Puffy Perfect Paintings
Sandy Toes and Popsicles offers up this great idea for making homemade puffy paint, and the masterpieces that her and her kids have created are absolutely amazing!
Easily made using self-rising flour, food coloring, salt and water, homemade puffy paint is an excellent idea for a rainy day art project when the gray clouds have moved in and Mom's in need of a quick boredom fix. Check out the great tutorial for the full scoop -- this is certainly one artsy activity that will keep your tots happy and forgetting all about that icky weather!
Rainy Day Bling Ring
Got a little one who loves the bling? Consider making your own rainy day blingin' ring, like this one shown on Zakka Life!
Mama Jessica explains that they made their own playdough and used recycled Ring Pop bases for the plastic ring, before bedazzling the top with shiny rhinestones for an extra fancy touch. (Love it!) Visit Zakka Life for the full tutorial and to see how they made their playdough from scratch. And most importantly -- how many "carats" is your rainy day bling ring going to include?
Foamy Marble Masterpieces
It does not get much better than the beautiful colors featured in this guest pictorial for shaving cream paintings on Little Birdie Secrets!
Also perfect for an upcoming Father's Day gift (though we wouldn't recommend using all of Dad's shaving cream!), this art project is easy to make and a good one for younger creative tots. Simply spray your foamy shaving cream into an art container, drizzle on your food coloring choices, stir 'er up, and place your paper face down in the swirling foamy colors for a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Super easy!
Rainy Day Gummy Fun
Pink and Green Mama features a neat recipe for making homemade gummy candy and this is one rainy day activity that will be sure to leave everyone smiling!
Mom Marylea says that her kids made these fun Jell-O treats during a day of "Daddy Camp" -- awww. Only requiring a handful of ingredients such as Jell-O, gelatin, and water, these homemade yummy gummy candies are super easy to make (though Mom or Dad will want to handle the hot liquid pouring). Certainly one afternoon snack that's sure to be remembered!
Rainy Day Splendid Spinners
Who says salad spinners must exclusively be used for dinner? Plum Pudding shares this fantastic idea for using a salad spinner to create artwork with kids and a pictorial on creative ways that you can use the paintings -- such as the cute mobile shown on the left.
Also a great art activity for young kids, this colorful project is an easy one, only requiring paper, paint, and a good old twirl in the family salad spinner! Surely one rainy day craft that'll keep your pint-sized Picassos busy for an afternoon, this artsy activitiy is bound to have some fantastic -- and surprising -- results!
Rainy Day Cruisin'
Put your recycling to good use the next time bad weather keeps your kids indoors and make cool homemade box cars like this one featured on Laugh, Paint, Create!
Mama Erin explains that though she made these cool cars with a class of ten kids, it's a great project to do with only a handful of little ones at home -- and involves much less prep work. To decorate your mini autos, Erin recommends using colored (electrical) tape, paper plates, plastic cups and paper. See Erin's great walkthrough for the full scoop on making the suspenders and everything else... We can't get enough of those plastic cup headlights!
Bathtub Playtime
Homemade bath paint, anyone? We're sure if you ask the kiddos, you'll certainly get an excited response!
Oodlekadoodle Primitives not only shares instructions for making this bright and beautiful homemade bath paint, but Mom Sue also offers up fun recipes for creating homemade finger paint and "cherry pillow" pastry treats in the same post! Wow -- that's a whole lot of rainy day fun right there. Check out the Oodlekadoodle Primitives post for all three of these quick and easy recipes. You won't be disappointed!
Rainy Day Word Play
We love this idea for making DIY spinner spellers featured on Filth Wizardry. What a great activity for combining Lego fun with a little bit of learning!
By simply taking old Legos and attaching easy words onto the blocks with stickers, Mama Lindsey's older child enjoyed building "story walls," while her 4-year-old daughter got to build simple, short words with common consonants and vowels. The greatest thing about this fun project is that your kids can strengthen their reading skills, all while building their favorite Lego structures. Visit the site for fun tips on what easy words to include on your own "edutaining" blocks!
Rainy Day Kings and Queens
Though Mom Lier of iKat Bag said that she made these cool tin foil crowns and scepters as a sick day craft with her kids, we also think that they'd be perfect for some boredom-busting rainy day creative play!
To make these royally cool dress-up accessories, Lier says that they used markers, cardboard for the crowns, and polystyrene balls stuck on dowels for the scepters -- all covered with aluminum foil. Overall, a perfect project for reusing common items found around the house and turning them into magical playtime accessories!
Homemade Match Makers
Looking for a new game to play on damp and mucky days? We love this idea for making DIY photo memory game cards from Muffin Tin Mom!
Putting a personalized twist on the classic children's game, Mom Michelle says that she purchased a pack of playing cards from the dollar store and that it only took her 20 minutes to paste on the family pictures and to completely finish the game. Inexpensive, quick and easy -- music to every mother's ears. Though Mom may want to cut out the pictures, your kids can help with the pasting and even pick out which family photos to use... Whether they're actually good ones or just down right funny!
