Fun Negative Space Christmas Tree Art

We literally did this project while I cooked a meal! It is so fun and easy, and not a really big set up! You will need chalk pastels, (we found a really nice set on amazon here for under $15.) Construction paper, and card stock if you have it to make it easier to outline without tearing or moving.

First, find a Christmas Tree cut out so you can us to mask the paper. We found ours here

We printed it out on card stock so it would be easy to trace around with the chalk pastels.

Next, cut out the tree (excellent shape for practicing cutting skills! Then, tape it to the dark colored paper (the concept is supposed to represent a tree glowing at night!) Begin tracing around the edges of the tree with different colored pastels! Be sure to make the lines nice and thick so you have excess chalk to work with! Also, be sure to remind them to use bright colors so they show up better!

Once you have finished outlining, use your fingers to blend the chalk outwards from the tree to give it a beautiful glowing effect! Be sure to emphasize the importance of using different fingers for each color otherwise they will mix and make a muddy mess. You could also use Q-tips for this part, designating one Q-tip per color!

We learned that removing the masking first made it harder to keep the middle clean. If you would like a nice hard edge like above, you should keep the cut out taped until the end.