Mini Monets and Mommies: Scented Shaving Cream Sensory Paint

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Scented Shaving Cream Sensory Paint

Shaving cream art is one of my favorite sensory activities. What kid doesn’t love the gushy, mushy mess that it creates? In the past few weeks we’ve made shaving cream Thanksgiving turkeys, fall trees and Monet-inspired Water Lilies. After one of those posts, a reader asked what kind of shaving cream she could use if her child couldn’t stand the smell.
Art Activities

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I get it. Shaving cream has that distinctly “grandpa” scent to it. I told the reader to look for the most plain-Jane formula that she could find. When you start adding in the aloe, softeners and smoothers, you often also get a strong smell. That said, even with a plain old cream, you’ll still get that manly scent.

To solve this problem, I added another layer to the sensory exploration. Why turn of your child’s nose when she plays with shaving cream art when you can make it part of the activity. I typically color the shaving cream with food coloring or tempera paint. This time I used a few left over Kool-Aid packs (you can swap these for any other similar powdered drink mix). Not only does the powder add a sweet fruity scent, but it also gives the shaving cream a new color and creates an entirely different texture to play with.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Shaving cream

·        Wax paper – It makes an excellent barrier and is cheaper than buying a pricey art palette.

·        Powdered drink mix

·        Card stock paper – The thicker paper holds the weight of the shaving cream paint better than thinner construction paper.

·        Plastic straws

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Create at least three mounds of shaving cream on the wax paper.

Sensory art



2.     Sprinkle the powdered drink mix on top. You don’t have to use the entire packet. Start slowly, adding more as needed. Some of the colors may turn out differently than your child expects. We used grape (which smells amazing). But, instead of a bold purple, we got a mauvish grey.

Drink Mix

Sensory Paint
 
3.     Stir the powder into the shaving cream. It won’t completely dissolve. This adds a sandy or gritty texture for even more tactile play fun!

Scented paint
 
You’ve made the puffy, textured paint with your child. So now what? First, even though this paint smells like food, it isn’t. If your child is prone to putting her art materials in her mouth, you’ll want an edible version. This shaving cream paint is not in any way edible. If you’re sure that your child can keep from licking the paint off of the paper, proceed with the process!

There are plenty of ways for your child to use this paint:

Start with some abstract art. Give your child the paper, the paint and let her use her fingers to create squiggles, lines, swirls, clumps or her own shapes.

Cream art
 
Shaving cream
 
 
Give her a straw. Ask her what she can do to change the way that the paint looks on the paper with the straw. She can draw onto the paint. As the straw wipes the shaving cream away, she’ll see lines, patterns and curves showing through.

Sensory art
 
If she wants to paint “something”, your child can sue the colorful shaving cream to make a picture on the paper. We made flowers, but your child can pick any image that she wants!


Shaving cream
 
Are you looking for more creative kids’ activities? Follow my Pinterest board for artsy ideas galore!
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17 comments:

  1. Love it! We love shaving cream too and now I must explore it with drink mix.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! The drink mix really helped the smell.

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  2. Love the idea of making it scented! Thanks for linking with Tuesday Tutorials #pintorials

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  3. This looks like a lot of fun! I brought out the shaving cream for my daughter to play with about a year ago, but she wanted nothing to do with it. You've inspired me to try again!

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    Replies
    1. Adding the drink mix makes it smell extra-inviting. Sometimes that can help. Some shaving creams just smell funny, and it can really turn kids away. The added color and fruit smell is sometimes more intriguing to them.

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  4. Love this idea - Thanks for linking with this week's Parenting Pin it Party x x

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  5. We've included your post in parenting party round up this week :-)

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