Salty Watercolors

This is one of my favorite art projects for just about any age kids or adults.  Different papers react to the salt differently, so try this one out before you do it with a group.

Did you know if you sprinkle salt on a still-wet watercolor it makes absolutely gorgeous crystal shapes on it?
Here are some dinosaur silhouette sunsets I did with 6-8 year olds.

We added construction paper cut-outs on top

Make sure the salt is the last step- painting over it will ruin the effect.  Different wetnesses provide different effects.  I've found it looks best when the paper is still quite damp to the touch, but not puddling.

This effect is also fun if you draw a snowman with white crayon on white paper, then paint over with blue and add salt.  It looks like snow!

The salt transformation is really fun and happens over the span of a couple of minutes.  When it's dry you may want to brush off the salt crystals with your hand, or leave them there because sometimes it makes the picture look sparkly!