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Bower Power

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Weston Pollock

PERSONAL

With three little ones in the house, there are less opportunities for concentrated mommy-time.  And now that Will’s preschool is out for the summer, the chance for me to get dedicated time with Weston is even slimmer.  So it comes as no surprise that when I decided to do some finger painting with Weston (his first time!), that he was really into it.

And when I say “into it”, I mean he was literally in the paint and some of it got into him 🙂

The entire experience was like riding a roller coaster with an adrenaline junkie who is scared of heights.  One minute there is shrieking, crying, complete fear…the next sheer joy.  It makes it hard to make a definitive statement about the experience.

Weston is in that phase where he doesn’t like his hands dirty…so this was completely uncomfortable at the beginning but I think he got the hang of it.

The paint we used is toddler friendly – it’s just a mixture of corn starch and water and food coloring.  I first made this paint when Will was little (we first made it with flour) and even though it is not toxic to eat…it doesn’t taste good…at all.

There is no recipe that I follow…I just use about a quarter cup of water and add the flour or cornstarch till the consistency is close to what I think paint should be.   Obviously the more cornstarch the thicker the paint.  Blend it really well with a whisk.  Then add the food coloring till it looks the color you want.  I use regular liquid food coloring or the gel food coloring…the result is the same.  Just make sure to add enough to get a rich saturated hue.

It’s a good idea to have a cup on hand because cornstarch makes your entire mouth yucky.  And because dehydration is real.

Weston obviously loves me.  Here he is signing ‘more’.  Which obviously means more me.  It has nothing to do with the fact that I just gave him a gummy bear.  Nope.  Nothing to do with the candy.  Everything to do with me 🙂

Since this first time, Will has done fingerpainting with Weston several times and is currently teaching him the ‘smash’ techinique which is where the child tries to smack the paint as hard as he can to splatter everything around him in paint.  It’s my favorite ever.  No.  Not really.

Are you ready to see these works of art?  They are gonna be priceless one day…when Weston becomes the next Jason Pollock.  And you can thank me later for exposing you to these masterpieces.

 

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Comments

  1. Weston is just SO cute (all your boys are). These are great photos and looks like someone really enjoyed himself 🙂

  5. What kind of paper did you use? Regular computer/printer paper, or something thicker?

  6. He is so adorable. The blue lines on his forehead are so straight I thought this would be a post about how YOU painted HIM. (ps – it should be Jackson Pollock up there, not Jason. darn autocorrect, amiright?)

  7. Hey Katie- I think you meant Jackson Pollack….not Jason. I’m going to have to try making my own paints- thanks for the tip!

  9. He’s got his Daddy’s eyes but he’s got your smile. How do you pick a favorite picture out of all those? They are all precious. I always loved the finger paint sessions with little ones in the family. My Mom still has some framed. You’re going to have a dedicated phone line for you and Jeremy one day because your other line will be ringing off the hook with all the little girls trying to talk to those handsome Bower boys!

  10. I listen to a lot of talking books and often find myself just listening to the actor’s performance rather than the story. In the same way I love your humour but I just adore looking at the way you take photos. Cheers

  14. So freakin adorable. Weston is by far the cutest baby I have ever seen!!! I’ve never made homemade paint so thanks for sharing!!

  16. Seriously, Katie. How do you get anything done around there? All of your boys are just the cutest, handsome, most precious things ever and all have their own sweet personalities. I would be kissing ,loving, and hugging on them all day long! They are irresistible. You are indeed blessed. Btw, congratulations on being selected one of Domino’s top design bloggers. What a compliment. Keep up the good work.

  20. He’s so cute!!! Another fun Jackson P. Inspired art for littles…drip painting. Just dip the brush and drip it above the paper…it splatters into creative masterpieces.

  25. So cute! We’ve just started finger painting with my don’t-want-to-get-my-hands-dirty 14 month old. He keeps looking at me like I’m nuts. He’s a bigger fan of plain yogurt and koolaid as a medium, for some reason. Maybe because it smells so good 🙂 Doesn’t make for very “keepable” art, but since most of the painting is on his legs/tummy, I’m just glad it’s very washable. I’ll have to retry cornstarch and water.

  26. There are a couple of photos when I was scrolling I couldn’t tell if it was Weston or an old photo of Will you were doing for comparison! hahha 🙂

    I love watching them grow from afar 🙂

    Hope you have a great week Bower Clan!

  27. Your boys are adorable, and I must try this with my boys soon.

    Just an FYI…it is Jackson Pollock.

  28. I was going to say the same thing… 🙂
    The only reason I know is 33 credit hours of Art History in college though.

  29. All of your boys are so adorable — but Weston has got my vote as the cutest of the bunch. That round little face and squinty little eyes.

    Now, back to the project at hand, have you saved any of the artwork made using the homemade paint? How does it hold up? I just imagine it drying and flaking off of the paper immediately and would love to know if it’s held on for any period of time.

  30. Awwwww!! Weston is my favorite. Ovary explosion when i see his adorable eyes!! My daughter has the same thing going on with the eyes and general cuteness, of course they are soulmates yet to meet each other. Hope he is into more mature ladies, as she is already 2. Seriously i just love him!!!

  32. This may be a silly question, but does the finished product keep ok? Like, could I display it without it flaking, falling apart, or smelling weird?

    That boy is such a cutie!

  35. Aww! I love these times! I do miss my babies… they are already 1st and 2nd graders!

  36. Looks like so much fun! My almost 2 year old boy could care less about painting or art in general. I’ve tried but he’d much rather play in the kiddie pool outside or with his trains and trucks. The fact that he doesn’t like being messy could have something to do with it. 🙂

    Weston always looks like such a happy little boy. Is it a second child thing maybe? Mine is a little ray of sunshine. I hope you plan on framing his first masterpiece!

  37. That is such a great idea to make the paint. I will definitely be using this. I have one son that still at 4 years old refused to get his hands dirty. He will paint, but with a washcloth at the ready for any mess ups on his hands. My other two… they giggle and paint their skin. Your little guy looked like he had a great time!

  38. Weston looks so adorable! My daughter just turned one and I’ve been trying to decide when she can start doing artsy stuff. This ‘edible’ paint looks like a good idea and definitely something we’ll be trying out soon. Thanks for sharing!

  39. Wow, I actually HAD that bed when growing up; I shared it with my sister. And I live in the Netherlands so that’s kinda weird!

  41. That first painting sort of looks like a green dementor attacking Ariel, which proves that I am either insane or that your sweet child is a nerdy genius. I’m going to root for a little bit of both. 🙂

  42. These are super cute! Just thought I’d make you aware of a little typo though in case you want to correct it: I think you meant to type JaCKson Pollock?

  45. so I saw this post yesterday and decided I would do this with my daughter. Well I used gel food coloring…….. DO. NOT. USE. GEL! my child was a smurf after it was all over with. She had a blast but now she has a blue hue to her 🙂

  46. LOL I think you mean Jackson Pollock, not Jason!

    This is so cute, I love me some fingerpainting!

  47. As an art teacher, I love this. As a mommy, I still love it, but as I’ve done this with my daughter numerous times…take it outside, let them splatter paint until it’s all over. The rain (or a hose) will wash it all away! We have a local “art in the park” day here and they expose kids to all kinds of painting. They gave me the outside idea as that was my daughter’s first time with splatter paint. It’ll go everywhere but totally worth it! I smiled every time she wore her paint splattered boots. Beautiful photos!!!!

  49. I always love pics of your boys! They are so cute!! On your paint – does the food coloring come off of them easy? I know with the gel coloring I have, if I get a dot on me, it’s on me for DAYS!

  55. I usually don’t keep them long…although this time I did because it was his first. I put them in an album so I don’t really know how they would last otherwise. Usually I snap a photo and print out the pic instead!
    xo – kb

  57. I did save it but it’s in an album so I don’t know if it would be long-term flaky. It doesn’t dry flaky…but it does have texture…like a paint with thickness.
    xo – kb

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