Rainbow Foam Dough

Like many sensory materials, this one has several names.  I've seen it all over, but from what I can tell it started with a mention by the Ooey Gooey Lady on Facebook and has been done by several bloggers at this point.  I always see this pin float by me on Pinterest - and now that I've played with the sensory material, I do think Foam Dough is the best name for it.  

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

I was expecting it to be pretty fun, but WOW IS IT FUN.  You really ought to try it.  Because you will LOVE it.  We had one of S's grandmas staying with us this weekend and she and I just could not stop playing with this dough.  It's a safe bet that an activity is a total win if any adults around are just as engrossed with playing as the kid(s).   Now that I've hopefully convinced you to try it, I will warn you that it is messy.  Like really messy.  Maybe the messiest thing I've played with?  It cleaned up just fine for us, but I am thinking most people would rather play with this in a big bowl/tub/bin outside.  :)

Foam Dough has two ingredients in a roughly one to one ratio - cornstarch and shaving cream   I wanted to make rainbow Foam Dough, because, well - rainbows!!!!  So I started by coloring the shaving cream because I figured that would be easiest - I added liquid watercolors, but you could also use food coloring (this, coincidentally, is how we make Shaving Cream Paint).

Then I slowly added cornstarch to each cup and stirred until it started looking ever so slightly doughy.  We kept our dough on the wet side because it was so much fluffier.  The more cornstarch you add, the drier the dough, but it does lose some of that amazing foamy-puffy texture.  Ultimately I'd say our foam dough ended up being slightly more shaving cream than cornstarch.

 

It really is just so foamy and puffy and fluffy and AMAZING.  It's like touching a cloud or a marshmallow...or maybe a marshmallow cloud?  Anyway, the pictures simply do not do it justice.

You can roll it into pretty little balls.  S had her grandma and me on ball rolling duty - and then she would SMOOSH them.  :)

Smooooosh.

It really was such a blast and so unlike any other material we've played with.  Shaving cream is definitely not save to ingest, so poor little X had to sit this one out.  Maybe next year!

We sincerely hope you'll give this one a try - it is something you must experience!!!!

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Please always supervise your infant/child at play.  Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.

Baby Play: Exploring Float

You can find the other posts in our Baby Play series here:

Exploring the Kitchen:  Part I

Exploring the Kitchen:  Part II

Exploring Sticky

X loves playing in water, so I try to incorporate water into his sensory play we do whenever I can.  In the vein of "exploring" - the theme I seem to have picked for the Baby Play series - I figured float would be great since it included water.  :)

S and I grabbed a bunch of colorful floating things.  If you have bath toys - those would be great - like a great big pile of them.  The more the better for this play, in my opinion.  We added some balls from our ball pit and S and I cut up some shapes out of play foam.  I also randomly found these really cool giant foam cubes at a local store that was going out of business, so we tossed them in as well.  X was hopping with excitement when he saw the set up!

He immediately set to work grabbing various floating objects.  It was great to see him fixate on something and then reach and stretch until it was in his possession!

Now he's going for one of those amazing cubes!

Such great hand-eye coordination practice for our little guy!  X is still too young to discuss colors or shape names, but you could definitely incorporate both of those with a toddler-aged child.  You could even make a game of it - Can you grab the yellow square? - etc.

I couldn't resist this cool shot of our floating rainbow!

X thought it was great fun.  And got wet.  Of course.

S had fun, too.  She liked making little structures that took advantage of the "stickiness" of wet foam (did you know you can use foam to make Window Art?).

More fun colors.  I heart rainbows.

And I'll end with one shameless how-cute-are-my-babies shot.  :)

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Please always supervise your infant/child at play.  Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.

10+ Ways to use Fingerpaints

Disclosure:  This is part of a series reviewing art supplies, specifically those from Discount School Supply, our favorite art supply company.  Some of the products reviewed are our own; some of the products reviewed were provided free of charge from Discount School Supply.  I will note which were provided for review within the series.  Though I was offered some of these products for free, the opinions offered are my own and were not swayed by the free products.  This post also includes some affiliate links to Amazon for your convenience.

Other posts in this series include:

Golden Glitter Slime (and Dragons)

Painting the Bathroom Mirror

Pretend Baking:  Painting a 3D Cake

Baby/Toddler Colored Rice Art

10+ Ways to Use Fingerpaint

Make Your Own Puffy Paint Shirt
Starter Art Kit from Discount School Supply

We love painting around here and fingerpainting is just always a hit.  Once your toddler is old enough to not "taste" paint, I love using store-bought paints (if they are still "tasting" - I'd recommend using either of our recipes for edible fingerpaint - we have one here and one here).  I have yet to find/create a homemade recipe that rivals the lasting power and vibrancy of store-bought paint.

When Discount School Supply sent us a set of their amazing Colorations Confetti Paint, S and I were instantly in love.  Glitter AND fingerpaints?  All at once?  Awesome.  We have come to associate Discount School Supply's Colorations line of paint with amazingly bright and vibrant colors and these fingerpaints did not disappoint (they also make a glitter-free version of fingerpaints for those of you who are glitter averse).  

Here are ten ways to use fingerpaints with a few links to friends at the end for even more ideas to enjoy this wonderful type of paint.

1.  Scraper Painting

Discount School Supply sent us one of their BioColor Paint Scrapers and S and I were excited to give it a try with our fingerpaints.  I'd seen scrape painting done before with amazing results, so I had high expectations.  It did not disappoint!  S chose three colors of paint and selected where she wanted big globs of each to go and then set to work painting the page with big sweeping motions.  For this piece of artwork we used the extra large size Colorations Colored Paper we received (in white).  It held up really well to all that heavy paint and it was nice to have a "canvas" that was a bit bigger than average sized paper.

 Check out S's expression here - she was impressed, too!  Hahaha.

Using the scraper was a fun way to mix the colors together and it was just such a different way to paint - we really had a great time with it!

2.  Blotto Art

I actually had to Google what this type of painting is officially called!  I've got so many fond memories of doing it myself, and it's still fun to this day.  To make Blotto art, you take a sheet of paper and fold it in half.  We used some high quality watercolor paperthat we adore.  You then add big dollops of paint in various places.  S put them all in a straight up and down line this time.  Then you fold and squish and squeeze the paint as much as you can.  When you are ready, slowly open the folded paper and a beautiful mirror image will reveal itself.  We thought this one looked like a butterfly and I thought the patterning in the fingerpaints was so cool - like tree roots!

3.  Foam Roller Painting

We received a set of foam rollers from Discount School Supply and it was S's first time painting with rollers.  It seemed like the sort of thing that necessitated a large piece of paper and some room to walk, so I set S up with a large stretch of butcher paper and pulled the chairs back from our dining room table to allow her to move freely.  She set to work creating a map!  The tracks the rollers left were "roads" and she had a running narrative for the map of the town she was creating.

The finished piece of artwork had a few pieces of construction paper added to it (various buildings in the town) and some glitter.  Because you can never have too much glitter (as evidenced by our Golden Glitter Slime, amiright?).

4.  Tape Resist

To do tape resist, you need a good sheet of paper (we use high quality watercolor paper) and low quality masking tape (we use Dollar Tree masking tape).  The stronger your paper and the weaker your tape, the better!  I had S lay out strips of tape and once she was done I continued them to the edges of the paper by adding more tape (you could leave it as is, of course, but I love the stained glass effect that is created with complete lines).  Paint to your heart's desire, and then remove the tape to reveal your masterpiece!

5.  Squish Bags

If you have a little one around (or even if you don't these are still cool - but they do have a special appeal to babies and toddlers), you can add some fingerpaint to a Ziploc bag and tape it in the window to have a really interesting way to make some art.  X was fascinated by the purple sparkly paint and enjoyed making tracks in it with his little chubby fingers over and over again.

We loved the way the window lit up the paint and really accented the glitter in the paint.

6.  Fingerpaint Matching Activity

You could do color coded shapes (i.e. red-outlined triangle, green-outlined circle, etc) if you have a toddler and regular fingerpaints.  S is a bit older, so I thought I'd give her a bit of a challenge by drawing the shapes of the glitter that's within each Colorations Confetti Paint (each color contains a different shape of glitter) and see if she could figure out how to match the paints with the shapes.  It took her a minute, but once she discovered the connection she was super excited.

An activity like this is a great way to reinforce shapes with younger children, and great fine motor practice to paint within the lines.

7.  Body Painting

This is an old picture of little S when she was around 18 months old - but body painting with fingerpaints is SO much fun.  :)

8.  Erupting Fingerpaints

If you have some leftover fingerpaints, add some baking soda (about a tablespoon will usually suffice), stir, and then add vinegar for a beautiful glittery fizzy reaction.  S erupted several colors of leftover paints and then "painted"and played with the bubbly foam with some of her plastic miniature animals.

9.  Paint with Textured Brushes

S and I really enjoyed this set of Colorations Wacky Painting Tools that Discount School Supply sent us.  S enjoyed feeling each brush on her arm and cheek before starting to paint.  We did a free paint on a large bit of butcher paper where she just explored the patterns that each brush made when you moved it in different ways (swirling, straight line, hard, soft, etc).

Then I had her turn away and used a sheet of construction paper to make patterns with each of the brushes.  Then S had to match the brush to the imprint like a puzzle!  A few of the patterns really tricked her, but she loved it!!!

10.  Mess Free Fingerpainting

This is a great way to mix it up, or if you have a baby/mouthing toddler OR a child who does not enjoy messy hands - you can put a piece of paper with paint inside a Ziploc and they can paint through the bag while keeping their hands clean.  This was how X got to "paint" with us.

OK, so his painting mostly looked a lot like drumming because he still doesn't really "get" painting...but it was nonetheless adorable and he enjoyed participating with sis.  :)

Still looking for more ways to use that fingerpaint?

One of my all time favorite fingerpainting methods - a la Linoleum floor.  Click here to see Dilly Dali Art's beautiful kitchen floor masterpiece!

Or you could always use the windows to paint Kandinsky Circles!

You could try out any or all of the fun and clever ways Twodaloo and her twin toddlers have used fingerpaints.

Or you could incorporate sponges in an interesting way like Blog me Mom did here.

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Please always supervise your infant/child at play.  Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.

Baby Play: Exploring Sticky

You can find the other posts in our Baby Play series here:
Exploring the Kitchen:  Part I
Exploring the Kitchen:  Part II
Exploring Float

Inspired by an image I saw on Pinterest from this post, I thought contact paper would be a cool sensory experience for little X.  I wanted to be sure to discourage mouthing the contact paper because whatever it is that makes that stuff sticky cannot be good for little stomachs!  I decided to flip our sensory bin (an underbed storage container I bought from Fred Meyer for $9) and cut a strip of contact paper that would fit in the middle.  I also made sure to line the rectangular strip on all sides with packing tape so it wouldn't lift up easily.

I can't resist rainbows, and given the opportunity, must include them wherever I can!  So I decided to go with several different textured items, all of which would stick fairly well and all of which we had in rainbow colors!  X immediately noticed the stickiness.  He touched it a few times before gravitating to the ball pit balls.  He rolled the blue one around a bit, listening to the sound it made sticking and unsticking as he moved it around the contact paper.

Then he decided he needed to hold the ball, so off it came.  Once he was in possession of the ball, he was interested in inspecting the other items on the table a bit more.  He looked at the soft feathers first.

Then he just explored the plain contact paper. 

Next he opted for two hand sticky exploration and let sis hold the ball.

Since X had moved on from exploring the objects to exploring just the contact paper, S decided to make a little rainbow sculpture with them.

And then, my favorite series of photos of the two of them, possibly ever, happened.  After pondering for a minute, X launched himself onto the sticky table so that his belly was "stuck".  And then he just hung out there.  Sis, from the background chirped "Oh, that looks like fun!"

Ready?

Yep.  They're awesome.  They hung out like that for a minute or two while I died laughing.

X did let me tickle him with a feather while he, uh, explored the table with his stomach.  :)

And after they were both done exploring sticky stomachs, sis had the idea to walk across the sticky table, which I thought was rather brilliant.  It made a crazy noise as her hands and feet unstuck, so it managed to entertain both her and her brother.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Contact paperis definitely a staple around here (and a roll is only around $5!).  You can see us using it to make Contact Paper Window Art and to help us decorate a Giant Egg as well as in some upcoming posts that I haven't gotten around to typing up yet.

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Please always supervise your infant/child at play.  Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.