Sunday, January 25, 2009

Unplugged - Painting With Marbles

I had been wanting to do shoe-box and marble painting for a while, so it was good to see that this week's Unplugged Project theme was "ball". The gist of it is that you put a piece of paper into a shoebox with a glop of paint and a marble, close the top and shake. The shoebox part seemed a little risky, what with the possibility of paint-laden marble flying across the room. So I thought I would experiment with some more toddler-friendly possibilities.
Our first try was with a shampoo bottle...as in, curl up a piece of paper and jam it in, squirt in some paint, plop in a marble, and screw the top on. My theory was that there would be no risk of projectiles. I was right, and the painting turned out pretty good, but I failed to anticipate how difficult it would be to pull the paper out. Basically, I shredded it. So on our next try, we used a wide-topped deli container and heavier paper. Note that for this to work, the paint really has to be quite thick...watery paint is not picked up by the marbles. E loved squirting out the paint, but she was a little under the weather and didn't take to the bottle shaking like I thought she would.
In the end, my favorite product was the deli container with leftover paint in it! I even squirted a little more paint in and rolled the marbles around to coat the entire inside. I don't know what we'll do with it, because the paint will probably peel off pretty easily, but maybe it could be a paintbrush holder for our "art corner"!
Today was also our first "Crafty Critters Club" meeting (that is, toddlers at a table for 15 minutes with craft supplies), so afterwards we played a (very short) game of laundry basket ball to go along with the theme. Below, E's friend W doesn't need much coaxing to throw a ball! In future meetings, I hope to incorporate the Unplugged Theme to a larger extent. Thanks for the motivation, and all the good ideas!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want to bit Baby W. Seriously, why have you been withholding him from me?

Anonymous said...

I meant bite. I are dumb.

Crescent Moon said...

Oh, that's funny! It's pretty much the same project we did this week. This is the first time since I started participating in the Unplugged Challenge that I've seen two people with the same idea .
Great minds think alike.

Anonymous said...

I love the way this came out. I have only done it on flat paper-but I like the look of yours much better! Can't wait to try it.

Michie said...

Would you believe I couldn't think of anything for ball? I need to get motivated to do these projects again. I wish I could join your Crafty Critters Club!

Anonymous said...

very pretty and cool! we love marble painting!!!!!!!!!!!

Garden State Kate said...

Marble painting is always fun..I love your paintbrush holder idea!
Thank you for stopping by my blog..it's always lovely to "meet"
other Moms!

This Girl loves to Talk said...

your paper looks great.. I did this and the kids just did a few lines... like tracks across.. this is cool though

Christie said...

We have done a lot of marble painting this year to make wrapping paper but that idea is super cute! I may have to go buy something at the deli just to get the container. :)

Annie Scarlett said...

My boys love marble painting, but your deli container turned out super cute.

Myth said...

That's what we did too! We rolled the marbles around in a larger box, rather than shaking.

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