Reusable Dry Erase Watercolor Placemats

 

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house. I thought it would be fun to have the kids help make the decorations. We needed new placemats and my two artists were more than excited to help. You can check out our previous post about the centerpiece here.

 

Materials:
Heavy stock paper- like card stock or watercolor paper (We used card stock)
Watercolors
Brush
Painters Tape
Construction paper
Contact Paper
Ribbon and leaves (optional)

 

 

Before my little ones came to the table I prepared the workspace by taping down the white paper to the table. I taped all four sides with painter’s tape so it would easily peel off the paper but hold the paper while painting.

 

We used a wet on wet watercolor technique.  This simply means paint the paper with water first and then add your paint. Kids love to watch the colors mix and swirl on the wet paper.

 

Be careful not to add too much water as that can rip the paper.

 

Also, in order to avoid making “mud” colors, I only set out red, orange and yellow watercolors (I was able to pop the unwanted colors out of the tray).

 

My two artists did not miss the other colors.  Let paper dry completely when finished painting.

 

*If your artists uses a lot of water you may start to see the paper “pill” (little pieces of paper flake off), this is ok. When the paper dries you can brush them away. Just be careful because once that starts to happen the paper has had enough water and can easily tear. It is a good sign to finish painting.

 

 

Step 1:  Once your watercolor is completely dry mount it on a piece of colored paper.

 

Use two sheets of paper together to get the size you need. To cover the seam of the two papers,  I added ribbon over the top (I also added two extra lines of ribbon- just for fun).  We also added a paper leaf that was left over from our centerpiece project.

 

This is the most difficult part of the project. I will admit I did this step on my own without my little helpers. 

Cut 2 pieces of clear contact paper larger than your colored paper.

 

Peel the backing off one piece and lay it sticky side up on the table.

 

Place your placemat front side up and lay on top sticky part of the contact paper. Next peel the backing off a second piece of contact paper.

 

Line up with the corners of the first contact paper but this time put sticky side down (essentially creating a contact paper sandwich with your placemat in the center).  

 

Use your fingers to rub out any bubbles. Trim any excess contact paper with scissors.

 

 

The Dry Erase Reusable Part:  The best thing is that dry erase markers work on the contact paper. You can add a name or more decoration and then wipe it off (use a wet wipe if the dry erase is being stubborn).