your palette.  Fill brush with paint, hold over the paper with one hand and tap paintbrush with other hand to flick water onto the paper.  Make sure to put plenty of color around the edges of the cardstock shape (or tape) for the greatest contrast.

Allow to dry a bit before removing the cardstock cross (or if using plain masking tape, allow to dry completely before removing).





To see the project we did last year for the Sunday of the Cross click HERE.

Our furry helper

Some of our recent watercolor projects