Bubble Wrap Painting and Printing

(E was 2 years and 5 months old.)

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Materials for Bubble Wrap Painting and Printing

 

• Bubble wrap.
• Paper.
• Tempera paint.
• Paintbrush (optional).
• Sticky tape (optional).

How it worked for us:

 

When E asked to paint, I remembered the many sheets of bubble wrap I’d stored away and pulled one out for her to explore.

I taped it down for her on top of the table, and she started touching and leaning on it while I got the other supplies ready. {You don’t strictly have to tape it down, but I think it gives a bit more control.}

When she was ready, she spent some time painting with the paintbrush and with both her fingers and the palm of her hand. She really enjoyed how the bubble wrap felt on her skin.

 

After a while, I handed her a sheet of paper, and she pushed it down on top of the paint to make a really nice print!

 

She thought that was just awesome, and asked for more paper to make another print. She even moved her hands over the paper to get the paint on a larger area.

 

I encouraged her to put some more paint on the bubble wrap, and she had some fun with that

 

but not nearly as much fun as when she got to make more prints 😉 {I can never get enough of those little paint stained hands <3}

 

She was really proud of her efforts and held the paper up for me to enjoy after every print.

 

Close-up

 

and complete bubble wrap masterpiece. {Can you spot the “Easter bunny” she asked me to paint for her? 😉 My only contribution to this art project.}

 

Both E and I really loved both the process and the results – and I was pleasantly surprised that E was able to make the bubbles show so well in the prints without any help.

 

Additional suggestions:

 

• Use a wad of bubble wrap to make prints.
• Tape a piece of bubble wrap on your child’s hand like a mitten and paint or make prints with it. {I tried this previously but E didn’t like to have her hand covered.}

 

Have you played with bubble wrap? Have you painted it? Leave a comment!

 

 

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