Eric Carle-Inspired Winter Landscapes That Kids Can Make

Inspiration can be found all around us. And for me, this time I was inspired by a beloved artist: Eric Carle.

You may know him for The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

For me, his colourful hand-painted collages and nature-based stories live on within our bookshelves and our hearts. And I wanted to create a kids craft that would pay tribute to the icon in a beautiful way. 

What You'll Need

• card stock or watercolour paper
• acrylic paint
• paint brushes
• paint pallet (or bowls)
• materials/tools for making textures (we used recycled bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard scraps, a fork)

How It's Made

Prepare your card stock or watercolour papers by cutting them into four-by five-inch rectangles. Save one larger rectangular piece for your finished product.

Use a paint brush to cover one of your squares of paper with paint and then set it to dry.

We picked mostly cooler colours (blues, purples) but we also used some warmer colours (pink, red, orange, yellow) to make the colour of a setting sun. Repeat this step with different colours of paint on all of your other blank papers. These will be your base layers. Save your paint colours to use later.

Once all of your painted rectangles have dried it’s time to add some texture. To do this, you will mix a slightly lighter paint colour by adding some white to your existing colours.

Next, pick a material/tool to add some texture (bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, a fork).

For the bubble wrap and the cardboard you will paint directly onto the material and then press it on your base layers to make a print.

For the fork, cover your base layer with a thick layer of your lighter paint colour and then use the fork to create lines and waves!

Once your papers have dried, you can cut them out into shapes to create your winter scene.

I cut out rolling toboggan hills that I placed beneath a big, pink sunset. Maybe you will cut some trees or a pond or some triangles for winter camping tents.

Glue your shapes onto the plain white rectangle you saved for your final product. Allow your creation to dry flat by stacking a heavy book on top as thicker papers are known to peel away from one another.

Use your creation as a future holiday greeting card or as a background for winter-themed small world play! You can even use this activity to create an image of a winter memory your family had this year!