Whether you’re decorating for St. Patrick’s Day, learning about the weather, OR just love making rainbows…this paper towel rainbow heart craft is perfect! Plus, they’re stunning in person.
This rainbow heart craft is GORGEOUS
It had been a while since I made a paper towel craft to hang on a window, and I forgot how beautiful they are!
They were so pretty that I left them up for a few extra days simply because they felt too beautiful to take down.
As the light fills your yard, they illuminate your artwork and make them look like they’re glowing. You have to see these in person!
🌈 Related: Our GIANT Rainbows & Unicorns coloring banner is full of tons of rainbow fun!
Who doesn’t love a rainbow heart craft?
They’re cheerful, colorful, and you won’t be able to help but smile.
Our preschool classroom is covered in rainbows during early Spring between St. Patrick’s Day, observing rain, studying weather, and children’s love for all things red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
You’re going to love these SO MUCH. Simple supplies + gorgeous pieces = hours of fun!
🌈 Looking for more rainbow crafts? There are so many to love, including:
- Orizomegami Dip-and-Dye Art
- Rainbow Sponge Painting
- Rainbow Drawing Activity with FREE Printables
- Color Absorbing Cotton Rainbow
Materials
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- Paper towels
- Coloring – liquid watercolors or food coloring
- Eye dropper or spoon
- Piece of plastic – optional, ex: food bag (I used a tortilla chip bag), Ziplock bag, etc.
- Scissors
- Tape
How to make a paper towel rainbow heart craft
PART 1/2
Because you will add a lot of color to your paper towels, we stack two paper towels on each other to make this a 2-for-1 project.
Lay your paper towels on a flat surface and invite your child to add coloring with an eyedropper or spoon, working from top to bottom in rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple).
Once all the colors are added, we lay a piece of plastic (such as part of a tortilla chip bag shown here) on top of the paper towels, then press the color through. After pressing the color, carefully lift the paper towel’s sides to ensure the color soaked through to the bottom layer.
Let paper towels completely dry.
PART 2/2
Once dry, cut out your heart! You can draw a heart on the paper towel and cut on your lines, or you can fold the paper towel in half and cut half of a heart shape (like we did here!).
How adorable do they look?!
Separate the paper towel layers and hang them in a window with clear tape.
Rainbow heart craft video tutorial
A note about scissors
We love, love, love opportunities for kids to cut out their own art! When kids cut out their art, the edges are imperfect, lovely, and made of good stuff.
We love kids using scissors for all types of activities, including non-paper items such as grass, pasta, herbs, and more!
However, paper towels are especially tricky to cut out. If your child is very adept at using scissors, let them try cutting their art out, but it might be easier for you to help kids who haven’t mastered scissors quite yet.
What are kids learning from this activity?
Art is loaded with learning opportunities, and here are some of our favorite learning objectives from this precious project:
- Directionality – working from top to bottom (similar to how we read in English)
- Sequencing – order of a rainbow
- Vocabulary – naming colors
- Color theory – observing colors mixing and overlapping
- Symmetry – identifying how both halves of the heart look nearly identical
We love a rainbow heart craft
You can’t help but smile when you see these beauties glowing in a window!
Have fun making lots and lots of adorable rainbow hearts. 🌈
Frequently Asked Questions
This paper towel rainbow heart craft combines art and science! Kids will love watching the colors blend and spread while strengthening fine motor skills and creativity.
Yes! Coffee filters, tissue paper, or even thin napkins can create a similar effect, though paper towels tend to absorb and blend colors the best.
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