Kids' Party Activity - Painting Wooden Sailboats

Children's Craft Project to Make at a Sailing Birthday Party

Dec 15, 2008

This fun sailing birthday party theme that kids will love can be extended to a project all party guests can complete. Learn how to paint sailboats for a party keepsake.

This project allows children to express their creativity at a birthday party celebration and take a charming keepsake home as a memento of the celebration. You can either purchase the wooden sailboats or make them yourself: Trace an image from a magazine or book (or enlarge our own sailboat template, below, on a photocopier to the desired size) onto a 3/8-inch-thick piece of plywood, and use a jigsaw with a scroll blade to cut it out from the wood. If you don't have the necessary tools and materials at home, you may want to attend a meeting of a woodworking club where the members can help you cut out your shapes from the plywood.

Before the birthday party, attach a picture hanger to the backs of the sailboats so that they can be displayed on a wall after the party. Turn over the sailboat cutout and hot glue the picture hanger in place in the middle of the sail portion of the cutout. Let the glue dry completely. You may want to write each child's name on the back of his or her sailboat, as well as the date, for posterity. If desired, record the names of all the birthday party participants on the backs of each sailboat to enable everyone to remember the event.

Ideas for the colors and designs to be used on the sailboats can come from a variety of sources, such as books, magazines and photographs. Naturally, children will also want to use their imagination and creativity to come up with whimsical and unique designs. Tempera or poster paints are ideal for a project like this, because these types of paints are water soluble and mix easily. After the paint has dried on the sailboats, spray the finished boats lightly with an acrylic sealer to protect the paint on the boats. It only takes a minute or two for the acrylic sealer to dry. The clear sealer ensures the sailboats will continue to look their best for a long time to come.

Sailboat Template

We offer the following file as an accompanying article image in order to make the details clear and printable. To view and print the files, click on the image in the box below the article. The image will open in a separate window. To print the image, press CONTROL + P on your keyboard.

The copyright of the article Kids' Party Activity - Painting Wooden Sailboats in Kids & Teen Parties is owned by Michael Vyskocil. Permission to republish Kids' Party Activity - Painting Wooden Sailboats in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.