How to Make an Easel

You can learn how to make an easel with relative ease. An art easel is a great thing to have for your kids. It encourages creativity, as well as helping to develop fine motor skills and hand0eye coordination. If you would like to make a kids' art easel for your little ones, here are some basic instructions to get you started.

• Plan your project. Consider the needs and ages of your children, and what features they would like on their easel. A common design is to have a two-sided easel, with a chalkboard on one side and a white board on the other, with clips at the top to hold paper for painting and drawing. Decide how tall you would like your easel, and consider if you would like to include a tray to hold art supplies.  
• Gather your materials. For the most basic type of easel, you will need four 1x3 pieces of wood, cut slightly longer than the finished height of the easel. You will also need two pieces of 1x3, about a foot long, two pieces of 1x3 about 2 feet long and a board 2 feet wide by 3 feet tall. For hardware, you will need two hinges and some screws to put it all together.  You may need other materials, depending on the features you desire for your easel.
• Put it all together. Begin by laying two of the long pieces of wood out, end to end on the floor or work surface. Attach one of the hinges where the two pieces meet. Repeat with the other two long pieces of wood. Next, place the two side pieces two feet apart. Lay one of the two-foot pieces of wood across the two side pieces, about halfway up from the bottom. Attach with screws. Repeat on the other side, with the second two-foot piece of wood. Next you need to attach the side brackets. You can just screw the two one-foot pieces to the sides of the easel, at the same height as the cross braces. If you want your easel to fold, you will need to attach them with hinges in the rear. At the front, use small sliding-bolt latches to lock the supports into place. Finally, attach the board to the front of your easel with screws.

You now have a basic easel, which can be accessorized to suit your needs. You can paint the board with chalkboard paint, add a white board to the back side, add clips to the top for paper or add trays to hold your child's art supplies. You can also choose to paint your easel to match your décor. Be sure to provide your child with paint, chalk, crayons, markers and paper to use with her new easel, and watch her creativity unfold.