The adult coloring movement is in full swing, and there’s never been a better time to color for relaxation, meditation or a craft project for your home (alone or with children).
Thanks to the internet, you’ll never run out of gel pen project ideas, but here are four quick-and-easy art projects you could try today!
Soothing Circles
Sure, it can be nice to color in an adult coloring book, where the lines are drawn for you, but it can also be nice to fill a blank page.
There’s something soothing about repetitive shape drawing--lines, spirals or circles.
A favorite project around here is to fill an entire page with nothing but circles! Go abstract and make a cool design, or consider this beautiful nature scene (or your own) made entirely of circles.
Materials: Gel pens and white paper. Seriously, that is all.
Temporary Tattoos
Kids love temporary tattoos, but then, so do adults. Use a temporary tattoo to:
● Try out a real tattoo before going under the needle
● Enhance a costume for Halloween
● Make a kid’s day by creating a design on them
● Just for fun!
Gel ink temporary tattoos are super simple.
Method 1: Draw directly on the skin, henna style.
Method 2: Make a design last a little longer by allowing to dry, then dusting with hairspray.
Method 3: Draw your design with gel pens onto parchment paper, place over skin and apply warm water to the back.
Materials: Gel pens, hairspray, parchment paper, a washcloth (for wetting with warm water).
Note: Particularly if you have sensitive skin, you may want to test products on skin and wait 24-hours before application to a larger area.
Musing over Mandalas
Nearly every ancient culture had some sort of repetitive pattern or design--the Greek key, the step patterns of the Aztecs, Celtic knots and the intricate patterns of China, just to name a few.
Mandalas are one of those enduring patterns, originating possibly in China, India or the Middle East, seen in cloth, tile or sand.
Making mandalas at home can be similarly soothing. With your gel pens, consider one of these 3 approaches:
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Get a mandala coloring book and color someone else’s designs.
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Get detailed and map out your own designs before drawing them, and then coloring them.
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Be a little more free-form and draw mandala-inspired designs freestyle.
However you go about it, drawing mandalas can be a fun exercise in focus, with a beautiful product at the end.
Radiant Rock Art
Painted rocks are another one of those projects that are fun and easy to do with kids, but also remarkably satisfying for adults.
You can buy clean, small rocks, or collect them on hikes or trips to the beach. You can opt for smooth, or invest in a rock polisher.
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Whatever your approach, be sure to first clean your rocks and let them dry completely.
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Next, choose your color palette -- go high contrast with neons, organic with earth tones or classic with black, white and metallics.
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Then, draw simple designs, drawings, or more mandalas.
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You can clean and start over if you make a mistake, but when you are done be sure to seal your rocks.
Materials: gel pens, small rocks, soap, alcohol or other solvent for cleaning and spray sealant (mod podge also works as an indoor rock sealant).
The Best Gel Pens
Beautiful gel pen art starts with the best gel pens. At OfficeGoods we have the perfect sets:
● Original classic colors
● Earth tones
● 60-piece set with bonus glitter pens
With truly vibrant colors and even flow, these gel pens look great on many surfaces -- the possibilities are endless!