Puffy Paint {Math, science and sensory play in kids’ art}

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Ness

We had so much fun with our raised salt painting, watching the reaction of the paint as it mixed with the salt, so I knew R(4) would just love the transformations that take place with puffy paint. This activity has it all – art, math, science and sensory play. Can’t ask for more than that!

There are a few different recipes for puffy paint, some which call for self-raising flour, some which call for plain flour mixed with baking powder. I opted for a recipe shared at Two Happy Homemakers which called for plain flour and baking powder. Of course self-raising flour is just plain flour with baking powder added to it, but I thought that having to add the baking powder ourselves might add a fun science experiment to this activity.

DIY MICROWAVE PUFFY PAINT RECIPE

1 tblsp plain flour
1 tblsp salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 tblsp plus 1 tsp of water
food colouring

Mix all the ingredients together. Paint onto paper. Put the painting into the microwave for 20 seconds. Do not leave the microwave unattended during that time. Carefully remove the painting and observe the wonderful transformation! Be careful – the paint may be hot when it is removed from the microwave.

NOTE: We were not very precise with our measurements. R measured the ingredients himself and we weren’t too fussed if we had a slightly heaped tablespoon or if we were slightly under with the measurements. We also found the mixture very thick so we added more water. If you would like to include math within this activity, then be accurate with your measurements and talk about quantities and capacity. You could even count the number of times you stir the mixture.

We made six batches of the puffy paint recipe, adding one batch to each hole in a muffin tin. It’s hard to see, but the above picture shows the science component of this activity. When we added the water to the mixture, there was a chemical reaction between the baking powder, salt and water. The mixture began fizzing and bubbling the same way that baking powder and vinegar react with one another.

Once we were happy with the consistency of the puffy paint, we began adding colours. This is always R’s favourite part of any art or cooking activity.

Mixing, mixing. So much messy fun!

The colours were so bright and happy. We experimented with mixing colours and combined red and yellow to make orange, and we mixed green and blue to make aqua (although it looks like dark green in the photo).

Even though we added more water than was listed in the recipe, the paint was still very thick. If we do this again we will probably add more water so it is easier to work with. It was fun though trying out something with a texture we haven’t worked with before.

Waiting patiently by the microwave.

R was fascinated with the transformation. This added a wonderful sensory element to this art activity We also talked about the science behind the puffy paint, discussing why reaction had occurred.

This was a definite hit with R and we’ll be sure to do this one again. There were just so many dimensions to this activity from creating the paint, watching the baking powder reaction, colour mixing, painting, and finally “cooking” our pictures and seeing the paint become puffy. Playing, learning, creating. That’s what it’s all about!

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Kid’s Art – Raised Salt Painting

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Ness

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Who knew painting could be so exciting! I mean, jump out of your chair and squeal exciting! Well, that’s exactly the reaction R (3) had when we tried raised salt painting for the first time.

For this activity we used:

table salt
white glue
liquid water colour paints (you could also use water with food colouring added)
paper of various colours (black works really well against vibrant colours)
paintbrushes or pipettes
A tray

STEP 1:
Lay your paper on the tray (we used a baking tray) and pour white glue onto your page. You could draw a picture or simply make patterns and shapes like we did. Go wild and cover as much of the page as possible for maximum effect.

STEP 2:
Pour table salt over the glue. Be generous. You don’t want to skimp on the salt here. Once you’ve covered all the glue with salt, lift up the page and shake off the excess salt. Shake it into the tray so that you can recycle the salt for your next picture.

STEP 3:
Now the REALLY fun part! Dip your paintbrush into the liquid watercolour paints and drop some colour onto the salt. You only need to drop a little colour in one spot. You are not actually brushing the colour over the page with the brush. Then sit back and watch the magic! The colour will spread and run along the lines of salt. R was entranced! (TIP: instead of liquid watercolours, use some water that has been coloured with food colouring. An eye dropper could be substituted for the paintbrush.)

This project was definitely all about the process, not the product (although the end product was pretty spectacular too!) R was mesmerised as he watched the paint travel along the lines of salt and glue. He would make a guess as to how far the colour would travel before stopping and whether one colour would reach all the way to “meet” another colour and when the colours did meet he literally leapt out of his chair yelling “It made it!”

That smile says it all! R kept at this activity for almost an hour – a very long time for him with painting. Painting is one of his favourite things to do but he usually only spends 10 to 15 minutes at a time on it. With salt painting, he just wanted to create more and more pictures. They turned out so beautifully too. The salt crystalises and sparkles - it’s pretty special. Here’s a close up.

This photo was taken while the painting was still wet. The colours faded a little as the painting dried. Something else to keep in mind – these pictures are not built to last. The salt will crumble and fall off the page as it dries. So, if you really love the masterpieces that your little ones create, take lots of photos!

Here’s a few of R’s paintings. They looked fantastic and I don’t think he’s ever had more fun producing a painting before!

Here’s one that we created together. I applied the glue and R applied the salt and the colour.

What’s your favourite non-traditional painting material?

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Painting without a brush – blow painting

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Ness

As you know, when it comes to creating ways to play and arts/crafts for R(3), I’m all about using inexpensive or recycled materials, and everyday items found around our home. This fun way to paint certainly fits the bill on every level. It doesn’t get any easier and simpler than blow painting – painting using a drinking straw! This one’s an old classic, but we’d never tried it before. R enjoyed this so much – his attention was held for almost half an hour which is quite a long time for him when it comes to painting. Here’s how we did it……

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