This Christmas chalk pastel art is a colorful and easy art project that kids will love to make! The chalk pastels on black paper look like they are glowing and using this simple technique makes this art project perfect for kids of all ages.
Kids love using this simple pastel technique, it makes a great lesson on positive and negative space in art, lets kids explore drawing and smudging with chalk pastels and it also produces wow-worthy art kids will be proud to display!
Pastels are so fun for kids to explore! Take a look at my collection of chalk pastel art for more creative ideas kids will love.
This is a really fun technique that gives dramatic results! Take a look at this fall leaf chalk pastel art and flower chalk pastel art for similar ideas using different templates.
For this project, I created 3 free printable templates to make this art project even easier for you. These templates are available to my email subscribers. Fill out the form below to get the free templates.
After signing up you will receive a welcome email with your download link.
Tips for working with chalk pastels
Chalk pastels can be messy (but so fun!). There are a few things you can do to help keep some of the mess contained:
- Put newspaper down on desks or tables
- Put your project on a tray or a shallow cardboard box which will keep most of the mess inside the tray
- You can try doing your project outside
- Have lots of paper towels handy
- Once you are done with your project (or even halfway through if it gets really dusty), take it outside to gently blow or shake off the excess dust
- If you are using chalk pastels in the classroom and the kids are ready to take their artwork home, simply place the art between some newspaper to keep it from smudging and for easy transport.
Create your own Christmas chalk pastel art
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Supplies
- Chalk pastels
- Black drawing paper or construction paper
- Painters tape
- Scissors
- White cardstock
- Paper towels
- Blending stick (optional)
Instructions for your Christmas art project
1. Print out the template that you want to use on white cardstock and cut it out. Tape it onto black drawing paper using painter’s tape. You can also use construction paper, but the colors may not be as bright.
2. Choose the colors of pastels that you will be using. For the Christmas tree, we used different shades of green, yellow, and white. For the angel, we used shades of blue and white, and for the candy cane, we used red, white, and green.
3. Use one color at a time and draw thick lines around your template. Kids can always go over their drawing a couple of times to get the lines really thick. This will really help to make the most out of the smudging effect.
You want to decide ahead of time how you will be using your colors. Kids can choose to do a pattern or make it completely random. This is a chance for them to use their creativity, each project will be unique!
4. Once you are happy with how thick the lines are, it’s time to start smudging. This can get a bit messy so make sure to have paper towels handy and a place to go outside to blow off the excess dust.
Use your first two fingers to start smudging the pastels in an outward direction. Have paper towels handy so kids can wipe their fingers between smudging different colors. This will help to keep the colors nice and bright. Continue to smudge the pastels in an outward direction all the way around your template.
If you find that the effect is not as dramatic as you would like, you can always color around the edges again and smudge the pastels again to make your colors even brighter.
Some kids might not like to use their fingers with chalk pastels. They can try using a blending stick instead.
Carefully take the paper outside to blow off any excess dust.
5. Carefully remove the template being careful not to smudge your artwork or tear the paper. If there is some pastel dust underneath, you can take the paper outside again to try blowing off the excess dust first and then clean the rest of it up with a q-tip.
This Christmas chalk pastel art project makes a great art activity for kids of all ages! Take a look at these creative Christmas arts and crafts for more fun ideas.
Fill in the form below to get your free printable templates!
After signing up you will receive a welcome email with your download link.
More Christmas art kids will love
How to Draw a Beautiful Chalk Pastel Christmas Tree
How to Make a Gingerbread House Painting
Follow me on Pinterest for more amazing project ideas.
Pin this art project for later
Easy Christmas Chalk Pastel Art for Kids to Make
Kids will love making this colorful Christmas chalk pastel art using an easy pastel technique and printable templates. A great holiday art project for kids of all ages!
Materials
- Chalk pastels
- Black drawing paper or construction paper
- Painters tape
- Printed templates
- Paper towels
Tools
- Scissors
- Blending stick (optional)
Instructions
- Print out one of the 3 provided templates onto white cardstock. Cut your template out and tape it down to your paper.
- Choose the colors of pastels that you will be using. For the Christmas tree, we used different shades of green, yellow, and white. For the angel, we used shades of blue and white, and for the candy cane, we used red, white, and green.
- Using one color at a time, start to draw around your template. You want the lines to be thick to get the best result with the smudging technique. Kids can always color a second coat around to make their lines thicker if needed.
- Start smudging the pastels using your first 2 fingers in an outward direction. Wipe your fingers on a piece of paper towel as you go around your template and switch colors. This will help to keep your art looking nice and bright!
Continue to smudge the pastels in an outward direction all the way around your template.
Go outside to blow off any excess dust on your paper. - Carefully take off the template to reveal your amazing art! If there is a lot of dust underneath the template, take your paper outside again to blow off the dust. Use a q-tip to clean up any remaining dust.
Cheryl Spilker
I have signed up for your free library but I do not see the printables for this Christmas project. I must be missing something. I can get to the library but I do not see the printable.
ProjectswithKids
Hi Cheryl, if you scroll down in the resource library it’s right at the end. 🙂