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Friends Art Lab / Blog / Marker and Foil Prints – Fall Art Activity

Marker and Foil Prints – Fall Art Activity

Author: Kristian Klebofski    Published: 11/14/2023     Updated: 08/22/2024

Your kids will want to make 1,000 marker and foil prints, and the best part is you probably already have the supplies on hand! These have been a favorite of ours for years, and they’ll become a favorite of yours, too.

Two marker and foil prints with leaves drawn in black marker on the paper sitting on a green table. Next to the prints are red, yellow, orange, and green Crayola markers and a box of aluminum foil.
Table of Contents:
  1. Marker and foil prints are a preschool classic
  2. Why marker and foil prints won’t ever go out of style
  3. Materials
  4. How to make marker and foil prints
  5. Does Sharpie write on foil?
  6. How to make marker and foil prints all year long
  7. FAQ

Marker and foil prints are a preschool classic

Preschool teachers of the past have handed down many activities that preschool teachers of the present still cannot get enough of.

  • Handprint art? Invented by the greats.
  • Play dough tables? Created back in ancient times.
  • Fingerpainting? Dates back 2.3 billion years.
  • Marker and foil prints? The stuff of legends.

They are easy, inexpensive, and GORGEOUS. (No, seriously, gorgeous.)

Related: Add some festive fun to your Fall with a giant 10-foot Fall-themed coloring page!

A piece of white paper is lifted from a piece of aluminum foil, lifting color onto the paper from the foil (pulling a print).

Why marker and foil prints won’t ever go out of style

When coming up with art for kids, we often want it to be

Easy – simple supplies + simple steps

Process-based – no two pieces are identical + kids can use their creativity

Beautiful – not always important, but usually preferred by kids + adults

Marker and foil prints check off all the boxes.

Whenever I do this activity, I always end up making 5x the amount I think I will because it’s fun and satisfying from beginning to end. We make these all year, but we had to make leaves after seeing how beautiful they were when The Best Ideas for Kids made them.

The materials for marker and foil prints: aluminum foil, scissors, black Sharpie marker, colorful Crayola markers in reds, oranges, yellows, and greens, and two pieces of white watercolor paper.

Materials

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  • Washable markers – your regular Crayola markers are perfect
  • Paper – the thicker, the better (ex: watercolor paper or cardstock), but it will work on any paper
  • Black permanent marker
  • Spray bottle filled with water
  • Aluminum foil – you can reuse one sheet over and over
Three photos of the steps for marker and foil prints: (1) Crayola markers are colored onto a piece of aluminum foil in red, orange, yellow, and green (2) the watercolor paper with the leaf outline is being lifted from the aluminum foil lifting the print, (3) a completed print of a colorful leaf.

How to make marker and foil prints

  • Use the back permanent marker to draw leaves on your paper, having fun with different sizes, shapes, and leaf varieties
  • Draw on the foil with the washable markers, adding as much color as possible
  • Spray the foil with water until it’s wet but not so wet that it’s mixing the colors up completely
  • Pull your print by laying your paper marker-side down on the foil, rubbing the paper, and then lifting up

When your paper is lifted from the foil, the marker will transfer…and hold onto your socks because this is about to knock them off!

A hand holds a clear spray bottle filled with water over a piece of aluminum foil and Crayola markers.

Does Sharpie write on foil?

For this project, you want to use washable markers so that the color will transfer when wet.

However, you can also color on aluminum foil with Sharpies for a beautiful but different project.

Sharpies look beautiful on foil, but you won’t be able to pull prints because they’re permanent.

Use Sharpies for some of our other favorite art projects, too:

  • Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Planets
  • Rainbow Drawing Activity
  • Sunflower Still Life Drawing Activity
  • Outdoor Name Art Activity
Crayola markers are colored onto a piece of aluminum foil in red, orange, yellow, and green

How to make marker and foil prints all year long

Here, we made leaves for Fall, but you can certainly do this project anytime.

To make some seasonal art, instead of leaves, you could draw:

  • Hearts at Valentine’s Day
  • Rainbows at St. Patrick’s Day
  • Fireworks at the Fourth of July
  • Flowers for Spring
  • Snowflakes for Winter

This project can be easily adapted, and they’re beautiful no matter when you make them.

A hand holds Crayola markers in reds, oranges, yellows, and greens over the other supplies for marker and foil prints

FAQ

What age is this recommended for?

Any that safely use the materials! We do this project with our 3-6 year old preschoolers and older.

Do I have to buy special markers?

Normal kids drawing markers usually work! You just want to make sure whatever you’re using isn’t permanent.

What type of paper did you use here?

I prefer using watercolor paper (what I used here), but cardstock and other paper will work, too.

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Kristian

Hi, I’m Kristian!

I have spent over 15 years in the preschool classroom, I have a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, and I was a college professor of education for eight years. My passion is sharing creative learning activities for children and I'm so happy you're here.

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