Mess Free Painting for Kids

Kids LOVE finger painting! It is a fun sensory experience. Most kids enjoy squishing paint through their fingers and getting messy. Although I have to confess, I’m not always up for the mess finger painting creates. Mess free finger painting is perfect for those days when you don’t have time to clean up messy kiddos!

I found this great finger paint recipe over at Easie Peasie and I had to give it a try. I love homemade recipes that work as well or better than their store bought counterparts This recipe was easy to make and the perfect consistency. It made the perfect amount to fill 3 half pint mason jars.

Ziploc painting is all over Pinterest. I thought I found the perfect fun no mess painting solution! This colorful bag of paint is the perfect way to work on color mixing. Kids will be amazed when they create a new color.

To make your own mess free finger painting bag you will need:

a heavy-duty ziplock bag
finger paint, or any thick paint that you have on hand will work (tempra, acrylic…)
wide tape – I used wide masking tape.

Place 2 colors inside the Ziploc, remove all the air and seal tightly. Then tape over the seam just to make sure you will have no accidental opening of the paint bag. I placed a white paper under our bag and then taped everything to the table to keep the bag from slipping around.

The kiddos loved squishing the paint, but they were disappointed when I told them that they were not creating a “painting” that they could hang on the fridge. My perfect mess free experience, was not so perfect in the kids eyes. So I had to create another mess free painting experience that would produce fridge worthy art:)

To create my kids version of mess free finger painting, you will need:

A large sheet of paper. Have the kiddos scoop finger paint onto their paper.
Place a large piece of plastic wrap over the entire paper.
Tape all the edges of the plastic wrap to the paper, making sure to carefully seal every edge.

Once everything is sealed, your little one is ready to start painting.

No need for the car to go through the car wash after this painting! The kids loved the tracks the wheels left behind. Once your little one is finished painting, simply remove the tape, and discard the plastic wrap. You will be left with a beautiful masterpiece.

He got his painting, and I had no mess to clean-up! This is defiantly an activity that we will be revisiting! Happy mess free painting!

11 thoughts on “Mess Free Finger Painting”

Very cool idea. I will pass it on.

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Hi Tammy, I am enjoying looking through your posts on this very cold morning, but I am wondering instead of wrapping the paper in saran wrap, could i just put the paint on the paper and then put it in the Ziploc bag…Thanks Victoria

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kristina on January 18, 2013 at 4:34 pm said:

Victoria- that works too! You can even cut your paper out into cool shapes, put it in the ziploc, paint the shapes, and then take them out. We love doing it in ziploc bags. Just make sure that you don’t use too much paint or keep it soaked in the paper too long or else the paper starts tearing/falling apart from the moisture.

Tammy- love this activity! My toddler loves anything that is mess free.

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- Tammy on January 30, 2013 at 9:35 pm said:
  
  A Zip-Loc bag would work as well. We were working on a large sheet of paper that would not have fit in a bag. But I agree with Kristina, don’t let the paper get too soggy:)
  
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thanks so much for this great suggestion. We tried it out and even though my son didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought he would… hubby and I enjoyed squishing it around. it was really relaxing. thanks for posting this.