Wizard's Workshop Watercolor

Kids have the best imaginations. This fun project challenges them to think what a wizard would keep on a bookshelf. A pile of bones? A skull under glass? Lots of spell books? Potions and a magic wand? A jar of eyeballs? Perhaps all that and more, or something completely different! Affiliate links below. 

Wizard's Workshop Watercolor

Materials:

• watercolor paper
• pencil
• ruler
• Sharpie Art Pen
• watercolor paints (I LOVE this travel set)

Steps:

Use a ruler to draw a bookshelf on the watercolor paper. You can make it as tall/short and wide/narrow as you want, with as many shelves as you'd like. I used the ruler to draw the floor boards and books, then did everything else freehand. 

Fill the shelves with whatever you think would be in a wizard's workshop, sketching lightly with a pencil. When you are done sketching, trace over everything with a Sharpie. (I used brown.) Do not use a water-based marker!

This was my first time trying out Sharpie pens and I loved them! If you've never tried Sharpie pens, they are different from the Sharpie markers you've used a hundred times. The fine tip is just the right size for detailed drawing, and the ink doesn't bleed or soak through paper. The ink dries immediately and doesn't smear when you brush your hand over it (perfect for us lefties!). And Sharpie pens are acid-free, so you can use them on scrapbook pages, too. 

 

(I'm in love.)

After you've traced over everything, erase the pencil lines. Then use watercolors to bring it to life. I started with the bookcase and floor, then did the broom, then the cauldron. 

Next was the books, bottles, jars, and wand. After that, the walls. The last thing I did was to fill in the back of the bookshelf.

By the way, I used my beloved travel watercolor set for this project, even though I only traveled from my upstairs craft room to the downstairs living room to paint. I originally bought it exclusively for travel, but I love it so much that I got rid of my other watercolors and just use this. In looking for the link, I discovered there is a 48-color set. Now I'm totally tempted. Because twice as many colors is probably twice as awesome, right?

        

(Dear Santa, I've been good.)

I had so much fun creating this! If you or your kids paint a wizard's workshop, email a photo to me or leave a link in the comments. I'd love to see what other people dream up!