Resist Printing for Kids with Shaving Cream

Miss R takes great pride in her artistic output. But, like every artist, there are always those projects that shine brightly — ones she’s especially pleased with and wants to try again and again. Lately, the shimmery gems in her oeuvre — the works that make her giddy with self-admiration — are those created through resist painting and printmaking techniques like this: Our monogram tissue paper tape resist project filled us with such excitement and satisfaction, that we’ve happily continued experimenting with resist methods. I’m a big fan of combining techniques to develop new ones, and that’s just what we did here. The following printmaking activity is a combination of Tissue Paper Resist and another fave, Kaleidoscopic Shaving Cream Painting:

Miss R wasn’t in a super artsy mood when I suggested we try a new printmaking activity, but as soon as I uttered the word “shaving cream,” she perked right up, eagerly hopping aboard the sensory art-making train and never looking back.

WHAT YOU NEED:

small blank canvas or heavy-duty paper
masking tape
baking tray
white shaving cream
food coloring
skewer or toothpick
ruler or old credit card

WHAT YOU DO:

On a small canvas or piece of white, heavy-duty paper or card stock, make a design with tape. I went with a monogram letter, using the tape to write “R,” though next time I’ll encourage the actual R to design something herself.
On a baking tray or other sturdy, mess-friendly surface, distribute a generous amount of white shaving cream.
Spread the shaving cream out using a brush, spatula or your hands.
Apply a few drops of food coloring in various colors of your choosing on the shaving cream — you want the drops to be dispersed relatively evenly so your print will be unified.
Using a skewer or toothpick, swirl the food coloring around to make gorgeous marbled color harmonies. Keep combining the colors until you’re satisfied with your composition.
Press your canvas or paper on top of the shaving cream, as if pressing a stamp into ink.
Gently peel the canvas away from the tray.
I LOVE how the shaving cream looks on the canvas before it’s scraped off — I’m devising a way to seal it in this stage…
Using a ruler, credit card, or other hard-edged utensil, scrape off the excess shaving cream.
Let dry (patience is not yet one of R’s many virtues, so we only lasted about 20 minutes before moving on to the next step).
Peel off the tape and reveal your masterpiece!
Apply a coat of mod podge or spray sealer to protect the color from fading.

We love the result!

The possibilities are endless for resist painting and printmaking. Maybe we’ll try combining it with our monoprinting on aluminum foil technique next…

Got any kid-friendly arty ideas you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them in the comments! What’s your current Kid Art obsession?