4 Free Winter Art Projects to Do at Home

When the weather outside is frightful, creating art inside can be so delightful! On days when you need easy, budget-friendly free art projects to do at home using materials you already have that will keep your child’s attention, give these a try.

Winter Scene Collage

Combat the winter blues, and instead, help your child learn to appreciate the beauty of a frozen landscape! Using old magazines, your child will create a unique collage that reflects the beauty of the season through their eyes. Collage is a medium that uses overlapping pieces of materials, often mixed media, to create a work of art.

Materials

• Paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Magazines

Instructions

• Help your child find a winter scene they want to recreate using books or the internet. This could be a Christmas hearth, wintery mountain, frozen pond, or arctic tundra.
• Use the image as a reference.
• Encourage your child to page through magazines, ripping out pages that contain colors or textures found in their reference image.
• Have your child recreate the scene on a piece of paper using the magazine pages by ripping and cutting them into shape.
• When your child has all their pieces, they can glue each piece down to create the collage.

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Looking for a unique and personalized way to mark your page? Why not have your child create their own beautiful bookmarks using pressed flowers and leaves? This simple and fun DIY project is perfect for all ages and the only thing you need to go out and get can be found in your own backyard.

Pressed flower art originated in Japan and is known as “Oshibana,” which uses dried flowers to create a picture of entirely natural elements. Let's try botanical bookmark-making!

Materials

• Organic materials, like leaves, petals, and flowers
• Heavy books
• Scissors
• Wax paper
• Glue
• Cardstock

Instructions

• Take a walk with your child. Pick up fallen leaves, petals, and flowers.
• When back indoors, fold a piece of wax paper in half. Place your organic materials in between the two halves.
• Place the wax paper between two heavy books. Let sit for a few days.
• Carefully check on your pressed organic materials every few days. Sometimes, pressing organic materials can take up to a few weeks depending on the conditions in your home and the type of item.
• When the materials are totally dry, remove them from the wax paper.
• Cut a piece of cardstock into your desired width and length of a bookmark.
• Use glue to fasten the organic materials to the bookmark in a pattern or shape.

DIY Cardboard Binoculars

Inspire your young winter birdwatcher! Keep your kid entertained with this fun and easy project. With a few recycled materials, your child can explore the world through their own pair of binoculars. These binoculars can help your young artist find art in nature, or appreciate design.

Materials

• 2 empty toilet paper rolls or 1 empty paper towel roll
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Cardboard
• Glue or tape
• Markers, crayons, stickers, or other decorations
• String or yarn

Instructions

• If you’re using a long paper towel roll, cut it exactly in half. Skip this step if you’re using 2 empty toilet paper rolls.
• Take the two rolls, which are now your binocular lenses, and glue or tape them together so they’re connected.
• Using a pencil, punch one hole on each side of the outer sides of the “binoculars.” This is where you will attach the string, or neckstrap.
• Tie one end of each string through the hole. The string will now be your child’s neckstrap.
• Let your child's imagination run wild! Use markers, crayons, stickers, or paint to decorate the binoculars.

Evergreen Hand Wreath

Follow the holiday season with some wintery decor made by your home’s resident artist! Help your child create a wreath for their art studio that will last all season long. Historically, a wreath in art signified glory, power, and immortality.

Materials

• Various shades of green construction paper
• Pencil
• Paper plate
• Glue
• Ribbon

Instructions

• Help your child cut out the center circle of a paper plate, leaving the outer circle intact.
• Help your child trace their handprint onto the construction paper, 8-10 times.
• Cut out the handprints and arrange them around the outer circle of the paper plate, overlapping each other.
• When your child is satisfied with the arrangement, glue the handprints down.
• You child can get creative with the wreath, drawing birds, pinecones, berries, or other seasonal decorations.
• Help your child tie the ribbon into a bow and glue it to the top or the bottom of the wreath.

Looking for more free art projects for kids? Your student may qualify for free homeschool art curriculum mailed to your door every month. Through Outside the Box Creation, you can order art boxes using your state’s grant funds. Designed by a professional artist, our boxes are filled with high-quality and eco-friendly art supplies, include a detailed project guide with step-by-step instructions, and always contain accompanying books. Get started today!