How to Make a No-spill Water Cup for Watercolor Painting

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By turtledove
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Art by Laura Mooney

Children love to express themselves through art. But oftentimes, parents and caregivers are afraid to let them, because of the mess that -- let's face it -- WE have to clean up. Here is one way to make expression through art a little easier.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Small butter or sour cream container.
X-acto knife/
Scissors.
Paint set and paper.
Permanent ink pen

Step 1

Thoroughly clean a small butter or sour cream container. (8 ounces is a good size.)
Draw a silver-dollar sized circle in the center of the lid.
Step 2

Carefully poke a hole in the center, and cut out the circle.
Step 3

Replace the lid.
Fill the cup with water and tip it sideways, spilling out excess water. Then set it upright. If you wish to, draw a line at the water level. Don't fill it higher than this line. Even if it gets tipped on its side, your cup won't spill colored water.
Step 4

Sit down together and start painting.
Encourage your young artists to clean their paintbrush between colors, so they don't end up with all brown-grey paintings.

Tips & Warnings

You may use the same technique for poster-paints. Put the paint directly into the cup. Remember to return the paint to a sealed container when you're finished, or keep two lids; one without a hole.
This is a good time to add a little art appreciation: Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso worked in watercolor; so did John James Audubon (a famous naturalist.)
Of course, this technique will have limited results if the cup tips upside-down! Always supervise children while they do art projects.
An old shirt makes a great painter's smock if you wish.