This watercolor poppy art is just gorgeous and such a fun and easy craft for kids to do! We used an easy watercolor technique that kids of all ages will have fun with and each poppy will look unique.

There are so many fun watercolor techniques for kids to try! Take a look at my collection of watercolor painting for kids for more fun and creative ideas. 

We cut the flowers out and added in the black and grey paper for the center, which gives the poppy a nice 3D effect. Plus it’s great for kids to work on their scissor skills!

These poppies are perfect for a Remembrance Day craft or Veteran’s Day or to use as a fall flower art project. They would make a stunning eye-catching display in the classroom!

This poppy art would also make a great project to learn about Georgia O’Keeffe. Take a look at these chalk pastel poppies inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe for more information and another beautiful poppy art idea!

For this project, I created a free printable template to make this art project even easier for you. This template is available to my email subscribers. Fill out the form below to get the free template.

After signing up you will receive a welcome email with your download link.

Create your own watercolor poppy art

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Supplies

• Printable poppy template
• Watercolor paper
• Watercolor paints (we used a watercolor paint set and liquid red watercolor)
• Paint palette
• Scissors
• Coarse salt
• Paintbrush
• Pencil
• Water dish
• Black and grey cardstock or construction paper

Instructions to make your poppy craft

1. Print out and cut out your template. Use the poppy template to draw a poppy onto your watercolor paper. I was able to draw two poppies onto our 11×15 inch paper.

2. Mix up your watercolor paint. We used a bight red from a watercolor paint set and a darker red from a liquid watercolor bottle.

Make sure to test out your colors on scrap paper before painting, the colors will dry slightly lighter.

3. Start by painting your poppy with clean water so the paper is wet when you start to paint. Then paint on your red colors. I like to do one color first before moving on to the next color.

This technique is called a wet on wet technique. You are painting wet watercolor onto wet paper, the paint will spread and mix together and form really cool and unique patterns!

If you want to learn more about different techniques take a look at these 5 easy watercolor techniques that produce fantastic results.

4. While your paint is still wet, sprinkle on coarse salt. This will make even more interesting patterns as it dries!

Let your poppy painting dry completely, depending on how wet your paper is, this may take a while. If you want to try speeding up the drying process you can use a hairdryer to help the paint dry faster.   

5. While your painting is drying, start to make the center of the poppy. You can use the templates I provided or simply have kids draw their own circles or even use plastic lids as a template.

Cut out the larger circle using black cardstock or construction paper and the smaller circle using dark grey paper.   

6. Cut lines all the way around each circle towards the center but remind kids not to cut all the way through.

Bend up the cut paper just slightly to give the center some dimension.   

7. Once your poppy is dry, brush off the salt, either outside or into a sink and cut out the poppy. Kids love to see all the cool patterns that the paint and salt made on their paper!

8. Glue the black center onto the middle of the poppy using a glue stick. Glue the grey circle into the middle of the black paper to complete your poppy art.

For a similar idea using the same template take a look at these colorful and easy watercolor flowers.

This watercolor poppy art is so pretty and an easy craft for younger kids as well as older kids to make. Using easy watercolor techniques gives each poppy a unique look and adding in a 3D center makes the whole art project really pop!

If you are looking for more fall art projects take a look at my collection of creative fall painting ideas for kids! There are ideas for kids of all ages that use different types of art materials and techniques.

If you are looking for more art projects to try, take a look at our ultimate collection of amazing art projects for kids!

Fill in the form below to get your free printable template!

After signing up you will receive a welcome email with your download link. 

More watercolor painting kids will love

How to Make a Beautiful Watercolor Flower Painting

Northern Lights Watercolor Painting for Kids

Follow me on Pinterest for more amazing project ideas. 

Pin these watercolor poppies for later