Toddler-made Paper Easter Egg Garland
This month I came across a "Play Each Day" challenge on Instagram. This monthly play challenge was created by @wifemummalife.
The challenge for Day 4 was "cotton bud craft." I had recently seen an activity somewhere online with kids painting with cotton swabs (Qtips). So that was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this challenge. I had been putting off painting with my toddler because I assumed Pooky would just make a huge mess and that I would regret the whole idea of painting with a 2-yr-old. But this challenge inspired me to just dive in!
I wanted the end result to lead to something more than just a hot mess on paper, so I decided to turn it into an Easter decoration. I traced some egg shapes onto a couple pieces of very thick white construction paper. Then, I put a bit of Crayola washable paint into each section of this plastic flower palette that I found in the $1 bin at Target. Next, I placed a couple cotton swabs into each paint color and we were ready to go!
In hopes to contain the mess, I put Pooky in one of Daddy's old t-shirts and placed her in her highchair. Before giving her the paints, I demonstrated how to take one cotton swab out, color with it by dabbing on the paper, and then place it back in its color.
It only took one demonstration and she was off and running! And she wouldn't let me paint with her. So, other than a few dots of paint, this is all her creation.
She was really concentrating on her masterpiece!
At this point she declared she was "all done." (I find it interesting that she concentrated mostly on the bottom of the paper.) Today she asked for the paints again, so we repeated the activity. (but I forgot to take pictures)
Once all the paint was dry, I cut out the egg shapes. Then I punched holes in them in order to string them up as a garland. I punched two holes at the top of each egg instead of one so they would remain facing outward.
Pooky helped me thread them with yarn I had leftover from a Valentine's Day project. Great lacing practice!
Then we hung them on display!
(Sorry about the bad lighting.) Considering this Easter decoration was made by a two-year-old and a not-so-crafty mom, I'm pretty happy about how it turned out. In fact, I'm inspired to do more painting with my toddler, and I hope you are too.
It's not too late to join the Play Each Day challenge. Just click my Instagram button and come join the fun! Or for more great Toddler-approved activities, you can follow my Pinterest Easter board. Thanks for stopping by.