{Think Outside the Toy Box} Kool-Aid: Foamy Bath Paints

I can hardly believe we are already into week four of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series! Summer is in full swing and we are continuing to have a great time with this series. I hope this series has brought as much inspiration and fun for you all as it has for us. I love how involved Myles is getting each week and to see his creative and imagination growing has been really fulfilling for me!
 

Now, if you happened here for the first time or want to check out all the details again, take a look at the post introducing the Think Outside the Toy Box summer fun series. Also if you have missed any of the past weeks, these are the projects we have done so far:
Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling (and bath)
Plastic Bottle Waterfall
Astronaut/Alien Costume 

Now on to this week's fun with:

  Kool-Aid

I had been tossing around a couple of ideas for this week's project for weeks. I really didn't know what direction to take, but I was leaning towards using it as a dye in some sort of craft. I had a couple of back-up plans (Kool-Aid Popcorn and Kool-Aid Chalk Paint), but was really holding out on coming up with something more exciting and interactive. And boy am I glad I did! I happened upon this idea for bathtub paints when I was searching for nontraditional uses of Ivory soap. I changed the recipe a bit to make it finger paints and added the Kool-Aid, but it still turned out awesome! It was pretty messy, but totally worth the clean up. Myles and I love messy sensory play and this did not disappoint!

FOAMY BATHTUB PAINTS

What You Will Need: 

A bar of ivory soap

Wax Paper

Microwave 

Measuring cup

Blender

Hot water

Several small glass or plastic containers

Different colored Kool-Aid packets (I used three)

Spoon

Directions:

1. I did this project in two major steps: one at night and the other the next morning. The first step is conducting the Ivory soap experiment. I never even knew this was a thing until last week when I was searching Pinterest for uses of Ivory soap. The Ivory soap experiment came up everywhere, and of course, the pictures and videos were too astounding to not want to try it out. 
All you do it get a bar of Ivory soap, take it out of the wrapping, place it on some wax paper, and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. You will seriously be amazed at what happens next!

It becomes this big fluffy cloud of crumbly soap. This what it looked like in the microwave and then on the table. 

And this is the video I took while it was in the microwave:

2. I took the cloud out of the microwave and placed it on the counter to sit over night. I don't think this is completely necessary, but I just wanted to be sure it was cooled and ready to be used for the paints.
The next morning, we began the bathtub paint making.

3. Start by boiling water in a pot (about 2 cups). While the water is boiling, fill a measuring cup with 1 cup of the Ivory soap. Take a handful and crumble into the measuring cup until it's filled to the 1 cup line. 

 

4. Pour the crumbled soap into the blender. When the water is ready, take a small measuring cup (1/3 or 1/2 cup) and fill it with the boiling water. Add the water to the blender, a very small amount at a time. I added just enough to make it moist (about a 1-2 teaspoons). Pulse the blender on low 4-5 times or until the soap is mixed with the water and is a frothy texture.

5. Repeat steps 3-4 until all of the the soap is used up. 

*Make sure not to blend too much or add too much water, the texture should be like yogurt or a frothy milk.*

6. Pour soap mixture into small containers. I used three because I had three different colors, but you can make as many as you would like. 

7. Add the Kool-Aid. You only want to add a very little bit, less than a teaspoon. I would suggest to just sprinkle like you would when seasoning with salt. Mix and then add more to change color. You don't want to add too much because then it will just turn to a liquid.

 *Example of what not to do!*

I learned this the hard way: I let my son do the Kool-Aid dumping so he could be a part of the process. I let him dump two packets in and when I stirred it all up, it turned into a liquid! Oops! I was really worried it wasn't going to work after that, but I tried the next one and only sprinkled a very tiny bit into the soap. I mixed it up and it worked perfect!

 8. Play! I took Myles up to the bathtub to play. He loved that he was able to get all messy and there were no rules! I even got in on the action! We made a couple of very artistic and inspiring murals on the walls :)

 Towards the end, he grabbed the last chunk of the paint and rubbed it on the wall.

 Then I put the rest of the paint on him. He loved it and started rubbing it all over himself!

Then we got a nice bath! It was a pretty easy clean up though. Slippery, but also fun!  

Other options: You can use a paint or foam brush. 

Different colors and mixing colors.

You can put the paints into plastic ziplock bags with a hole cut in the corner. Then use it like you would to pipe icing onto the tub walls, etc.

  And with that week four of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series is complete! Also don't forget to check out what all of the other ladies put together for this week's item in the link-up below. 
  And if you have a post (new or old) that you created showcasing Kool-Aid in a kid's project, craft, game, experiment, etc., submit it below as well. No post this week? No problem; join us next Monday when we will be using Ice Cream Cones! 

 Also just in case you want to get a head start, here is the complete list for the coming weeks:
June 23 - Ice Cream Cones
June 30 - Pool Noodles
July 7 - Wax Paper
July 14 - Puzzle Pieces
July 21 - Paper Cups
July 28 - Plastic Milk Jugs