Ideas to Try
Before you start…
Remember - aerosol paints may contain poisonous chemicals. In the UK, many shops will not sell aerosol paints to children. Only use aerosols if you are with an adult. Ben and Sam wore face masks so that they did not breathe in any fumes. None of the activities in this section needs aerosol paints.

Always get permission before painting a wall. And wear overalls or old clothes, some of these ideas are good and messy!

Make Your Own Paint Spray
Experiment with aerosol styles by making your own paint spray.

You will need: some bendy straws, modelling dough, small plastic bottle, fine needle, powder paint, paper.

1. Mix the paint and pour it into the bottle.

2. Take a handful of modelling dough and roll it into a flat circle about 5cm across.

3. Lay two straws across the circle and roll the dough around the straws. They should end up stuck together with the dough around their middles.

4. Push the dough into the neck of the bottle so that it fills it up. One end of the straws should be in the paint, the other end should stick out of the bottle.

5. Squeeze the dough tightly around all the edges, to make an airtight seal.

6. Bend the straws in opposite directions. When you blow into one straw, the paint should spray out of the other. Don't suck, or you'll end up with a mouthful of paint.

7. Put a blob of modelling dough over the end of the straw where the paint comes out. Make a tiny hole in the blob with a needle. Now you should get a fine spray of paint when you blow. Try different patterns of holes.

8. Try spray painting onto a large sheet of paper. Can you make an even colour? Can you draw a steady outline?

Mini-Mural
Can't find a wall where you're allowed to paint? No problem - you can still see what your local area would look like with your tag on it by making a mini-mural.

You will need: local newspaper, scissors, white paper, glue, felt-tip pens.

1. Choose a large photo from the local newspaper, which shows a clear area of wall.

2. Cut out the photo and glue it onto a sheet of white paper.

3. Lay another piece of white paper over the photo and trace the shape of the wall.

4. Cut out your wall shape and glue it over the right place in the photo.

5. Work out a graffiti-style tag for yourself. You could use your nickname, initials, street name or door number as a starting point. When you're happy with your tag, experiment with different designs using it.

6. Copy your finished design onto the blank wall in your picture, colouring it with felt-tip pens.

7. You could make a whole set of photos, showing how your murals would look in different parts of your home town.

Sponge Painting
You will need: powder paint, a large sponge, scissors, newspaper, small paintbrush, masking tape, A4 white paper, marker pens. This is a big project and you could use the help of all your mates!

1. You will be working outside, so pick a sunny day.

2. Plan your design on white A4 paper with marker pens.

3. Cut the large sponge into smaller chunks, so that you have a different sponge for each paint colour.

4. Spread out the sheets of newspaper and tape them together to make one very large sheet. Use masking tape to fix your large sheet of paper to an outside wall, where paint splashes won't matter.

5. Mix up some white paint and quickly spread it over the newspaper with a sponge.

6. Use a paintbrush and grey, dark blue or dark brown paint to sketch the main outlines of your design onto the big sheet.

7. Fill in the different colours using sponges. Start with the biggest areas of colour. Add the darkest colours first and the lighter colours only when the dark ones are dry.

8. Last of all, do the details.

9. When your mural is dry, you can roll it up and store it until you want to put it on display.