Count Your Chickens Cardboard Art

I keep going back to the Cardboard Art tree project so many people loved over the holidays trying to come up with something equally engaging for a different season. Luckily I have found a new twist on the same idea to give the original cardboard tree assemblages a run for their money! I am so so into using cardboard as an art canvas these days so adding more project uses for all those recycled Amazon Prime boxes is my fave. Come count your chickens and make some art with us!

The best part about this Cardboard Art is that it’s based on one of my favorite ever spring picture books; (affiliate link) Count Your Chickens. While not Easter based at all (thus more inclusive for all children!) the chickens in this adorable story are full of unique outfits, details, accessories and expressions- perfect for translating into recycled cardboard art assemblages for preschoolers. And no shame in my game- I even love making these too!

Count Your Chickens Art inspiratoin:

Materials:

Loose parts (beads, gems, pompoms, sequins, stickers, tissue paper, fabric scraps, googley eyes – anything you have lying around!)
Glue or modge podge
Acrylic paint (tempera works too)
Black paint pens
Washi tape

Directions:

Read Count Your Chickens! Please pay super close attention to the details because they are so so precious. Chickens painting their nails, chicks with chicken pox, chicks with pink undies!
After you read together, prep ahead of time by cutting out egg shaped cardboard pieces from spare boxes. Recycling this cardboard is a great way to use the material before it heads to a land fill or recycling plant. Yay for the earth!
Next, arrange materials in a tray or in bowls for easy access. I love using a spare cupcake transport insert as a loose parts container. My girls love how easy it is to see everything and grab what they need.
Paint cardboard fist, add all parts with glue second. If you need to you can dry the chicks with a blow dryer in between steps.

You can let older kids cut out their fabric into more elaborate shapes. Add hats, shoes, scarves, skirts. Whatever you can think of! Use the Count Your Chickens book for inspiration. There are so many amazing details you can add!

I found that it’s better to paint the cardboard first and fully let it dry. The acrylic paint pens work best on completely dry paint. They’ll get all funky if you try to use them over wet paint or glue.

When the big girls get home from school I’m sure they’ll want to make some chicks too. I’ll update this post with more chicks as we add to our collection. I’m thinking they need to hang on our kitchen door so we can see them all the time.