Painting with Rolling Pins and Bubble Wrap

I am definitely not a hoarder. I like to throw things away. But when I received a package wrapped in bubble wrap, I decided to save it knowing that I would somehow use it in a project with D. So when I came across this idea from messforless.net I knew I'd found it. 

I started by pouring little puddles of paint on a long piece of paper then handed D a toy rolling pin wrapped in bubble wrap. 

He immediately slid off the bubble wrap. 

So I put it back on and rolled it on the paper so he could see what to do. This was a foreign concept and he was more interested in using the paint brush.

I demonstrated again. This time he painted the bubble wrap with the brush.

So I demonstrated again, and this time he got it.

He loves getting paint on his hands.

 But then he spotted a snail and we were done.

I took his cute painting and cut out an image (a cement mixer). I framed it with painter's tape on the wall to make it a little more special. Its a nice touch in our playroom.

Painting on Glass

Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'm on the look-out for 'cool' activities. When I saw this idea from www.messforless.net, I thought: Perfect! 

The idea: Paint with washable paint on a glass door or window as your canvas. After you're finished with the artwork, simply clean it off with a water filled spray bottle and a squeegee. 

D did enjoy this one but he was more interested in the water bottle and squeegee than the painting. I had to keep demonstrating how to paint on the glass. The waterbottle was too hard for him to squirt all by himself so there was a lot of me helping him squirt it. The "washable" paint turned out to not be so washable despite having diluted it with water and liquid dish soap. I still have evidence of it on my cement. The take away: always use a drop cloth and a kid friendly spray bottle. I think this is one of those activities that we'll tweak and try again.  

Homemade Finger Painting with a Truck

It was nice out and I wanted to do something where we could enjoy the day outdoors, so the Mr. and I mixed up a batch of homemade finger-paint. I don't recall exactly where I found this particular recipe, but I have a bunch 'pinned' on my board http://pinterest.com/allymott/activities-for-kids/. 

We dressed D in only a play t-shirt and unrolled some paper outside. D started by carefully using the paint brushes. I love how the colors turned out. 

Then he painted the rocks that were holding the paper down.

It wasn't long before the trucks came out. He loved rolling them across the wet paint and watching the tracks that the wheels made.

 Then he used his fingers and hand...

But eventually went back to the truck.

We left it out to dry and anytime he passed by the window, he would point and say "paint!' I loved how it turned out so I framed a portion of it and hung it in his bedroom.