Materials Needed
- water guns - I purchased a four pack at the Dollar Store. They worked fine, but they leaked so this made an additional mess on the kids hands and down their arms. Invest in something a little more sturdy is what I recommend.
- smock - because this craft is messy, protect you and your kids!
- tempra paints in assorted colors - I used the actual paints, not the powder, but I've heard that you can also use the powder.
- water
- cups and a spoon
- clothesline or other long string to create a clothesline
- clothespins
- paper - I recommend using heavier paper than your standard printer paper. It holds up better with water on it. You can also buy special watercolor paper, but I personally just used what I had on hand.
Now what do I do with all these materials?
1. Mix the tempra paints in a bowl with a spoon- 1/3 paint to 2/3 water - make sure they mix well. For a more vibrant color, use less water, but I felt this combination worked just fine.
2. Hang up a clothesline between two trees - or two deck or fence posts, light posts, whatever you can find to tie it up. I also recommend that you hang the clothesline at eye level of your kids. When it was up too high, my 2 1/2 year old had a hard time aiming, but when I lowered it, he did much better. See my little artist -
3. Use the clothespins to hang each piece of paper - two clothespins, one for each side is what I recommend.
4. After you mix the water colors, pour one color at a time into a funnel, beaker, measuring cup and then pour into the small hole in the water gun. I mixed the water colors again at this point because paint had already settled at the bottom.
5. For an additional look, use blue painters tape and tape shapes or names to the paper. When the paper dries, remove the tape to reveal the design.
6. Now take the water guns outside - and please bring a lot of paper towels outside for clean up! - point at the paper and shoot!
7. When you're done, you can allow your masterpieces to hang dry or take them off the clothesline and lay them flat to dry. Both give a slightly different end result because of the drippings.
* the watercolor paints clean right up and out of the water guns *
My kids had a blast painting tonight. I thought it might not be a great craft for my 2 1/2 year old, but he enjoyed pulling the trigger and (attempting) to aim at the paper. When he actually hit the paper, he was very proud! I recommend doing this outside as it does get quite messy. I also don't recommend that you do it in front of anything that you don't want to get paint on because of the splatter (and poor aim of children). Also, make sure to stand a good distance away from the paper when using the water gun, again, because of the splatter. My kids came inside with paint on their face, along with their hands, legs, up their arms... Now that was a colorful bath time!
End result -
Hope you guys enjoyed this craft as much as we did! I'm always so proud of my little artists! I'm happy to find new crafts to do with the kids and especially happy to see their faces light up in excitement! Too bad they cried when the water guns ran out... :(
Keep on crafting!
Gigi