Puffy Fluffy Paint

I am certain most of you are aware of how to make fluffy puffy paint, I am not the first to be blogging about the wonders of puff paint however if you have not discovered this fun alternative to your basic paint project I strongly encourage you to try it.  My kiddos LOVE puff paint.  First you need to collect your ingredients.  There are 2.  So you may need a pen and paper to write them down. 

 I'll wait....

...

...

Ready?  

1. Shaving Cream

2. White Glue

You need to put equal parts into a container.  

Mix.  

Paint.  

Add embellishments.

(and because there is glue in the paint, they will stick, and stay, no extra adhesive required)

Yep.  It's that easy.  

It makes marvelous puffy fluffy looking snowmen!  I have also added liquid watercolor (or food coloring) to the mix to make fluffy hearts for Valentines day, fluffy shamrocks for St. Patty's.  The options are endless.

Here are my tips:

1. Make a fresh batch.  I have tried to make a batch in the morning and use the same batch for my afternoon class... it NEVER works well.  You NEED fresh shaving cream to give you that fluffy look.

2. I am kind of a glue snob, I stick with Elmers.  But I ALWAYS have glue given to me at the start of a new year that is "off brand"  this is what I save it for.  Also, use your remnants.  I use up all those glue bottles that have caps glued shut, are almost gone, or are not my favorite brands.  You need a lot of glue to make enough for 41 snowmen (believe me) so make sure to stock up.

3. Have your kiddos start by drawing their snowman shape with a white crayon or a pencil.  Then add their stick arms with a marker or crayon BEFORE beginning to paint.  This helps eliminate some mess.

Let them dry and hang them up for all to see!

I love shaving cream!  My husband wonders how one person can purchase and use so much shaving cream in a year.  I can.  It is great for cleaning tables, practicing words, super fun in a sand table, makes and awesome weather experiment (clear container, water, shaving cream, food coloring, WOW! Just see the picture below.), puff paint, of course, but also do you remember this post? We made some amazing fall leaves using simply shaving cream, tempera paint, and liquid water color.  (We will be doing this again in the spring when we talk about recycling, making the earth, using green and blue watercolor and tempera, I have a feeling they are going to be pretty cute!)

My class last year experimenting with shaving cream and water during our weather unit.

So head over to the dollar store and stock up on some shaving cream.

I am sure you can find plenty of uses for it!