Monday, June 16, 2014

{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





13 comments :

  1. Very cool, Julia! I would be scared that it would stain! Now that I know it won't, I will be making some of this!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That looks like so much fun! Messy but hey, it's already made of soap so clean up should be a breeze :) We'll definitely have to try this out this summer!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a cool idea!! We've done the Ivory soap thing but never thought to add color! Does it stain at all?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so bad I never think about that stuff before I try things! The sucky thing is that the house we are renting have stupid white tile and grout everywhere! When I started cleaning up I was like so crap I'm going to be in big trouble if this stains! Lucky, I just took a rag and into the grout lines and it came off easily. And it was no problem with the tile. Thank goodness because I am not so smart when it comes to obvious things like that! Definitely try it though, so fun!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so bad I never think about the practical stuff like staining before I try things! The sucky thing is that the house we are renting has stupid white tile and grout everywhere! When I started cleaning up I was like Oh shoot I'm going to be in big trouble if this stains! Lucky, I just took a rag into the grout lines and it came off easily. And it was no problem with the tile. Thank goodness because I am not so smart when it comes to obvious things like that! I'm not sure that it won't stain any surface, but it came off fine on my mine.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was thinking that too. When I put him in the bath I was thinking hey this is fun and were cleaning! Granted it's a dyed color, but it came off pretty easily and didn't stain our bodies at all. He did start getting a little crazy at the end when I turned on the water to clean up. Then he was slipping all over and purposely falling. Once I turned it into a bath, it was a little dangerous, so I recommend no water until you are done playing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. LOL! I have that exact ivory soap and you know I'm going to use it for this! I LOVE this idea, Myles looks like he had so much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Omg!!! My boys would love this!! What a fun idea, and I love this series, I'm going to have to check out the other posts too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yea this series has been so fun to do with my son. We have come up with some really neat and creative things. So far he has been really good with engaging and cooperating with my and really loves it. I would totally suggest doing some of the projects with your sons. Messy play is always a win with us! Even if you don't make the paints, the ivory soap in the mircowave is pretty awesome and you can just play with that too!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think he would love it! Even if you just try a couple of the things. He liked the jello and spaghetti the best. And it does it messy, but that's the best part! It's really awesome sensory play.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I had no idea either! I just happened upon it searching Pinterest! Amazing the stuff you find on there! I never use it myself but got a bar for free so I thought why not give it a try and it was so cool. The older kids will love it and be so amazed!

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE that you are taking the time to read and comment on my blog! I always comment back either through email or as a reply on your comment :) Thanks for coming by!