Ice Cube Watercolors

M has recently discovered a particular joy in those little squeeze bottles of food coloring.  Weird, I know.  But I keep a box of food coloring in our craft cabinet for…well…all sorts of projects.

Before becoming the mother of two children – i.e. when I used to have time to browse my favorite blogs for craft ideas – I once saw ‘ice cube watercolors’ and filed it in my running to-do list I keep in my head.  We recently got around to this project and had lots of fun with it.  I’m especially fond of this art project now that:

a. it’s so freaking hot outside I’m game for anything involving ice, and

b. I’m now a mother of two and want…need…”projects” that are low-maintenance and can be done at a moment’s notice.

All there is to this project is water, food coloring and ice cube trays.  Fill the trays with water and one or two drops of food coloring per ice cube thingy.  Freeze.  Easy!  To use, “paint” on white paper with your colored ice cubes.  What’s fun about this project is that it’s an interesting twist on regular ‘ole painting.  For me, it wasn’t so much the finished product that mattered.  The joy was really in painting in a “new” way.

p.s.  This is not the cleanest painting project.  Paint with food colored ice cubes with caution.  Wear clothing you don’t mind getting a few stains on!  And don’t fret – hands and fingers eventually wash clean after this project.  Eventually.