Memphis Themed Art Projects

Memphis Crafts for Kids. By The Art Project

We are sharing some of our projects inspired by our hometown of Memphis. We also have a blog dedicated to ELVIS here!

Fingerprint Art

Fingerprint art is fun for kids of all ages. It is an easy way for kids to learn how to draw or for parents to get in on the fun using their toddler’s fingers.

What You’ll Need:

• Paper

• Washable markers, pencils or crayons

• Stamp pads - we love these by Melissa & Doug because they are super washable.

  *Don’t have a stamp pad on hand? No problem. Just color on your child’s finger with a washable marker and stamp away!

Instructions:

1. Press yours or your child’s finger in stamp ink and stamp on the paper.

2. Add details using markers, pencils or crayons.

3. Follow our examples below for inspiration.

Memphis Fingerprint Art, by The Art Project

Collage Your Favorite Memphis Barbecue

What You’ll Need:

• Construction paper

• Pencil/eraser

• Scissors

• Glue stick

• Oil pastels or crayons

• Washable paint in a squirt bottle (optional)

• Colored sand (optional)

Instructions:

1. Use a pencil to sketch out the shapes of the food you’d like to make. Cut it out.

2. Decorate the background of your construction paper using oil pastels.

3. Glue the shapes of the food you cut out down to your paper using a glue stick.

4. Add details to your food using oil pastels.

5. Add more enhancements if desired. Drizzle “BBQ sauce” (washable dark red paint) onto your food. And sprinkle “dry rub” (red sand) onto your food. Make sure to first apply glue before sprinkling sand!

Collage Memphis Barbecue, by The Art Project

Painting The Bridge At Sunset

What You’ll Need:

• Pencil/eraser

• Permanent marker

• Oil pastels or crayons

• Watercolor/brush

• Straight edge

• Cup of water

• Mixed media or watercolor paper

Instructions:

1. Sketch your bridge using a pencil/eraser. Outline your pencil lines using a permanent marker.

2. Begin to fill in color using oil pastels. Use “warm” colors for the sunset and “cool colors for the river. See below chart for help with this!

3. Paint the background using watercolor paints. The paint will resist the oil pastel/marker lines.

Watercolor Memphis Bridge, by The Art Project

Make The Memphis Pyramid

What You’ll Need:

• Cardboard

• Thick paper or cardstock

• Glue or masking tape

• Kwik Sticks or other drawing materials

• Scissors

• Pencil

• Straight Edge

• Optional: Silver Glitter

Instructions:

1. Print out our pyramid template below. Trace it onto a piece of cardstock and cut it out.

2. Decorate your pyramid using Kwik Sticks or other drawing materials

3. Fold along the dotted lines to form the pyramid’s shape. Fold the tabs and secure using glue or tape.

4. Decorate your cardboard using Kwik Sticks.

5. Glue pyramid down to the piece of cardboard.

6. OPTIONAL: paint glue on pyramid and shake glitter on top to make it shiny.

Pyramid Template by The Art Project

Draw Memphis Neon Sign

What You’ll Need:

• Chalk Pastels

• Dark Construction Paper

Instructions:

1. Draw the “Memphis” sign using chalk pastels.

2. Use your finger to smudge the lines to make them appear as though they are “glowing.”

3. Add some chalk smudge lines in the background.

4. OPTIONAL: Spray your paper with hairspray. This will prevent the chalk pastels from rubbing off/smudging.

Memphis Neon Sign, by The Art Project

Paint With A Memphis Tiger

What You’ll Need:

• Toy Tiger (you can also use another animal or your fingers). Don’t have any? These are a great investment to keep around the house!

• Black paper

• Grey/Blue washable paints

Instructions:

1. Dip your tiger in either grey or blue paint and make him/her walk across your paper creating different paint marks.

2. Experiment using the tiger to make different types of marks on your paper. This project is more about the process than the end product.

Paint With Tigers. By The Art Project