Yesterday the girls fingerpainted drawings for daddy’s birthday. Thankfully it was nice outside, because this could have been disastrous inside with a 29-month-old and a 17-month-old. With us being outside, the only thing that I had to clean up immediately was the digital camera. I set it down on the bench of the picnic table while trying to prevent a fight (between the girls) over one particular color & Miss Cakes (17-month) moved around the table and grabbed it before I could. Thankfully, it cleaned up well.

Want to have a fingerpainting adventure of your own? We used a fingerpainting recipe that is simple and inexpensive. For their artists’ smocks, I used some old button up shirts from where I worked in high school and college. I put the shirts on them backwards, buttoned them up the back & rolled the sleeves up.

Make your own fingerpaint

Ingredients:

2 T. cool water

2 T. cornstarch

1 C. boiling water

food coloring

Directions:

1. Mix the cool water and cornstarch.
2. Add the boiling water (will thicken as you stir).
3. Let mixture cool & then divide into muffin tins or small cups.
4. Add food coloring until desired color is reached (I did a few drops of coloring in each).

We did our painting outside, so there was less of a mess to clean up. You will want to use wipes or an old washcloth for clean-up. Since food coloring is used, this paint does stain. My oldest daughter still has a light blue streak on her face from yesterday.

If you are unable to paint outside, try this to remove any stains on the carpet:

1. Make a paste of baking soda and water & apply to stain.
2. Vacuum the spot after the paste dries.
3. Then blot the stain with a sponge soaked in rubbing alcohol (until no more color comes off onto the sponge).
4. If the stain is still visible, use a sponge soaked in ammonia to blot the remainder.

For the last couple of steps, you can try standing on the sponge to help the paint soak up.