This rainbow craft for kids is a real crowd pleaser because it has a little surprise – a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! And the gold is made of chocolate! Kids of all ages will enjoy doing this fun rainbow craft because it can be adapted for different levels of fine motor development. It’s a fun way for little hands to practice fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and a great way to work on color recognition. This easy rainbow craft is a great themed craft for a St. Patrick’s Day party, or just a fun thing to do in the springtime, or at any time of year! So if you are looking for rainbow craft ideas, read on for instructions on how to make different versions of this simple rainbow craft for kids!
Tissue Paper Rainbow Craft for Kids
This version is especially great for practicing fine motor skills. Think pincer grasp!
Materials Needed for the Tissue Paper Rainbow Craft:
You only need a few common craft materials for this simple craft! They are all inexpensive and it is likely that you have most if not at of the materials already. Here is what you need:
- Rainbow printable – you can find the free pdf file below. You can use either the color version or the black and white version – either one works for this tissue paper version of the rainbow. The color version will give you a little bit nicer of a final product, but it will be cute either way!
- White card stock – you will need this for printing the rainbow printable. This is important – regular printer paper will be too flimsy.
- Tissue paper – you will need all the colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. If you use the black and white version of the rainbow printable, you can make your rainbow whatever colors you would like. The dollar store is a great place to find inexpensive colored tissue paper. Dollar Tree and Dollar General both carry it. Walmart usually has an assortment of colored tissue paper as well.
- Scissors
- Craft glue – you can use white glue or clear glue, either one will work! You could also user double stick tape as an alternative if you want to keep things neat and tidy.
- Cotton balls – you will need about 3-5 cotton balls for each rainbow, depending on their size.
- 8 oz paper treat cup – you can find these for between two to four dollars at Target, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and probably party supply stores as well. Amazon also carries them, but they are quite a bit more pricey.
- Black paint – acrylic craft paint will work well
- Paint brush – a 1 inch flat brush works great for painting the treat cup. You will also need a small brush for the glue.
- Hot glue gun and hot glue (optional, but recommended)
- Chocolate gold coins – this is optional, but it does give the craft a fun touch!
Instructions for Making the Tissue Paper Rainbow Craft
- Paint the outside of the paper treat cup black. Set it aside to dry. If you don’t plan to fill the cup with coins and tissue paper, you might want to paint the inside of the cup as well.
- Print the rainbow printable on white card stock.
- Cut out the rainbow shape, keeping the cloud attached.
- Cut small squares or rectangles out of the tissue paper – the squares should be about 1-2 inches in length and width.
- Have your child crumple the tissue paper squares slightly.
- Now your child can glue the tissue paper to the appropriate rainbow stripes, matching the different colors. You can either paint the rainbow, one stripe at a time, with glue and then press the tissue paper onto the stripe, or you can put a little dot of glue on the tissue paper and then press it onto the correct stripe on the rainbow.
- This is a great opportunity to teach or practice the colors of the rainbow! Talk to your child as he is gluing the colored tissue paper. Say the names of the colors and ask your child to repeat them back to you,
- Once you have all the rainbow stripes covered with tissue paper, glue cotton balls on the cloud to cover it. First pull the cotton balls apart and then glue the pieces to the paper to make a fluffy cloud.
- Glue the bottom of the rainbow on the non-cloud side to the inside of the painted treat cup. You probably want to use hot glue for this step to help the bottom of the rainbow attach securely.
- Now you can fill the “pot” at the end of the rainbow with gold coins! You can add a little gold tissue paper to fill it in if you would like.
Here’s the final product:
Glitter Rainbow Craft for Kids
If you are more of a glitter person than a tissue paper person, you might prefer to do the glitter version of the rainbow craft. Here are the instructions for the glitter rainbow:
Materials Needed:
- Rainbow printable – you can find the free pdf file below. You can use either the color version or the black and white version.
- White card stock – you will need this for printing the rainbow printable
- Glitter – you will need all the rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. If you use the black and white version of the rainbow printable you can use whatever colors of glitter you would like! You can find inexpensive glitter at the dollar store.
- Scissors
- Craft glue – you can use white glue or clear glue, either one will work!
- Cotton balls
- 8 oz paper treat cup – you can find these for between two to four dollars at Target, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and probably party supply stores as well
- Black paint – acrylic craft paint works well
- Paint brush
- Large sheet of wax paper or craft tray (this is for catching glitter)
- Hot glue gun and hot glue (optional, but recommended)
- Chocolate gold coins – this is optional, but it does give the craft a fun touch!
- Gold tissue paper – (also optional, but it finishes the craft really nicely!)
Instructions for Making the Glitter Rainbow Craft
- Paint the outside of the paper treat cup black. Set it aside to dry.
- Print the rainbow printable on white card stock.
- Cut out the rainbow shape, keeping the cloud attached.
- You will want to do the next step over a piece of wax paper or craft tray.
- Paint the red stripe of the rainbow with a light coat of glue. Try to stay in the red stripe only. If you are doing this with a very young child, you might need to apply the glue.
- Sprinkle red glitter on the red stripe. Let it dry for a few seconds, then gently shake the excess glitter off onto your wax paper or craft tray.
- Repeat this process for each color of the rainbow.
- You can use this time to talk about the colors of the rainbow and the order of the colors if your child hasn’t yet mastered color recognition.
- When all the rainbow stripes have been covered with glitter, it’s time to do the clouds.
- Cover the cloud in a light layer of glue. Tear off pieces of the cotton ball and stick them to the glue.
- Glue the bottom of the rainbow on the non-cloud side onto the inside of the painted treat cup. You probably want to use hot glue for this step to help the bottom of the rainbow attach securely.
- Now for the best part – time to fill the “pot” at the end of the rainbow with gold coins! You can add a little gold tissue paper to fill it in if you would like.
Now you are finished! This is what the glitter rainbow looks like when it is finished:
Don’t you love these cute and colorful rainbows?!
I hope you and your child or children had so much fun with this little project. Thank you so much for visiting! I hope you come back soon!
Feel free to browse around and check out some other fun crafts and activities for kids! Here are a few that you might enjoy:
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