Paint Balloon Art!

Being that we are in the midst of summer when we planned to have some friends over for a craft + play time I envisioned us doing something with water balloons.  Water balloons filled with paint was my vision.  I knew I had seen something like this before and so I went to handy dandy Pinterest for some specifics on how to accomplish my goal!  

Supplies

Tempera Paint, a variety of colors

Push pins

Canvas {I chose a 16x20 sized canvas for the boys.}

Water Balloons

Squeeze bottles 

Prepping the Canvas

I was wondering what I would need to do to ensure that the paint balloons would pop on the canvas when I came across this video by Mr Otter Art Studio.  They suggested to poke push pins through the canvas so that when the balloons hit the surface they would pop and splatter.  I probably used 50 push pins on each individual canvas.  

Filling the Balloons
This video by Mr Otter Art Studio gives great tips on how to fill the balloons with paint.  Since I didn't have water bottles with squeeze tops, I used my Wilton Squeeze Bottles to fill the balloons.  I did a 40/60 {or some were 50/50} ratio of paint to water and then shook the bottle to mix the two.  The squeeze bottle's nozzle was the perfect size to fill the water balloon.  In total, I filled around 130 balloons for four boys.

The Instructions
We did a run through with Winston and a few balloons on a small canvas to see his reaction and if this would even work.  It was a success!  He loved it and the effect of the paint on the canvas was super fun!  You set up the canvas against a hard surface and then throw the paint balloon!!

The Clothes
I would suggest wearing swimsuits or clothes that you don't mind getting a little messy for this project.

The Fun!
After instructing the boys not to touch the canvas because they were spiky and to not throw the balloons at their friends, we set them loose to launch their paint balloons!  It was so fun to see their faces when the paint exploded against the canvas!

Clean Up
The best way to get clean after throwing paint balloons and getting splatter every where is to play in the water!!  Splashing is mandatory!

Thanks to our sweet friends for coming over to play with us and to their Moms for not freaking out when I announced we were going to be playing with paint balloons!!  {I did tell them what type of clothes to bring!}  It was a fabulously, fun day and the works of art turned out unique and beautiful!