Halloween Ice Paint

My kids love arts and crafts and I am always happy to encourage them to create new pieces of art to hang on the fridge. One of our favourite ways to paint doesn't involve a paint brush. And keeping with the Halloween theme, I used a few ice cube trays bought from Target and the Dollar Tree to create our ice paints. We typically use liquid food colouring for our Frozen Watercolours, but I wanted to change things up and use a bit of tempura paint. We used black, white, orange, green and red tempura paint, and since we only use a small amount of paint and filled the rest of the mold with water, it was pretty frugal. I was aiming for a washable frozen paint, and they came out perfect! They didn't stain the kids hands or clothes, which I was very happy about. 

We used a skull, pumpkin, spiderweb and spider ice cube tray mold to make these paints. I only made a few of each, which meant I probably only used a teaspoon-tablespoon of each colour of paint. 

After we carefully poured the water in, I let the kids mix the paint and water together. I assisted with this part just to prevent any paint from splashing into another colour.

Then I put the trays on a baking sheet and popped them in the freezer for a few hours.

When they were done, the kids were very curious about them. They had to feel them and check that they were each frozen. It doesn't matter how many times I create frozen paint for them - they are always amazed!

They had fun popping them all out!

I set up two empty sensory bins on the floor with a blanket underneath and placed a piece of thick white painting paper inside each bin. 

The kids added in all of the ice paints and watched them for a few moments. Bean pointed out what everything was and asked if they would melt soon. I told her she should pick one up and see what happens. To her amazement, the ice paint started to melt slightly from the heat of her hand.

The pieces that were left on their own for a little while took much longer to melt, but any of the ice paints that came in contact with their hands began to melt.

I really like using silicone molds to create our ice paints because they have so much detail! It just adds some fun by matching the theme.

Despite using only a small amount of paint, the colours were still very vibrant!

At one point Munchkin realized that the ice paints could be broken, so he spent most of his time crushing them and tearing them apart.

Bean, on the other hand, enjoyed painting with them. She loves anything to do with temperatures right now. So if something is hot or cold, she loves exclaiming and saying "oh, so cold/hot, mommy!" She will frequently check the temperature outside by putting her hand on the window and letting me know if it's hot, warm or cold outside. She especially likes cold stuff, so ice paints are perfect for her! They also add a fun sensory element to this simple activity.

The results look like this! I personally think they came out really fantastic! I let them dry overnight before hanging them on the fridge. Any leftover paints can be put back in the freezer to use another time.

Please always stay within arms reach of your child(ren) when they are playing. Some sensory materials may not be suitable for every child. Please use your own judgement when creating sensory activities for your child(ren). 

If you enjoyed this post, follow along with us on Facebook and Pinterest or subscribe by email or Bloglovin'!