Make Monday: Fingerpaints and Potato Art!

Last week, Judah and I had our neighbor friend over for some finger painting and potato art! What a blast the boys had playing in the paint and creating their own stamp masterpieces.

We started by gathering up all the supplies....vinyl table cloth, aprons or bibs, sheets of paper or roll of paper, paint, paper plates, potatoes, and some old rags for cleanup. The boys were good about rolling up their sleeves, putting on their paint shirts, and sitting on the chairs at the covered kitchen table for some serious fun.

We used blue, washable, tempera paint (you can find in the store) on paper plates to keep things simple and under control. This time we used regular white card stock I had laying around the house but you may use a roll of paper as both the table cloth and the paper.

If you do not have paint around the house, try mixing your own recipe at home with ingredients straight out of your cupboard:

3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups of cold water
food coloring
dish detergent
4 plastic or paper cups

Mix the sugar and the cornstarch together in the saucepan. Then add the water and mix a little more. Cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time. The mixture should start to boil, then thicken. This takes about 5 minutes. Remove from the stove, cool, and pour into 4 plastic cups. Add a little food coloring and a drop of detergent to each cup. This recipe is recommended for toddlers and above, depending on the child.

The boys dipped their hands in the finger paint to make hand prints and other designs for about 30 minutes. We discovered you can use your fingers for other inventions like connect the dots or making snakes. For some added fun, cut potatoes into shapes for stamps. I cut out squares and triangles for the boys to dip into their paint and stamp onto their paper for additional designs.


Cleanup was easy and minimal (which is what a mom likes to hear). I gave each boy a medium sized bowl of warm, soapy water to wash their hands. They continued playing in the water at the table, washing any brushes and items that needed cleaned, until their own hands were clean. We dried up and while they had a snack, I rinsed out the bowls and wiped down the paint from the vinyl table cloth and the spills on the carpet. Then I put away the supplies for another day and threw the aprons into the washing machine. That was it.

The boys certainly had a fun morning painting and stamping. And I enjoyed myself knowing the easy preparation would make this activity go smoothly, especially with being easy to manage and clean up. The end result was a happy mom and some really cute paintings for our fridge!