Painting with tape, an organized mess!

When finger painting with children you often think of abstract art. But what if you could let your children paint freely and still have an organized master piece to hang on the walls? Here are some fun and easy ideas for you to create "organized messes" with your little ones. 

To get started you'll need some supplies.

• Blank canvas. You can find these at any craft store and size is up to you. 
• Edging tape ( I'd pick a width that is not to skinny or wide for best results) 
• Washable paint
• Paint brushes (optional depending on how messy you want to get)
• Disposable cups or plate

Step 1:

What would you like to create? Today I am playing with a Halloween themed idea but I will show you other options at the end of the blog. First you want to tape out any areas where you do NOT want paint. 

Step 2:

Grab the paint colors you'd like to use and put them in cups for dipping with a paint brush or onto a disposable/washable plate for finger painting as shown here by my adorable model. 

Step 3:

Let's get messy! Here's where you let your little one paint inside (or outside) the tape. Depending on what you're creating you can go with one color at a time or a whole palatte. 

 Tip: always keep a damp rag handy so if your little one paints outside the "lines" it can easily be wiped away. 

Step 4: 

Let it dry! It will take anywhere from 2-4 hours for all the paint to dry. When it's ready, remove all the edging tape so only your child's master piece remains. You can go back and add words or any other art you'd like to enhance their work, and ta-da you're done! 

If one idea isn't enough for you how about taping out an American flag? You just use star stickers in the box to get your white stars and edging tape to mark your white bars on the flag. 

You can tape out squares and let your little one create his own unique masterpiece. 

If you have more than one child tape out something special for each one, it can be initials, stripes, or shapes. 

Before:

After:

 Always be sure to mark on the back of your painting your child's name and the date, then you can hang them up for everyone to enjoy. These also make great gifts for grandparents any time of year. So please, go have fun and enjoy getting messy!