Draw a glue spiderweb using a popular cookie decorating technique as inspiration. Then add a bright splash of color with a watercolor wash! #spiderweb

I’m not a baker but I do appreciate a good cookie decorating video.  They’re mesmerizing, am I right? This watercolor resist spiderweb painting uses a traditional cookie decorating technique to create a glue spiderweb perfect for painting over.

What do you need to create a glue spiderweb for painting over….

You’ll need some glue in a squeeze containers. I used this clear gel glue from Elmer’s.  It leaves nice, super glossy glue lines.  If you have regular Elmer’s school glue this project will still work.  The glue will still resist the watercolor paint step nicely in the next step.  The lines just won’t be quite as shiny and clear. You’ll also need a toothpick for the cookie decorating technique.

You’ll need some decently heavy paper- either card stock or student grade water color paper.  Copy paper, in this case, is so thin it won’t hold up well to the large amount of glue and water that’s about to be dumped on it!

And, finally for the painting portion of the project you’ll need watercolor paints.  Inexpensive Crayola watercolor paints are great.  In the pics below I’m using this set of forty different watercolors.  I love having all those fun color to choose from!

Draw a glue spiderweb using a popular cookie decorating technique as inspiration.  Then add a bright splash of color with a watercolor wash! #spiderweb

Drawing a spiderweb with glue….

Start by drawing a glue dot somewhere on your paper.  Then draw concentric circles around the center dot using your glue bottle as your drawing tool.  The trick to drawing with glue is that the tip of the glue bottle should never touch the paper.  Encourage your kiddos to hold their hands steady and use the big muscles of their arms to control the glue bottle.

Don’t worry about drawing the circles in advance.  Organic, slightly wobbly circles are better than seeing heavy black pencil lines peek out from a finished watercolor painting.

Adding spiderweb details….

Now to introduce a cookie decorating technique!  I’ve done lots of glue drawing before and I always encourage my kiddos to choose subjects that are either abstract or very, very simple.  Glue lines close together tend to run right into one another, drying in a giant blob.

Instead of adding more glue to create the lines of the spiderweb that radiate out from the center we’re going to use a toothpick to spread the glue that’s already there.  Starting in the center, in the original glue dot, drag the toothpick from the center to the last outside circle. Rotate a few degrees and do this again, always starting in the center and moving toward the outside.

The idea is to drag a small amount of glue from the center, through all the rings, to the outside of the circle.  This creates the fine “line” of the spiderweb without adding more glue!  Set the glue spiderweb aside to dry.  Depending on the amount of glue and the humidity in the air this may take up to a day!

Draw a glue spiderweb using a popular cookie decorating technique as inspiration.  Then add a bright splash of color with a watercolor wash! #spiderweb

Paint with watercolor…

Once the glue is dry it will resist any watercolor that’s painted on it.  That makes the glue spiderweb shapes fun to paint because it doesn’t take a lot of precision- just a fun wash of color!

I like to start with a brush heavy with water and light on color.  Wash over the entire spiderweb, allowing the glue lines to pop through.

Add a little value…

Then encourage your kiddos to come back into each space of the spiderweb and add some splashes of brighter or darker colors.  Watercolors are a really fun and easy way to play with creating value.  Al l it takes is more water to lighten up any color or less water and more color to create darker colors.

Draw a glue spiderweb using a popular cookie decorating technique as inspiration.  Then add a bright splash of color with a watercolor wash! #spiderweb

More spiderweb fun….

I love art projects that celebrate the beauty found in nature.  Spiderwebs are such an amazing display of design work- they’re fun to try to recreate whether with glue, paint, or pencil.

Try this super simple spiderweb drawing tutorial.  Just a few simple folds and lines will get you started drawing your own realistic spiderweb!

Draw a glue spiderweb using a popular cookie decorating technique as inspiration.  Then add a bright splash of color with a watercolor wash! #spiderweb

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