Our daughter is the ringleader of artistic chaos.
When it comes to painting, she is totally in love. So much so that every inch of herself, anyone near her and everything within 10 yards of the painting location has, in the past, been guaranteed to be turned a lovely shade of tempera.
I swear that our Tuesday-morning art group dwindles every time paint is on the menu and we RSVP. The tiny person is notorious for her painting enthusiasm.
I, on the other hand, have no love for the mega mess.
My husband being an artist, I very much understand the theory of honouring artistic liberties and letting the tiny person test drive her creativity undetered by my unhappy participation in the massive clean-up that ALWAYS results from a session of paint. But, the mere thought of pouring tempera paints into bowls and letting her go for it makes me shudder right down to my toes.
Enter Melissa & Doug’s Spillproof Paint Cups.
These sturdy, hard-plastic cups are seriously one of the best pre-school artistic scores I have ever discovered.
The key to their success is two-fold.
Beside the fact that it takes far more time than a painting toddler is willing to put in to unscrew the tops and dump out once they are on, they have a fantastically simple detail in that there’s a hole in the top, just large enough for a toddler-sized brush but not even close to being big enough for toddler hands. The cups are deep and wide, which makes them sturdy – bright and colourful to make them interesting to the tiny person.
For the limited mess factor alone, I’d have to say they are downright amazing.
The result in our house is that the tiny person can now paint at the dining room table with nothing more than a drop cloth over the table and a smock. She’s way more excited about dipping the brushes into the paint cups and smearing it on the paper than smearing it on herself and every other surface available. Painting, while still hysterically fun and silly, is now a bit more deliberate. She’s figuring out more how colours mix to make new ones (previously, we were only familiar with how to make brown and gray), lines, circles and other cool tidbits that having to take a bit more time with her painting has freed up for her.
Paired with the Melissa & Doug brushes that are the perfect size for the cups, this is an absolute must-have for any young artist’s closet. Not to mention they are really reasonably priced under $10.
You can find them at Planet Kids in downtown Comox.
