Scratch Art

Recently, Baby Bear and I have been trying our luck with store-bought finger paints instead of the homemade edible ones. The colors are a little more vibrant, and, let's face it, it's just easier sometimes. So far, he's been doing very well with these paints. He's tried tasting twice, but I was right there with a damp washcloth to wipe off his tongue. He didn't like that and hasn't tried again as of late. For Valentine's Day and Heart Month, I decided to turn one of Baby Bear's paintings into scratch art.

I started Baby Bear out with only red paint. I gave him a doily to make a print with, which was fun. Then, he took his paintbrush and started painting his hands to make prints.

He wasn't content with just red, so I added a little blue but didn't mix. This gave the paint a bit of a tie-dyed effect.

Baby Bear finds painting himself far more entertaining than painting paper. This is why we do all of our painting in the bathroom now. Having the bathtub right there comes in very handy!

While Baby Bear played in the water after I rinsed him off, I used the end of the paintbrush to scratch a few hearts into the paint. This could be fun for older kids to do themselves.