Hot Glue Paintings

I just recently discovered that hot glue doesn’t only come in white, but just about any color you can imagine! But what good is something that you barely even see? I have always used hot glue as nothing more than a binder until I discovered another, more creative way to use it. If your kids love to color or paint but struggle to stay “in the lines” then this hot glue painting craft is perfect!

The Tools

All you need for this craft are a hot glue gun (I used a mini but full size would work just fine) and white or clear glue sticks. You also need tempura paint and some heavy duty watercolor paper. You could use construction paper if that is all you have but it doesn’t hold up as well to the paint and glue.

The Hot Glue Painting Outline

I am not the most artistic person so I often use a template when making crafts that involve more than basic circles or lines. You can trace an outline or simply freehand, but I recommend starting with pencil so you can fix any mistakes. We did simple ornaments, candy canes and snowmen. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that you will be going back over your drawing with hot glue.

Hot Glue

Once you are satisfied with your outline, slowly retrace the pencil lines with the hot glue. Allow it to dry (only takes a minute or two) before moving on to the next step.

Paint

Now its time to break out the paint! I let my children choose whatever colors they want. The glue helps to encourage them to stay inside of the lines as they paint. If you want to add some glitter to the painting, then you can do so before the paint dries.

I love the texture that the hot glue gives to these paintings as well. The kids really enjoyed painting these, so we made quite a few. Here are some more of our favorites:

This is a great craft to do any time of the year! We also made some of these in the fall that turned out really well.