A Happy Mum | Singapore Parenting Blog

Painting is always a great way to engage kids. What's more, the vibrant colours never fail to spice up the day and chase away the gloom.

So we did finger and stamp painting in our previous Creativity 521 project. This time round, I wanted to find another fun yet unique way of letting Angel try painting.

Have you seen artists using straws and just their mouths to make beautiful art pieces? Yes, blow painting! I was really inspired by that and thought it might make another fun craft session. So I went in search of straws and paint that might do the job.

Lo and behold, I actually found a toy shop in my town that sold a set of magic BloPens! For those unsure, BloPens are markers that spray washable, non-toxic ink in a fine mist - they essentially work like mini air brushes. This was something new to me, and with the addition of pictures of Angel's favourite cat character, the set was perfect for the job and definitely much safer than attempting to suck up poster paint with drinking straws.

Materials:

1) 6 Regular BloPens, 2 Colour Change BloPens, 1 BloPen activator
2) Hello Kitty stencils and other stencils
3) White paper

Additional:
1) Apron
2) Old newspapers

The BloPens are fairly easy to use. Each BloPen has a coloured cap/mouthpiece, ink cartridge and a clear jet tube with a little hole at the end. All you need to do is to remove the cartridge, turn it the other way round and insert tip first into the clear jet tube. Replace cap, aim and blow through the mouthpiece to spray!

Colour Change BloPens gives off colours which change from one to another when you blow the activator onto it, so you get two colours in one pen.

Tip: Make sure the tip is as close to the hole as possible, if not, nothing comes out! Also remember to always wipe clean and return to storage position after use to prevent drying.

The recommended distance from paper surface is 8-10cm, however we realised that by adjusting the distance and depending on how hard you blow, you can actually create shading effects and that can be a test of creativity too! Of course, for Angel, she was just ecstatic to see all the colours coming out every time she blew! This was her first masterpiece, no don't ask me what it is.

The good thing about BloPens is that the mouthpiece works one-way so your child can only blow out the ink and not inhale it. It is also safe and non-toxic, so you can actually let your child experiment with them on her own while you cook, so long as she doesn't start spraying the colours onto your walls or your neighbour's dog.

Tip: Pens contain colorants which may stain so do let your child wear an apron and lay out old newspapers on the table.

Next, we decided to see how the stencils work. It was not an easy task for Angel to completely fill up the open areas before she removed them to take a peek at her designs. However, she did improve after a few tries but reckoned that she preferred to do freestyle art after that.

So we concluded that the stencils were meant for older children - THAT'S ME!

See? I thought the Hello Kitty looked quite cute! Thinking about it, we could actually use BloPens to decorate gift wrappers, Easter eggs, posters and so much more! They can also be used like ordinary markers if you need to draw.

Tip: Hold the stencil as flat as possible when blowing. Maintain the same distance for consistency and carefully remove the stencil at the end. It will definitely be stained!

The good news was that Angel did not create a mess after using the BloPens. *phew* And even if she stained her hands, it could easily be washed off using soap and water.

We loved doing this craft so much that the hubby joined us after work one night, much to Angel's delight. I bet he had never played with these before too. *bleh* All in all, this was definitely one fun project and I'm sure Angel won't get tired of it too soon! Just maybe breathless!

For those interested, BloPens can be purchase on Ebay and Amazon. Refills are sold too but not widely available online.

For more kids crafts and DIY tutorials, visit my gallery here.

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To fellow bloggers who have a fun craft session, DIY tip or creative idea to share, do join in the party! Simply grab my button above, include it in your post/sidebar or text link back and add your link below. Do also visit other participants' blogs for more inspiration!

I will be hosting Creativity 521 every fortnightly and I hope you can join me on the 5th and 21st of every month. Remember: The sky's the limit when it comes to creativity!