Painting with paint is a fun experience for babies and toddlers alike.
No matter if you use finger paint for the smaller ones or watercolor for the more advanced painter.
Painting in general is a great way for kids to develop motor skills and creativity.
But most of the time when toddlers paint it will create a huge mess.
But wait,
What If you could offer your toddler and even your baby all the fun of painting without the actual mess?
You can!
With this genius no mess painting method that uses basic products you already have at home.
This is a great indoor activity for babies starting around age 5-6 months as well as toddlers.
There are affiliate links in this post, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will be compensated if you click through and take action. For full disclosure click here.
What do you need for a no mess painting?
- Paint (, acrylic paint – whatever you have at home)
- Card stock
- Big Ziploc Bag (This Ziploc variety pack comes with with different sizes)
- Packing Tape
Pretty basic products you most likely have at home anyways.
I usually prefer to use instead of acrylic paint simply for the fact that it is non-toxic and easier to clean than acrylic paint and the smell is not as bad.
It is better to use card stock as thick as possible so it doesn’t get ripped from all the paint that is gonna be on top of it.
Normal copier paper won’t make it because it will soak and rip.
When my daughter was younger I also tried it without a Ziploc bag and two sheets of foil with the painting in between and it is a disaster so make sure you use a actual bag to make the no mess painting or you will end up with lots of mess instead.
This might also be interesting:
– How to make edible paint
– Homemade baby safe play dough
– DIY no sew busy book for babies
– Genius baby memory book ideas
How to make a no mess painting
It is so super simple to make a cute painting like this.
It can be really hard to find a activity that babies can participate in when you also have older kids and not losing your mind in the process.
That’s why the no mess painting is the perfect way to entertain kids of all ages.
You baby can actively participate and have fun without you having to worry about the clean up after.
I don’t have a baby currently so I asked a friend of mine to help me out with in-process pictures for you to see.
Her cute baby DJ will show you how to make a beautiful painting without any mess and lots of fun in the process.
- Gather all your supplies and cut the card stock in the desired size.
2. Add a few drops of different paint colors on top of your card stock sheet.
3. Insert the card stock in the Ziploc bag.
You can make the painting as big or small as you want simply by adjusting the size of the card stock and the Ziploc bag.
- Make sure you close the ziplock bag really good releasing most of the air inside of it.
- Tape the ziplock bag filled with paint and card stock to your baby’s high chair or on your table if your toddler is doing this craft.
6. Let your baby or toddler go crazy doing the painting.
7. After your child is done painting you can either try to carefully remove the card stock from the ziplock bag or just cut the ziplock bag open to easily get it out.
8. Let it dry completely before doing anything with it.
You should end up with an adorable painting made by your baby and no mess to clean up besides the used ziplock bag that goes in the trash.
As you can see Baby DJ was having a blast making a cute painting for his parents.
What can you use the painting for?
Here are a few ideas what to do with it:
- Hang it on your fridge
- Frame it and hang it on the wall
- Gift it to friends and family
- Use it as a homemade card
- Use it as gift wrap
- Add it to your baby album or baby keepsake box as a memory
My parents kept a lot of the paintings and drawings my siblings and I did as kids and it is so fun to look at them now as an adult.
And if you want your toddler to have fun with the painting and also learn something while doing so you can download these simple printables of shapes.
Add the paint just in the middle of the shapes and let your toddler fill out the shapes with the paint.
It is a great way to learn their shapes and colors at the same time.
You can download them for free by clicking on the picture.
Did you find any other unique uses for your baby’s no mess painting?
Let us know in the comments.
Do you need ways to keep your kid entertained while working from home? Get fun worksheets, coloring pages and more for free when you subscribe to my emails.
And find your tribe of like-minded parents in our Facebook group.
Pin it for later:
