Mess Free Painting ~ Stormy Rain Clouds

It has been raining so much here lately that we decided to make some Storm Clouds.

This is one of our (my) favourite activities. I love that the kids get all the enjoyment of paint and I don't have any cleaning up to do!!!

Put two big dollops of paint (blue and white to make them stormy) and then a small amount of Glitter Paint (optional but a hint of sparkle is nice) into zip lock bags. Squeeze out as much air as possible and let the fun begin. 

What we started with, blue and white paint, large zip lock bags, cardboard I had precut into cloud shapes and some silver glitter paint. 

Paint added ready to explore.

It is a really great way to have the sensory fun of finger painting but without the mess!

Some of the finished masterpieces. I love the way the colours have blended making so many more shades and adding much more depth to the painting. 

Easter Threading ~ Straw and Pipe-cleaner Rabbit Ears

The Toddler Timers are Easter obsessed and the weather here is atrocious at the moment so we have been up to heaps of Easter Crafts.
This one is super easy and cheap.

What you will need:

Straws (Cut into short lengths ours were approx 2cm)
Pipe-cleaners
Scissors

We started by twisting two pipe-cleaners together to form a long length. You will need to do this with 6 pipe-cleaners forming 3 double length pieces.

Thread away until your heart is content, leaving about 1cm at each end.

Twist the two ends together to form a ring. This will be the headband part used to attach the ears.

Thread the other two lengths of pipe-cleaner again leaving roughly 1cm at each end. This time bend to form more of a tear drop shape. Use the exposed ends to twist and fix on to the headband. Repeat to create the other ear and then you are done.

Master E being a very cute bunny!

Miss M, she was more of a floppy eared bunny, but loved it all the same!



These were quick and easy and required hardly any preparation and clean up. Love a mess free craft for a change! Was great for fine motor too!

Hope you enjoy and Happy Easter!

Easy Easter Egg Craft!

Looking for a simple messy free Easter Craft? This is by far one of the easiest I have done.

We started with some clear contact, I cut it into large rectangles and then folded it firmly to make a crease in the middle. Open half of the contact up to the creased point and then added pre-cut mosaic squares (tissue paper would also work well). Once the children had enough decorating we shook off any loose squares and covered them over with the remaining contact. An adult then cut them into Egg Shapes and there it is Ta Da! Easy peasy Easter Eggs!

Miss L very carefully choosing where to place her squares and working on some great Fine Motor Skills!

Miss A adding lots of colour.

Folding the contact over and pressing it down firmly. 

So easy even Miss S was keen to give this one a go!

Miss A very proud of her finished Easter Egg.

Master E showing off his handy work.
 

A very proud Miss G!

Cotton Bud Painting

I had been meaning to try cotton bud painting for awhile. Master E is very keen on paint and this was a great way to minimise the mess while still giving him the paint experience.

I put a small amount of paint into an egg carton and added cotton buds.

Miss M was keen to get stated. The cotton buds were great as they absorbed the paint, so there were no drips or spills.

The paint went on nice and thin and made for quick drying.

Master E was painting a "Rainbow".

Some of Miss M's lovely line work.

Miss M practising her pincer grip with the cotton buds.

Master E decided some colour mixing was essential and ended up with a lovely teal, a mucky green and some grey!


We loved this way of painting and will be doing it again soon. Was fairly mess free and helped to develop fine motor skills. Another great thing was that there was no need to wash up paint. I just threw away the cotton buds and egg cartons, WIN!!

Hope you enjoy it too!

Pasting without the Paste!

My kids are super keen crafters and if I let them would happily craft the day away. I too love a craft, but sometimes can't be bothered with the mess. This is where pasting without paste comes into play.  Instead of paste, which tends to end up everywhere we will often use sticky tape. I collect lots of bits and pieces for pasting and cut up all sorts of things from old birthday cards, catalogues, wrapping paper, bits and pieces of cardboard and anything textured that I can find. Then I stick lots of pieces of tape around the edge of my kids play table and let them at it. They love using the tape and come up with some wonderful creations all while practising their fine motor skills!

The craft table all ready with tape around the edges and lots of bits and pieces for sticking.

Practising our fine motor skills by picking up and pushing down the tape.

The is easy enough for Miss M to do at age 20 months.

Master E's paste free pasting creation.

Miss M's artwork!

Mess Free Finger Paint

This is one of our (my) favourite activities so far. I love that the kids get all the enjoyment of paint and I don't have any cleaning up to do!!!

Put two big dollops of paint into zip lock bags. Squeeze out as much air as possible and fasten. Attach to a firm surface and let the fun begin!

Lots of pushing and prodding. The paint still feels cold through the bag.

Stripes, stripes, stripes and starting to do some colour mixing.

Miss M wanted a piece of the action too. 

Swapped over with Miss M. Lots more stripes and colour mixing. We made a lovely purple.

A lesson learnt, orange and blue makes a rather murky brown. Lots of fun was had and no mess. We did end up with some small holes after lots of play, but still relatively mess free!