Make Your Own Bathtub Fingerpaints

I saw this recipe and thought, "huh, why not make one more thing for my kid to create a mess with?" The beauty of this one is that the main ingredient is soap! So really she is making a mess and cleaning it up all at the same time.

What you need:
-1 cup of handsoap for each color you want to make. Clear or white.
-Cornstarch
-Food coloring
- Container for each batch you make. I was puzzled as to what to use. After perusing the aisles at the dollar store, I settled on those squirt bottles you use for condiments. Red for catsup, yellow for mustard and a clear one. That way Jacq could squirt the liquid out and it was already in a storage container to use again.



First, get a bowl and add one cup of soap. One softsoap container equals one cup. Add one teaspoon of cornstarch.



Add a few drops of food color. I added 4 drops per batch.



Mix it all up. I had to work it pretty well to get all the clumps out of the cornstarch.



Then I used a funnel and poured them into the condiment containers. Red in red, yellow in yellow and I did blue in the clear container.



Jacq had a blast with these in the tub. She used some foam brushes and her fingers. There was no staining on the tub or on skin!





Just make sure to give your tub a good rinse after you get your little one out. There was quite a bit of soap reside and could cause your little one to slip the next time they get in the tub.

Ongoing Project: Contact Art

This is a great project for busy toddlers. Very easy and little mess involved.

What you need:
-Contact Paper
-Scissors
-Scrap paper, tissue paper, stickers, pom poms, etc
I cut out some pictures from magazines, used some goggly eyes and pieces of yarn.
-Masking tape

First cut up tissue paper, wrapping paper, magazines, construction paper, use whatever you have in your craft supplies. I used an empty wipe box to put them in.



Next, find a low, blank spot of a wall. Cut a piece of contact paper (any size you want), tape it to the wall with the sticky side facing out.



Let your little one explore the fun of 'sticky' and adhesive surfaces. Jacq stuck the papers and other objects all over the place.





She didn't try to peel anything off except for the pom poms. So I don't think I'll use those next time.

Here is what it looked like when she was done. I am actually going to leave this up for a few days and keep the box on the floor so she can add to her masterpiece when she feels like it. When it is done I will add another piece of contact paper over it so I can save it.

Craft Time: Grandma's Goldfish Pond

Today my mom and my step dad came over. My mom use to work with little ones so she had this great craft idea. Jacqueline had a blast and got to spend some quality time with her grandparent's.


What you'll need:
-paper plate
-blue paint
-paintbrush
-aquarium rocks
-glue
-goldfish (i used the colored ones)

First, paint your paper plate blue to act as water.


Next cover the bottom 1/4 or so of the plate with glue.



Start adding the rocks. I added a few round glass stone thingys that I had.





Then put a few drops of glue around the rest of the plate and let your little one stick the goldfish on.



The finished product.



It took a few hours to dry completely. My mom recommended that we punch a hole on the top and use some string to hang it from the ceiling. Thanks mom, we had a great time today!