Blow Painting

Rain...rain...go away!  The heavy clouds brought gloom last week.  But, as the gray rolled in, my "boredom busters" rolled out.  One of our favorite "stuck inside with nothing to do" activities is blow painting.  The kids love it because it gives them a chance to make a CONTROLLED mess and I love it because it requires no formal planning and entertains multiple ages.

Blow Painting

To make a blow painting

Mix a dollop of kid's craft paint (washable is best) with several tablespoons of water.  

Blow painting

Spoon scoops of watered-down paint onto a sheet of paper.  (I always encourage my kids to chose two primary colors so that they can see how secondary colors are made.)

Blow painting

Using a straw, blow each color blob in all different directions to mix the two colors together.  If the paint does not seem to "blow" very easily, add a few drops of water to each "blob."

blow painting


What is your favorite "go to" boredom buster?

6 comments:

  1. HeidiNovember 9, 2012 at 7:27 PM

    Um...TV? ;) Just kidding!!! Kinda. Sorta. You are so much more creative than I am. :)

    I tend to steer them toward books, Play-doh, and coloring.

    They like to steer themselves toward making messy forts with excessive supplies using all of the living room furniture.

    Now you can see why TV does enter my mind. Even though it rots their brains, it doesn't make a mess. ;)

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    1. Jamie EricksonNovember 9, 2012 at 9:23 PM

      Oh, Heidi...if you only knew. More often than not, TV is my "go to" activity. Sometimes...every now and again...I have an inspirational idea to do something else.

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    2. Jamie EricksonNovember 9, 2012 at 9:26 PM

      Mine are into making forts as well. They usually redecorate the entire living room by moving the furniture all around.

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    3. HeidiNovember 14, 2012 at 7:23 PM

      Good to know I'm not the only one! :)
      Yes...forts. Gotta love 'em...or not. ;)

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  2. Amy DingmannNovember 11, 2012 at 3:39 AM

    Great idea! Just found your blog through the HSBA awards (yes, I voted!!) and I really liking everything you have to say. :) Looking forward to reading more of your stuff...

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  3. Milk and Honey MommyNovember 11, 2012 at 5:33 AM

    Jamie,

    I am adding this art activity to our list for the upcoming season. We are going to need a lot of indoor fun because it gets too cold here to play outside.

    Right now, my boredom buster is sending my children to their room to clean it. They quickly find something to do w/no problem.

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