How do you do painting etc at home without complete mayhem?

[crazychemist]

Hi there,

DD is 2 and a clue of months and is starting to be interested in Mark making etc and has decentish fine motor now. She has an easel with a whiteboard on one side and a chalk board on the other and loves scribbling on these, and I tape paper to a small table so that she can scribble with crayons. It's bee not rather a godsend that she seems to like this as I was starting to find the winter weather a real killer!

She's asked to do painting a couple of times (she's done it before at nursery). I know I sound ridiculous, but how do I do this without paint going everywhere? We have carpet except in the kitchen.

Also some general tips about how you approach crafty stuff with toddlers would be really helpful. Pinterest etc has so many amazing craft projects, but I'm a hopeless beginning and just don't get how you do these things without the house getting totally trashed!

(Assume I'm clueless and incompetent )

If she is at nursery, and doing painting/messy play there then: you don’t. Give yourself, and your floor a break and stick to crayons!

You can get huge plastic decorating protective sheets you could put down on the table or on the floor for pennies. Old clothes 100%, and kid friendly washable paints.

Wet wipes within reach, always supervised. Tell them we stay at the table/in this space until it's finish otherwise it gets packed away.

However, being crafty is gonna get messy - it just is! And the messier, the better in the kids eyes. Have fun with it, get stuck in yourself

I bought disposable table cloths and did everything in the kitchen.

I sit ds at the table and put the baby in the high chair. She finger paints and he happily paints on paper. Have oil cloth on the table so it doesn’t mark. Same for play dough. If I were doing all the other messy stuff like corn flour, it’d be outside and only in the summer !

Also, don't know if you've seen these before, the LO I babysit LOVES them. And it's wipe away to clean up. (Just encourage them to wipe it off, otherwise it's a "don't destroy my masterpiece" battle)

Hi perpetual, that's what I've been doing so far . But I feel guilty because she is asking to do it. I'm also starting to struggle with keeping her entertained on rainy/cold days, we used to spend a fair bit of time pottering round the garden but she doesn't fancy that at the moment. She's also only at nursery two days a week so is at home quite a lot. We used to spend much more time reading too, but she just doesn't have the patience to sit still right now.

sirmione and madmum thanks for the ideas. Big plastic sheeting in the kitchen it is I guess! I don't mind mess, but I want to avoid any permanent damag to floors.

Good idea Iampickle

I only ever do this supervised where there is no carpet, I out newspaper down to protect tables ect.
I keep a packet of baby wipes close too.
Best place for painting is in the garden because you can wash the paint away afterwards!

We use crayola washable paint and paint on a mat on the floor in the kitchen. And outside in warmer weather! It wipes straight off my tiles but not sure how it would fare with wood.

Not painting but if i know it’s going to rain the next day or whatever, I let him out on the patio with chalk. Easy win, that one.

We have a spare wipeable tablecloth we put on the floor under a wee table when he’s painting or doing messy play in the house. He does occasionally get mess outside of the tablecloth but it generally contains the mess pretty well 🙂

Dd had one of these when I couldn't face all the cleaning up after her but tbh the easel went outside more often than not so long as she was wrapped up warm there didn't seem to be any problem.

I have 4 Dcs and 3 of them love painting!
You need:

• washable paints (worth spending on decent quality ones as they wash out better)
• Big plastic wipeable sheet (old tablecloth or tarpaulin is fine, you don't need to buy a new one)
• smocks or old shirts to cover clothes
• Something to hold the paints in (you can buy containers or use little plastic bowls)

Then:

1. Smocks on and socks off! (They inevitably walk on some drops, much easier to wash bare feet)
2. Paint and hope it amuses them for more than 5 mins
3. Rinse off palette then pop palette and children's feet in the sink Wash the feet and if you have a suitable high step (or a big bowl to put on the floor), get them to help with washing up, it adds more time to the activity and teaches them to tidy too....

Potato stamping on craft paper makes lovely wrapping paper for Christmas presents and family members usually love it even if it's very smeary. If she's a bit little to paint actual pictures, you can use a big piece of paper then cut it up and use a hole puncher to make present labels. Have fun!

I use empty egg boxes to put the paint in. An old t-shirt of mine over clothes and baby wipes to hand. I don't have carpet but if I did I'd use a plastic decorators sheet underneath the table.

I think the key to painting not being too messy is supervision.

I saved the old shower curtain and use that as a cover - it's huge and covers the whole table. And he wears one of his old sleeved bibs, although it only reaches his elbows now!

Wet cloth on hand in case he makes a break for it, and at the end I fill the washing up bowl with warm soapy water, stand him at the sink on a stool and let him have at it, then mop the floor around him with the fallout

Sometimes, you just have to minimise the risks then embrace the mess you can't prevent. With washable paint. I love the pics I have where he's painted his head yellow or green, and as for the time he gave himself a monobrow with a felt tip... those are the pics I'm saving for future girlfriends or boyfriends, and milestone birthdays

Tape paper to the tiles and let her do it in the bath ( with non-slip mat down)? Can rinse her and the bath down easily then afterwards!

Limit the number of paints you offer. Only squeeze a little out at a time- egg cups, plastic plates etc.

Dilute the paint with safe wallpaper paste- it doesn't run and stays put better.

Instead of going through packets of wipes, run a bowl of warm soapy water and keep it on the side with a flannel, fleece wipe. A damp scrub of her hands works really well.

Give her different things to make marks with- not just brushes, old kitchen sponges, forks etc.

Keep the door closed and do not leave the room until all clearing has been done.

Kitchen only for messy stuff. Really messy stuff best left till summer so you can do it outside and hose them down/rinse in paddling pool.

If you're doing potato prints, instead of just filling a tub with paint, put the paint on a dish sponge in the pot...much more contained and less messy!

Wow, some genius ideas here! So glad I asked!

A few drops of washing up liquid in the paint helps to thicken it too.

I think I have a super neat 2 year old anyway as she doesn't ever get messy painting,baking or eating! But I have a floor mat (one I've had since weaning) that protects the carpet. Old newpaper on the table and the paint goes in those little pots with lids that have a hole for the paintbrush. Just take any nice clothes off her just in case. Only a small amount of paint at a time, a little goes a long way!

I use an old sheet to cover the table when DD (2.3) paints. I also sit her in her highchair to minimise the chaos, she can't reach walls etc. Dining room is tiled so easily cleans. Full sleeve bib is essential.
I got a cheap pallette from Amazon and only squeeze a bit of paint out, definitely recommend Crayola washable paint, it has come out of everything so far.
She has the attention span of a gnat so it's usually 5 mins painting then 20 mins cleaning up, I'm hoping the distribution of time will change as she gets older

I like using watercolours or gouache - much less messy and results always look nice! Just get every disc good and wet before you let them have a go

Aquadoodle or no mess colouring? Not the same I know, but far less mess!