Dry Watercoloring!

My name is Morgan and I don't like Play-Doh.

Whew!  That feels good to get off my chest ... but I think there are a few more confessions to make:

I don't like glitter.

I don't like beads.

I don't like stamping.

I don't like watercolors.

Uhmmm ... hmmm ... I think I need to go back and rephrase those statements.

I don't like when my kids play with Play-Doh ... 

and the clean-up involves twice as much time as the actual "fun" had by the kids.

I don't like when my kids use glitter ... 

and I find my floor still sparkles nine months later.

I don't like when my kids are beading ... 

and all I can hear the tippity-tappity-tip-tip-tips of the itty-bitty seed beads dancing around the table only to roll to the floor to join the glitter.

I don't like the clean up involved after my kids have been stamping ... 

and I find myself wiping not-so-washable ink off the table, chairs, the kitchen floor and more than one knee.

And as for watercolor ~ I don't like when my kids watercolor because of the sheer amount of water that goes into their drippy, soggy, colorless paintings.  They definitely have the water-part of watercoloring down, in fact, they use so much water that they "paint" right through their paper to the table below.  We also find that their sodden works of art have to be ironed flat after drying due to their sheer saturation.  And due to the ginormous amount of water used, there is no discernible color ... just a lot of dishwater grey.  (And don't get me started on the periodic floods that cover the table when some little person's elbow collides with the rinse cup ... effectively turning my MOPS notepad a lovely shade of dishwater grey.)

Until ...

We discovered Crayola No-Drip Watercolors ... and suddenly I'm saying, 

"Yes!  You should watercolor!"  

This little number is terribly cool.  It comes with two brushes/markers and a tray that includes six colors, each in their own little contained capsule.  There is also a "cleaning pad" that you can use to wipe the brush clean.  This eliminates the pesky need for an opened jar of ready-to-be-spilled water which makes me happy. (see above)

Your little artist sticks the brush into the small opening of the desired color, the tip absorbs a small amount of vibrant color and then your little one uses that mess-free tip to color to their heart's content.  Want a new color?  No problem!  Simply wipe the brush clean on the pad and choose a new hue.  When the pad gets dirty, which it does, just rinse it off under running water (the same with the brush tips) and then you are ready for the next masterpiece.

There is no spilling, no soggines, no tearing sodden paper ... and your kids can discover the COLOR aspect of watercoloring!

Ashley is hard at work painting her yellow daisy yellow.

Even Lydia enjoys getting her artistic-groove on.

I don't think the gloves are necessary
... the paints are non-toxic.

A garden masterpiece ...
straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

Proof that even the littlest hands can manage this craft.

I have found that my girls are happy to sit and "paint" for long stretches of time ... much longer than the actual amount of time needed to clean-up!  And that makes Mommy happy, too.

Now ... my mom might disagree about this craftiness falling under the heading of watercolor.  But that's only because she can do things like this with her watercolors and brush:

Yes!  She's amazing!  Maybe someday one of my little people will create such wonderful pieces, but first we have to master the water-containment issues!

For more wonderful watercolors to enjoy, head over to my mom's website.  You won't regret it!

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Linking up with Mama Kat today ...
Prompt #4 ~ something that keeps your kids busy for 20 blissful minutes! :)