As George is getting older, it’s getting more interesting to keep him entertained during activities with Henry. Especially art activities.
To solve this, I included George in the activity this time. I made my own Edible Finger Paint [recipe found At the Butterfly Ball] so just in case when George ate it, I knew it wasn’t harmful. I could have also used our Crayola Finger Paints, they’re non-toxic and I’d feel okay if George put some in his mouth.
The recipe made nine baby food containers of finger paint. I made the paint myself and left them uncolored. We’re getting a kick out of making our own craft recipes, they’re usually super easy and only include stuff you’d normally have around in your cupboards.
This is a great toddler-friendly recipe, it’s included in a collection of many toddler appropriate activities.
When Henry got home from preschool, I let him stir colors into the finger paint. I taped down the letter H and G onto pieces of scrapbook paper beforehand. Henry started into his paint right away. Spooning and dumping the paint out in globs and globs.
Not using his fingers in any way.
I just let him do as he pleased and tended to George.
George didn’t know what to think.
And he did have a mouthful of paint. Only once though.
[It must not have tasted so good.]
Meanwhile, Henry kept globbing on the paint with his spoon.
He eventually did put down the spoon and got his fingers [hands and arms] in the paint.
Henry thought he was being hilarious when he smacked his painting over and over, sending splatters of paint everywhere.
It left a pretty neat mark on his paper though. I wanted him to leave it, but kept my mouth shut. He went onto smearing it.
Everywhere.
And maybe onto George’s painting a little.
I really did enjoy both the boys painting side by side.
Henry really enjoyed doing it with George.
George probably would’ve rather been eating though.
When Henry was finished and George had enough, I hung their paintings to dry.
They were soaked.
They took the entire day to dry.
I framed Henry’s H in the 12×12 Scrapbook Frame that I have. I hope to get more of these frames so I can hang this in Henry’s room [and George's in his too!].
I found the below recipe for Homemade Finger Paint from At the Butterfly Ball.
You can also substitute the food coloring for poster paints, but it won’t be edible then.
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 3/4 cup cold water
Mix together cornstarch and water in a saucepan until there’s no lumps.
1 envelope of unflavored gelatin (I used Knox)
1/4 cup cold water
Mix together gelatin and water and set aside.
Cook cornstarch mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it boils. It’ll become thick as you’re stirring.
Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin mixture.
Cool and pour into smaller containers. Add food coloring for desired colors.
About Jamie Reimer
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so FUN – looks like you made the wise decision – LOVED seeing little George with that fistful of paint in his mouth – so funny – great pictures!!!
Excellent!! Wish I would have known about this recipe when C was a baby! She has never been a big fan of finger painting.
Love the letter resists. We learned the hard way that homemade finger paint with ferment and explode out of the container, especially in warm summer weather. So store the extra in the fridge or freezer!
Two activities in one, and results that can be framed and kept as keepsakes. This will be a perfect activity for my multi-age group! (Would even be a good mother's day gift if the letters spelled MOM.) Thank you!!!
Did u use painters tape? I tried this with painters tape but couldn't remove it without ripping the paper. And Miss E painted so much I couldn't find the tape it was covered with layers of paint.
what an awesome, easy idea! i love the tape resist aspect.
this is awesome. I like so much about it. Edible — awesome. Tape resist — always fun. Messy — the best.
these look fab.. they'd make lovely presents framed up!
This looks such fun! Gonna have to give it a go:))
Great ideas. I tried painting with my boys last week. We were going to stamp with apples cut in 1/2. My one 1/2 year old wouldn't stop eating the paint covered apple… looks like I'm going to have to try your recipe… oh, and I pinned your letters onto my letter learning pinterst board!
I loved that you linked this on LINK YOUR MESS! I pinned this awhile ago. It's such a great recipe.
What a fun idea! It's so hard to do art projects with a 2.5 year old and 15 month old because the younger one doesn't get that you can't eat everything yet and it spoils the older one's fun when I am just chasing her little brother around saying "no" constantly. Our art n' craft time is usually relegated to the little ones naps or when there's more than one adult around. This is the perfect problem solver! Thanks for sharing
mmmm, paint! don't you love how children of different ages interpret art materials? i love that you framed henry's masterpiece, he must have been proud.
I'd love to know about the kind of tape also! I'd Love to do this as a group activity at out playgroup soon and have other crafting ideas where I need something that will peel up like this. If you or anyone could give me some ideas of what kind of tape to look for, I'd definitely appreciate it so I don't have to do too much trial and error on my own.
~Cheers
Oh, and how did it clean up? Does it stain clothes/furniture/skin? I'd like to know a little about what to expect before we try it the first time. Clothes I don't mind and it's easy to put something down around them. Wondering mostly about how long it stays on their hands/arms/faces/etc….
I know it didn't stain clothes and whatnot. I don't think it stained skin. I do know that it needs to be refrigerated if you're going to keep it. It does mold…
I used painter's tape – it peels off easily.
I love this! Thanks for sharing!
Do you have to use the gelatin? Is there a gelatin alternative? I love the idea of edible fingerpaint, since I have a 2.5 year old and 8 month old. Thanks!! (pssst…I’m part of KBN)
Im sure there’s a recipe for some without the gelatin. Try just a flour/water mixture. Or check what The Imagination Tree has, I know she has a couple finger paint recipes.
I’d like to know which tape you used! Please let us know! The tape I have sticks
I used painter’s tape (just the Blue kind) — it still stuck sometimes, I always think its because I don’t wait for it to dry completely. I haven’t figured out the secret to it yet. Let me know how it goes for you!
try using a blow drier to heat the tape a bit before pulling it off.. they say that’s how it works with walls.. perhaps artwork too?
I can’t wait to try this activity it sounds like the children will really enjoy it, looks like fun. Thank you hope to try more activities.
What kind of paper did you use? I’ve tried both regular printer paper and freezer paper and both crinkled up upon drying. I was hoping to salvage the paintings but they cracked when I tried to flatten them. Any suggestions?
We did this but used a different edible paint recipe. We used vanilla yogurt or you could use the just regular non flavored yogurt then bought individual packets of kool aid. You get nice colors with the kool aid and totally edible and smells really good. I have a 1 yr old and an almost 3 year old. They both had a great time with this. It is a really good way to teach letters and numbers and paint!! We used painters tape and worked perfect.