From Basic Kids' Art Supplies to a Rainbow Christmas Garland

This morning my toddler woke up with a burning fever and terrible cough. I messaged his preschool, cancelled my own appointments and hunkered down with my little guy on this rainy, December California day. 

I had quite a bit of time stuck inside while my little guy napped off his cold (and watched too many episodes of Paw Patrol!) so I decided to take a stab at finishing our Christmas tree decorations. We had lost a box of Christmas ornaments somehow and the tree looked a bit… well, naked. I didn’t want to spend any more money this holiday season on new decorations so I thought I would do something handmade. 

So I reached for my stash of kids’ art supplies to see what I could throw together. I realized that I had all the gear I needed to make a watercolor rainbow garland for our tree. So I got to it, and the results were surprisingly lovely! 

Having the Right Paper on Hand 

I always try to have 2 kinds of paper on hand to make art at home with my kids and family- plain old computer paper and card stock.

That’s it! I have tons of other paper that I use in my own art studio (sketch paper, drawing paper, pastel paper, etc) but for kids’ art projects I find that these 2 papers are great. They are affordable, easy to find, easy to store and fit the needs of just about any at home craft project.

Anytime I use Crayola Washable markers watercolor effect, I make sure to use white card stock. It’s thick enough to absorb the color and even more art supplies if I choose to add them.

Card stock is one of my secret weapons when it comes to making art at home with my kids. It's pretty absorbent, affordable, easy to find and easy to store. I swear by it for multimedia projects.

Digging Through my Kids’ Art Supply Stash to Make my Rainbow Garland

It was so fun digging through my creative pantry and finding everything I needed to make this rainbow Christmas garland.

Here are the supplies I ended up using:

• Crayola Washable Markers (Bright Colors box of 10)

• Ooly Chunkies (Neon box of 6)

• 8.5” x 11” white card stock (About 25 sheets)

• Scissors

• Scotch Tape

• A stapler (for when I ran out of tape!)

• My ceramic paint palette set

• A wide and flat paint brush

• A spray bottle filled with water

• A random rag

• A cooling rack for letting wet paper dry

Deciding which Colors to Use

With any creative coloring project, I always like to pick out my palette first thing. Having an uncontrolled set of colors is a great way to get muddy, mixed up hues and I knew I wanted my Christmas garland to POP.

I immediately decided NOT to use red, light pink or yellow markers for my rainbow garland. For various reasons, those colors don’t work super well when doing a watercolor effect. The yellow and light pink are SO light that they don’t feel worth the effort. Also the red looks… well it looks gorey to me. Perfect for a halloween vampire project but not the look I wanted for my rainbow Christmas garland!

Creating RESISTANCE with my Ooly Paint Sticks

I also knew I wanted to create a bunch of different textures and effects on my chain links. I broke out one of my favorite kids’ art supplies to do this. Ooly Chunkies are easy to use, come in vivid colors and are so versatile.

For my rainbow garland I just drew lines, grids and squiggles using yellow, blue and green. I made thin lines with the sides of the chunkies and wide lines with the top (Such a great way to experiment with line quality). Also, using marks to watercolor a ton of strips of paper is a lot of work, so for a few pieces of paper I just made fun patterns with the paint sticks. 

This had the added benefit of cutting down drying time. Ooly Chunkie paint sticks have become such a huge part of my art at home game. I don’t know how I ever got by without them.

Thoughtfully Mixing Colors to get a VIVID Rainbow Look

I colored a few pieces of card stock for each color in my garland. For my purple chains I used 2 pieces of paper since it was at the thinnest, highest part of my tree. For the blue part of my garland, I had to use about 12 pieces of paper since it was at the thickest part of my Christmas tree. I had to keep going back to make more for the blue part!

For each part of the garland, I made sure to use VERY FEW colors. This is how to make sure that you get that yummy, vibrant rainbow effect.

On the yellow green chain for example, I use the following:

• Yellow

• Yellow green

• Light blue

That’s it! These colors all live very close to each other on the color wheel so you know they will SING when they are put side by side.

Having Fun with Crayola Washable Markers WATERCOLOR Technique

This is hands down the most FUN technique to get using Crayola watercolor markers. It’s also a major reason why this humble (but GORGEOUS!) product is one of my favorite art supplies of all time.  

Here are just some of the lovely watercolor effects I got creating our Christmas rainbow garland. Notice that I used my favorite ceramic paint set a ton. I designed this paint set with a local ceramicist for this exact reason.

It's hard to believe you can get such gorgeous watercolor-like textures from Crayola washable markers. This technique is so joyful and fun! Plus, it lets kids learn deep lessons in color mixing and color theory.

The Perfect Family Christmas Art Project (I assume 😆)

One of the reasons why I LOVE free expressive, creative painting projects is because kids of all ages can participate and have lots of success making beautiful art. It’s a GREAT family art activity, particularly for long, dark winter nights.

After I got about halfway through this project and my little guy was starting to perk up, I had big hopes that my older kids would come home from school and help us. I even set out the table with color coded stations and snacks for everyone. 

Alas… they had no interest. Lol. They had piano and homework to think about so fair enough, but on another night this would definitely have been a really fun, satisfying project to all do together. Maybe I’ll try to entice them again next year and share the results.

Et Viola- Our Gorgeous Rainbow Christmas Garland made from Crayola Markers & Ooly Paint Sticks!

I am so thrilled with how this sick day project turned out! Start to finish, it took about 4 hours. If my snack plates had worked and my older kids had pitched in it would have taken about half as long. 

At first I thought, “Geez, 4 hours feels long.” But then I reflected that I’m going to have this lovely garland for years to come! Also, because it uses lots of yummy rainbow colors, I can also pop it up for birthday parties, summer parties and more!

Also, compared to how long other DIY Christmas garlands take (Popcorn garlands? My friend, don’t even begin unless you have 3 weeks to work on it!), this was relatively quick. Finally, every year when I pull it out of its box I’ll remember this rainy December day when my little guy and I were cuddled up together at home. 

As anyone knows, a sick day with a toddler isn’t exactly a moral builder. But honestly, now that he and I are cozy on our sofa (watching yet another episode of Paw Patrol), with our happy rainbow tree twinkling in the corner, I have zero regrets. 

Have a Colorful Creative Christmas with Basic Kids’ Art Supplies!

I’ve talked to many parents over the years about making art at home with their kids. What goes great, what’s overwhelming and where they are just lost. Almost every mom or dad I talk to tells me that keeping those art supplies organized is a nightmare for them. 

Well, I have great news. Much of what causes problems is have TOO MANY art supplies that DON’T DO ENOUGH. You don’t need boxes of 300 crayons or sticker books galore. Just like professional artists, kids’ just need a core collection of high quality, highly versatile art supplies.

The art supplies that I use in this project fit that bill exactly. And as you can see, you can make all sorts of useful, delightful and creative projects with them!

Want More Resources on Making Art at Home with your Creative Kids?

Here Ya Go!

• How to Organize Kids' Artwork without Tears or Stress

• Best Kids' Art Supplies for Sculpting (#6 will surprise you!)

•  7 Powerful Art Lessons Kids Learn from Coloring Pages

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Frequently Asked Questions about this Christmas Rainbow Garland

Do I need special art supplies to make a rainbow garland like this?

No. This project came together using basic kids’ art supplies we already had at home. Versatile tools and simple techniques matter more than fancy materials.

Can kids of different ages participate in marker watercolor projects?

Yes. Marker watercolor is forgiving and open-ended, which makes it accessible for a wide range of ages—from preschoolers to older kids.

Why use cardstock instead of regular paper for marker watercolor?

Cardstock holds up better to water and layering, allowing colors to stay vibrant without the paper tearing or warping too much.

What makes Crayola washable markers good for watercolor techniques?

They’re affordable, widely available, and blend beautifully with water, making them one of the most flexible art supplies for kids.

How do you keep colors from getting muddy in rainbow art projects?

Choosing just a few colors that sit close together on the color wheel helps keep the results bright and cohesive instead of mixed and muddy.

How can parents simplify making art at home with kids?

Focus on a small “creative pantry” of high-quality, versatile supplies rather than collecting lots of single-use or novelty items.