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Easy + gorgeous tissue paper art {perfect for kids!}

In today’s post: Learn how kids can make gorgeous “modern” art with this fun tissue paper art technique.

My younger kids and I have had so much fun today with a new art project: easy tissue paper art. It’s a really simple process that even my 5-year-old could do all on her own, but you end up with a final product that looks like a beautiful art piece! Click here for more cool art ideas for kids.

Tissue paper art is not only gorgeous, it's totally easy enough for kids to make! Fun kid's art project - perfect indoor activity for rainy days.

Doesn’t this look like something you could buy to decorate your home with?

Tissue transfer art is not only gorgeous, it's totally easy enough for kids to make! Fun kid's art project - perfect indoor activity for rainy days.

It’s so easy that my five year old daughter was able to do the entire process all by herself!

Easy kids art project made with tissue paper! How to make tissue paper art.

Tissue Paper Art Supplies

Cool, right? All you need to make tissue transfer art is tissue paper, a canvas, and a spray bottle.

Tissue transfer art is not only gorgeous, it's totally easy enough for kids to make! Fun kid's art project - perfect indoor activity for rainy days.

I first tried this project with tissue paper from the dollar store and it didn’t work AT ALL. So I turned to Amazon and found this Bleeding Art Tissue (affiliate link). It bleeds through onto the canvas beautifully! We made three 11×14 canvases and have TONS of tissue paper left, so it will last us through lots of projects.

I found the flat canvas panels at Walmart for $5 for three 11×14 panels which I thought was really reasonable. The flat panels are nice because you can pop them into an inexpensive frame if you want. You can find canvas panels on Amazon – get twelve 8×10 panels for $13 here. If you want to do tissue paper art over and over (and we will!), you can also use watercolor paper.

Tissue Paper Art Instructions

The process for tissue paper art is simple: use the spray bottle to get the canvas fairly wet. Cut tissue paper into desired shapes (we used triangles) and place them on the canvas. You can put them in a single layer or overlap them for more color mix. Spray a little more water on top of the tissue paper, then wait 20 minutes. Remove the wet tissue paper and let the canvas dry completely.

 

The colors will bleed from the tissue paper onto the canvas, creating a pretty watercolor effect.

We found that the colors continue to blend and seep into the canvas for a little while after the tissue paper is removed, so the final project looks even cooler when it’s completely dry. I love the texture of the canvas panel – it really makes this look like a work of art! My daughter is thrilled with her artwork.

Tissue transfer art is not only gorgeous, it's totally easy enough for kids to make! Fun kid's art project - perfect indoor activity for rainy days.

Here’s a video to show just how easy it is:

Tissue Paper Art Tips

  • We didn’t use the 2 or 3 darkest colors in the tissue paper pack because I found they bled too much and overtook other colors, and we didn’t use the 2 lightest colors because they didn’t transfer very well.
  • The color will bleed onto anything the wet tissue paper touches, so be sure to protect your work surface and realize you’ll end up with colored fingertips for a day or so.

 

Tissue paper art is not only gorgeous, it's totally easy enough for kids to make! Fun kid's art project - perfect indoor activity for rainy days.

For more kid art, check out these posts:

20 kid art projects pretty enough to frame

Gorgeous fired alcohol ink art

Fingerprint art for kids

Comments

  4. What a great idea, I think I will do it with my 5 four year olds on grandma day. Please tell your daughter that I think her work is beautiful.

    Reply

  8. I LOVE this. I work in a memory care community and I think my residents could do this. I am getting the supplies this week. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  9. Thanks for sharing this wonderful project! Your daughter art is just gorgeous, and so is she! Thanks for the warning that using cheap tissue paper isn’t a good idea; I definitely would have tried Dollar Store stuff! I’m curious about watercolor paper that you mentioned. How do you use it? Again, thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  10. Did this project with my 2nd graders. We used orange, yellow, green and reds and white construction paper. Then they cut out the colored paper into pumpkin shapes. They turned out super cute. Or you can draw the pumpkin outline on the paper first and then add colored tissue paper.

    Reply

  11. Bleeding tissue seems to be something that Australia hasn’t yet embraced….but I LOVE this idea, thinking I might have a play with some crepe paper and see if that works.

    Reply

  12. We did this this afternoon and my girls all loved it. We have stained hands and fingers — a sign of a fun project! Thanks for the idea!

    Reply

  14. I found it works with regular tissue paper if you use spray rubbing alcohol. The fumes could be rough though so be sure to do it in a well ventilated area.

    Reply

  15. Going to try this with my Grandkids. ages 4, 6, and 8. they will create a “masterpiece” for their mom’s office for Mother’s Day.
    I just ordered the tissue from Amazon, couldn’t find any store that carried it in stock.

    Reply

    • Thanks for the idea. I am a preschool teacher and we will be creating this project for our mothers for Mother’s Day. Needing to find the bleeding tissue paper quickly and on a preschool teacher’s salary, I searched the web and found our local craft chain (Michaels) said they carried it. Upon visiting the store, they in fact did not carry Bleeding Art. However, a helpful sales accociate checked the item number for that brand and the exact number came up under another name…”Celebrate It”. I bought it and it works. Have your readers request help in their local stores to check the item number. May save shipping costs.

      Reply

  16. Okay, you guys! This is for all the adults out there who can only draw “stick people,” just like me. This article should be named for kids and adults who draw stick people! LOL! LOL! Really, I am so serious. Going to pin this and label it, wall art. This project is so simple but the outcome is awesome. You can pick your own colors and make the art work any size your heart desires. What a good idea and how fun!

    Reply

  17. This is so neat even small children could do this. I’m planning this for one of the crafts we will do on vacation with my grandkids!
    Thank you for the post!

    Reply

  24. Amazing project for my wedding! My niece’s and nephews and a variety of ages all did this project with me, and I’m using it as a sign for the kids’ table! I’d love to create this same watercolor effect with the table seating signs but use a card stock of some sort. Any ideas on what paper this would work best on? I still have a ton of the bleeding tissue paper left. Thanks 🙂

    Reply

  28. I am going to try this with my daughter’s 3rd grade class as a Valentine’s gift but I am going to incorporate a heart outline…I think this is a beautiful project.

    Reply

  30. Read that Celebrate It tissue would work. Not as dark as I thought. I thought I read alcohol will make the tissue bleed more. Help. Doing project Friday.

    Reply

  31. So beautiful! What a great idea. Thank you so much for sharing! I will try it myself as soon as I get the tissue paper you recommend. I cannot wait!
    Javier

    Reply

  34. Thank you for sharing your experience. I bought some of the tissue paper you’re talking about, and I am glad to know about the darkest and lightest colors. I have a couple of HUGE canvasas, like 2×3 ft, maybe, that were given to me and I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I was too intimidated to try to do a painting, but I think this will turn out beautifully.

    Reply

  35. I’ve made these with my 3 kids too! I bought 5X7 canvas panels and had each child create their own. I framed them with simple white frames and hung them in my bathroom. I love how they turned out. I love children’s art. I only hang art in our house that we created or has a special meaning to us. It’s so much more special. Love your blog!

    Reply

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    Reply

  43. It’s a great project. Do u think it’s possible that it’s done on paper or any thing els instead of canvas?

    Reply

  44. I’ll be trying this out soon with my students but we only have an hour for our workshops. Do you think I could dry the work with a blow dryer to speed up the process?

    Reply

  46. I need your help. I ordered the canvases from the affiliate link on Amazon from your blog and I got the bleeding tissue paper. I did everything exactly like it said but the color did not bleed into the canvas very well at all. it seemed like the surface of the canvas was not very porous and the water and color did not soak in very well. what do you recommend? Should I order different canvases?

    Reply

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