Looking for fun and creative ways to use Sharpies? Here are 20+ Sharpie art projects and crafts your kids will love!
My daycare kids LOVE using Sharpies, so we’ve come up with a lot of Sharpie crafts and creative ways to use Sharpie markers over the years.
I thought I’d put all of our Sharpie art and craft ideas here in one post in case you or your kids are looking for some cool new ways to get creative with your Sharpie collection.
Truth be told, I adore Sharpies too. I didn’t realize just how versatile they are until we started using them for crafting here in my daycare. Before that, I basically just used them whenever I needed to label something with a permanent marker.
Once we started getting creative with them at craft time, I realized you can use Sharpies on just about any surface – paper, glass, plastic, metal etc. Plus, they come in every colour of the rainbow so you can make really vibrant art with them.
Below, you’ll find:
- our favourite Sharpie Markers
- all of the Sharpie art projects and crafts that we’ve done
- tips for removing Sharpie ink from just about anything
- a few extra sharpie projects I’d like to try
Enjoy!
Our Favourite Sharpies:
Before I get to our projects, I want to share our favourite Sharpies with you.
For most of our art projects and crafts, we use fine-tip Sharpies. This 80’s Glam set is our favourite collection of colours. The Electro POP collection contains a similar set of colours.
For more detailed work and drawing very fine lines, we use ultra-fine Sharpies
For large projects, i.e. decorating cardboard forts, we like these chunky chisel tip black Sharpies.
20+ Sharpie Art and Craft Projects for Kids
Sharpie and Rubbing Alcohol Projects:
My daycare kids love making art with Sharpies and rubbing alcohol. When you drip rubbing alcohol over scribbles made with sharpie ink, the colours blend and blur to look like tie-dye. The sharpie and rubbing alcohol process works on a variety of surfaces like ceramic tiles, fabric, artists’ canvas and certain plastics. The process is fun and fascinating, and it’s a creative way to make coasters, napkins, ornaments, wall art and tie-dyed art.
Here are some of our Sharpie and Alcohol projects. Click the links below to see the full tutorials for the crafts:
“Tie Dye” Bookmarks made with Sharpies and Alcohol
Sharpie and Alcohol Valentines
Sharpie Tie Dyed Easter Eggs – we had no idea this process would work on eggs until we tried it! The results were gorgeous, and it was so much easier than dip-dyeing our eggs.
Sharpie and TinFoil Projects
Colouring on tin foil with Sharpie markers is a lovely experience, and it produces really beautiful effect. The Sharpies glide across the foil so smoothly and the ink colours look almost iridescent against the silver foil background. It’s a wonderful way for kids to create a custom piece of art for their room or to make ornaments.
Here are some of the projects we’ve done with Sharpies and tin foil. Click the links below to see the full tutorials for the crafts:
Sharpie and Tin Foil Name Art – this is such a cool way to create a piece of personalized art work for a bedroom.
Sharpie and Tin Foil Christmas Tree Ornaments – sweet and simple but these ornaments look so cute hanging on the Christmas tree.
Pringles Can Wind Sock – A windsock hung in the play area of the yard is a fun way for kids to observe changes in the weather. Using foil and Sharpies to decorate your wind sock is much quicker and easier than painting it.
Sharpie and Tin Foil Valentines
Fall Leaf Mobile with Sharpies and Tin Foil
Sharpie Art on Photo Paper
Photo paper is another slick surface that’s fun to colour on with Sharpies. The markers glide across the photo paper so easily and the colours look really vibrant on the glossy paper. Toddlers can make adorable pictures that can be framed and given as gifts, and older kids can create some really cool designs for themselves or to trade with friends.
Here are some of our Sharpie and Photo Paper Art Projects. Click the links below to see the full tutorials for the crafts:
Sharpie Framed Art for Toddlers – one of the great things about creating art on a piece of photo paper is that it fits perfectly into an inexpensive photo frame. It makes a great homemade gift for a parent or grandparent.
Vibrant Sharpie and Photo Paper Designs – older kids will love this one. They can make all kinds of really cool designs – from stained glass to psychedelic to frame and hang in their room.
Sharpie and Photo Paper Valentines – these little Valentines tokens are fun to make and exchange with friends.
Sharpie Art on Plastic, Glass and Metal
Sharpies work beautifully on glass jars, plastic bottles and tin cans. Because the ink is permanent, it doesn’t rub off, so kids kids can make some really creative and decorative pieces for the home or to give as gifts.
Here are a few of our favourite ways to use Sharpies on glass jars and plastic items. Click the links below to see the full tutorials for the crafts:
Stained Glass Jars with Sharpie Markers – These jars look beautiful when the sunlight streams through them. Use them to hold cut flowers or art supplies.
Coffee Can & CD Wind Chimes – the perfect homemade gift for a coffee lover and music lover!
Colourful CD Garden Mobile – We actually used paint to decorate the CDS for this project, but you could use Sharpies like we did when we decorated the CDs for our coffee can wind chimes (see link above).
Water Bottle Wind Spirals – Hands down, this is one of the easiest and coolest projects we’ve ever made with Sharpies. You should see the way these plastic spirals bounce in the wind!
Sharpies, Watercolours and Clay Dough
Sharpie and Watercolour Butterflies
We didn’t know if Sharpies would work on our homemade white clay until we gave it a try recently. Great news! The results were beautiful! The black Sharpies, in contrast to the vibrant watercolours made our butterfly ornaments look stunning!
And here’s one more that I forgot to include in our collection of Sharpie and Plastic projects.
This fall leaf sun catcher looks lovely when the light shines through the leaves. You can see how to make it here.
Other Sharpie Ideas from Around the Net:
So those are all the Sharpie projects we’ve done here in my daycare, and I thought I’d share a few other great Sharpie art ideas from around the net. I’d definitely like to make these as well!
Sharpie Coasters:
Paging Fun Mums made these beautiful coasters using the Sharpie/Rubbing Alcohol process.
Turn your kids’ artwork into a tea towel to give as a gift. See the how-to here at Setting for Four.
Kids can make a customized coffee mug for someone special with this tutorial from Little Button Diaries.
Turn a pair of inexpensive white sneakers into GALAXY shoes with this tutorial from FrugalMomEh.
I hope you enjoyed these Sharpie Art Ideas! Before you go, check out these fun and easy art activities for kids!
How to remove Sharpie Ink from Various Surfaces:
I figured I’d better leave you with some tips for removing Sharpie ink just in case your little ones get a little TOO creative with these permanent markers. You can find out how to remove Sharpie ink from almost any surface in this handy guide.
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
