Marvelous Recycled Art Project for Kids

I've got a fun art printing project today that both my kids actually got into! Even my youngest who would rather play with action figures than pick up a paint brush enjoyed it.

Yep, it turns out that only 1 in 5 people say they consistently recycle items they use in the bathroom.* I thought, "Well. What if we collect those items to use in a fun project first? Then we won't forget about recycling them."

And so our printing art project from recyclable materials was born. The boys (And me, too! I love to join in activities like this.) had fun with this after school earlier this week and I even made a little video.

Materials

Head to the bathroom to find all those plastic containers. If you use cardboard items like toilet paper rolls or bandaid boxes, they will no longer be recyclable if they are covered in paint. If you don't want to wash up afterwards, then use only the items which are not recyclable.
Washable paint. In order for the items to be suitable for recycling after your masterpiece is created, you must wash the containers afterwards. That's what I like about this art project. The materials do not end up in a landfill. You can still recycle them!
Paper. Use a nice, thick paper that can hold paint if you wish to save your creations.
Plate. I used a sturdy plastic plate left over from a picnic, which I washed afterwards! Remember, if you use and dispose, it's just more landfill. Make sure you can reuse or recycle all your materials.

MORE PRINTING ART PROJECTS:

Child's hand reaching for upside down plastic bottle on plate of green paint.

Instructions

The directions are easy!

First, squirt out paint onto a plate.

Next, have fun dipping, dabbing, swirling, stamping, mixing and designing!

Child's hand making prints on paper using empty containers and bottles pressed into different paint colors.

After we washed our recyclables -- remember, items should be clean and dry -- (Honestly, the boys liked this just as much as the painting!) we dropped them in our recycle bin.

Bowl of paint covered recyclables next to art work.

MORE: How to Upcycle Your Used Markers

Now we have a snazzy poster to put up in our bathroom to remind us to recycle those oft-forgotten items.

Two finished art works made with prints from different materials resulting in colored dots, swirls and rings.

*2013 American Recycling Behaviors survey conducted by Shelton Group on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

This post was originally sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnson & Johnson. The opinions and text are all mine.