Sharpie® Project for Kids

I have two young nieces, ages three and six, and I love nothing more than our afternoons that we spend together.  Both girls thoroughly enjoying arts and crafts so I created a Pinterest board dedicated solely to projects that I think that they would enjoy.  I had pinned this particular activity a while back but decided that my brother and sister-in-law’s approaching anniversary would provide a perfect opportunity to have the girls complete this project.

It’s a super simple activity that only requires three main items:  Sharpie® markers; porcelain dishware; and an oven.

I just had each girl choose two plates and a mug from Target®.  They have a nice selection of white porcelain items to choose from in their stores.  When we arrived home, I taped a sheet (or two) of wax paper to the top of my kitchen table to protect it in the event of an “Oops!”.  Each of the girls had free reign from there to deign whatever they wanted for their mommy and daddy’s anniversary gifts.

The only thing that I requested was that they each sign their name on their items.  Besides that, they just had a blast drawing and creating.

  After they completed their designs, I placed the items in the oven that I had preheated to 350 degrees and let them bake for 30 minutes.  When the timer went off, their gifts were complete!  (The porcelain remained very hot for almost half an hour after I took them out of the oven, so please make sure that children keep a safe distance while items are cooling.)

I made sure to write the date on the back of each piece so that their mom and dad would always remember the girls’ ages when they made these gifts for them.  While I cannot promise that the Sharpie® markers will withstand dozens and dozens of washes in the dishwasher, I have read that hand-washing is preferable but simply keeping them as keepsakes is a fail-safe way to keep the integrity of the colors and designs.  (One pinned on Pinterest noted that using a Porcelain marker would ensure that the marker stays in place.)

 The girls had so much fun creating and I had such a fantastic time watching!  This proved to be such a simple but exciting project for little ones!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

xoxo

Lindsey