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Summer Crafts: Ice Painting

Summer Crafts: Ice Painting

(I wrote this post at the end of July and am just now getting around to publishing :D)

Around here it has been wet and warm this Summer, which put together makes for hot, steamy days! Hot, steamy days can lead to the kids being just as cooped up inside as rainy ones, so we have been coming up with some ideas to help them stay out (and cool) as long as possible, one of which is Ice Painting. It is super easy (you could probably figure out how to do it by simply looking at one of these photos!), entertains kiddos for quite a while and is also (nearly) free – a triple win!Summer Crafts for Kids: Ice Painting | the Path Less Traveled They love any craft that involves painting, and could spend hours coloring on the sidewalk, so I combined both!Summer Crafts for Kids: Ice Painting | the Path Less Traveled It is quite simple, really, only involving a bit of forethought on the part of the parent. :)Summer Crafts for Kids: Ice Painting | the Path Less Traveled

You will need:

an ice tray

water

food color

paper (optional)

paintbrushes (option)
Summer Crafts for Kids: Ice Painting | the Path Less Traveled Fill the ice tray with water and add a few drops of coloring to each well. I used two trays and made about eight different colors for this project. Put the trays of colored water in your freezer, and wait! Summer Crafts for Kids: Ice Painting | the Path Less Traveled Once the ice has frozen, spread out some papers (I used a length of white butcher paper) on a table or concrete (we used our patio – a driveway or sidewalk would also work well) and add the colored ice cubes to it. I also supplied some small paintbrushes and encouraged the kids to rub the ice around, “painting” with the trails of colored water it left.

Summer Crafts for Kids: Ice Painting | the Path Less Traveled

Much fun was had by all! Now that the weather is starting to cool again, I’m imagining that using the colored ice cubes in a warm bath would be equally fun. :)

rainy day fun

rainy day fun

I love Pinterest, but you know that by now :)
One of the wonderful things about it is that it’s an endless source of ideas for things to do with your kids when you run out of ideas (and here I thought I was pretty creative – some of these mommies are amazing!).

I found this idea for our afternoon’s “craft” one day just before I was about to make dinner, and the little ones were enthralled. They were so excited to get started that they forgot that mommy might need “help” over at the stove (the intended result – yay!). And then they asked to do it again an hour later! And they asked again the next day, and the next day. Good thing we buy our vinegar and baking soda in bulk : )

 The original instructions mention using eye droppers and food coloring along with the vinegar and baking soda. And that she would recommend larger dishes than the plates she used. So, we did!