Kids love exploring, learning, and getting to be creative through art projects. While coloring is a staple art activity for kids, this fun 3-D foam paint art project offers an exciting new twist to art for kids. These foam art projects will have your child saying hello to fluffy, puffy, do-it-yourself DIY foam paint! It turns out foaming paint is super easy to make and there are all kinds of cool ways to use this sensory paint for young children.
Making foam paint is an easy and fun craft all by itself. You will want to create a few colors of painting foam at time in Ziploc bags for easy handling. Then try out a few different painting foam projects to let your kids (and you) express their creativity. Today’s foam art projects are sponsored by KinderCare Learning Centers. Thanks to them for sharing this foam paint recipe and fun art projects. Let the foamy fun begin!
Foam Paint And Art Projects For Kids
Art Projects Materials:
- Shaving cream
- Craft glue (your typical school glue like Elmer’s works well)
- Food coloring
- Cardstock or heavy paper
DIY Foam Paint Recipe
I think you will find the directions for how to make foam paint quite easy to follow and fun. Kids love to squish things in bags so mixing up the foam sensory paint is fun! The simple 3 ingredient recipe is 1/2 cup shaving cream, 1/2 craft glue, and 7 drops of food coloring for each of foaming paint color you wish to make.
- Mix equal parts shaving cream and craft glue in a Ziploc bag or multiple bags depending on how many colors of paint you want.
- Add a few drops of food coloring to your bags and mix well until desired colors are achieved.
- Cut one corner off the bag.
- Paint by squeezing the DIY foam paint out of the bag onto the cardstock or heavy paper as if you were frosting a cake with a pastry bag.
- Leave overnight to dry.
This foam art project can get messy but it is worth the fun if you take a few precautions to protect your work area. Playing with paint is best done outside, or at least on a table with plenty of newspaper laid down under the project area if it doing it inside.
Mixing the foam paint colors will be a really fun learning experience for the child as they learn about color combinations and how quantity of food color drops affects the depth of color.
If you prefer a hassle-free option, you can find pre-made foam paints in various colors at art supply stores. These ready-made versions often come in bottles with no mixing required, making them convenient for quick and easy art projects with kids. However, you will miss out on all the fun of making it!
Ideas For Painting Foam Art Projects
When you are ready to paint, cut one corner off each color bag of foaming paint. Show your child how to squeeze the painting foam out of the bag as if you were frosting a cake with a pastry bag. Make sure they are using cardstock or heavy paper so it will not go through and so that it does not become to soggy and tear.
Letter Art.
Foam paint is really fun for children who are learning their letters to get to practice making the shapes in a fun way!
Dots and Lines.
Focusing on dots and or lines is a fun art project to see the effects that can be created with such simple repeating shapes and changes in just color.
Free Form.
Do what comes naturally! It will be fun to see what they’re inspired to paint.
Stars Theme.
Create a blue background in then add stars of all sort of shapes and sizes in the fluffy painting foam.
Flowers.
The textured paint makes incredible flowers in a bouquet!
Fish or Bird.
Make a large fish shape or bird shape and have fun adding the scales or feathers individually and in all different colors of paint!
Ocean or Sky Designs.
Encourage your kid to paint clouds or waves with the thick foam paint creating fluffy textures that make the clouds or sea foam appear 3D.
Rainbow.
The rainbow in 3D. What could be better?
House on A Hill.
I loved to paint a house on a hill when I was little!
Face
A self portrait or a painting of mommy will always be a treasure.
Art students should free free to press the foam out of the bag and leave as is. However, they may prefer to use a paint brush to smear it around or mix colors further. They can cover the whole sheet with various depths of foam or just part of the sheet.
When they are done painting be sure to have kids wash out their paint brushes so they can learn to care for their art supplies and to help clean up the messes they make.
After your child’s foam art project is complete, leave it overnight to dry. The puffy paint will grow and harden to make a fun keepsake.
Conclusion
Foam paint is a fun and versatile art material for kids that adds an interesting texture to their creations. This foam paint is generally easy to wash off hands and surfaces, but it’s always a good idea to cover the work area to minimize mess. I hope you enjoyed this fun foam art project. Art is such a fun way for children to learn. Do you think you will try making foam paint with your child? Will you do a try painting with them or just watch? Try joining in the fun!
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Donna Hup says
This is super cute and looks so fun!
Tori says
This is such a cute idea! I love that it is so fun for kids, but can also be educational.
Nikki @ Tikkido says
Oh my goodness, that looks like such squishy, messy fun! My girls used to get to play with shaving cream on tables at preschool and loved it. And, as a bonus, it helped clean the tables up really nicely. 😉