Corn Husk Paint Brushes

Last week my sister brought over a bunch of corn. I roasted them in the oven with their husks on and they were yummy. But as I cleaned up, I kept wondering if there was anything I could do with the discarded husks. Last summer I used my husks to make a corn husk doll. This time I tried my hand at making some corn husk paint brushes, since Chuck has been so keen on painting lately.

Corn Husk Paint Brushes

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Last time he really enjoyed making abstract art with cardboard. This time he found it funny to paint with brushes make from food. Now if you're eating a lot of corn too, your kids might like trying out this activity too!

Materials to Make Corn Husk Paint Brushes

Corn Husks (removed from a roasted corn)
Scissors

Steps to Make Corn Husk Paint Brushes

1. Using your fingers, rip your husk into thin strands.
2. Once you have ten strands, bundle them together and bend them in the middle.
3. Then, take another ripped strand and double knot it tightly near your bended middle. This will keep the strands tied together.
4. Take your scissors and trim off the ends, making a smooth paint brush.

Hee hee. These corn husk paint brushes look a bit like ghosts, don't they?

Once I finished making our paint brushes, Chuck and I painted with them. We used these paints and watercolor paper. (By the way, if you're frugal like me and want to save a bit on materials, just use both sides of your watercolor paper. We do a lot of painting, so I always end up using the back of the paper for another project.)

Here's a photo of my experimentation with corn husk paint brushes:

(I didn't use much water and basically applied the paint as it came out of the tube.)

Chuck took a completely different route. He's REALLY in love with the color black (can you tell?) He also dipped his brush in a lot of water and got really wet results. (Since he was enjoying painting so much we also ended up pulling out a tooth pick and a tooth brush for him to paint with too.)

And that's it! Hopefully you and your child will also have fun making and using your own corn husk paint brushes too!

Psst- Looking for other ways to "paint" without a paintbrush?

Check out these posts!

Happy making and painting, friends!

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Tuesday, May 27, 2014