Last week we took advantage of the one tiny break we had from the rain and went outside for some big messy art. Recognise that mish mash of colours on the left? Yep, that’s our homepage image. Those colours make my heart sing!

I began by taking out our roll of butcher’s paper. We have this one from IKEA.  These rolls of paper can be found in lots of dollar stores and craft suppliers, and they are so economical. They seem to last forever, even for the most prolific of artists. R(3) often likes to put one brush stroke down on a page and call it done and he goes on to a new page, so we go through a LOT of paper. Buying one of these rolls was the best thing I ever did. After cutting four long strips from the roll, I then taped them together to make a large sqaure canvas. The idea is to create as much space for rolling, spreading and pouring paint as possible.

I laid the paper outside, and R began to pour paint all over it. Even this stage was great fun for R as he squeezed and shook the paint bottles, discovering how his movements affected the way the paint splashed or poured on to the page.

I thought it already looked great, before the fun messy part had even begun!

Next we added rolling pins and sponge rollers to the mix.

It wasn’t long before R started coming up with his own ideas about how he was going to create this art and THAT’S when I knew we were having fun. First he found a stick in the yard. He soaked it in paint and stamped it across the paper…

Then it was hand prints and finger prints….

Next R engaged in some sensory play, squealching and squeezing the paint between his fingers, and running his slippery hands over the stones that I had used to weigh down the paper on to the ground…

 Finally, he explored the sensation of the paint soaked sponge rolling over his skin…

It was all over pretty quickly. The rain was looming once more but we had lots of fun…

I’m linking up with the KIDS GET CRAFTY link up hosted by Creative With Kids and Red Ted Art. Take a look for lots more great crafty ideas.