Ahh yes, my arch nemesis, paint. I don’t know what it is I have against paint, I think I just don’t like the mess. I know, it’s such a great art medium for kids and they absolutely love it. So I decided to give window painting a try with E. I figured a homemade paint wouldn’t stain or wreck anything. My windows also needed a good cleaning and this would be reason enough to clean them so I whipped up a batch of window paint.

It was easy to put together and of course, extremely messy. I had a drop cloth but should have taped it to the bottom ledge of the sliding door to keep it from slipping back. We had paint drips everywhere. They wiped up easily if I got them while they were wet so that made things easier.

E had so much fun. As usual, he was slow to start but once he caught on he was a mini Picasso. He had that window completely covered by the end. Along with his hands, pants and shirt. He even got it in his hair. So after we were done his clothes went into the washer (load number 4 of the day) and he went into the bathtub.

Getting the paint off the window was another story. It did come off, with some soap, water and elbow grease. E sat beside me and used every ounce of toddler restraint to not put his fingers in the water or run his tractor over the window I was scrubbing. And periodically he asked me for a hug, which was sweet but a little messy. I just wanted to get the window cleaned as we also needed to go feed the neighbour’s cat and mommy’s back was getting pretty sore.

All in all it was a good activity. It kept him occupied for quite a while, which was good because I could sense the “grumpies” were coming and we needed something different to do. He also loved that it was a masterpiece (mess) we created together. However, there are a few things I would do different next time:

• Tape drop cloth to base of window
• Only provide small paintbrushes (1 inch is too big and drips paint everywhere)
• Have a wet cloth handy to wipe up drips

I will also include the recipe I used. I did not use food colouring, as I wasn’t sure how the experiment would go (so our paint was white). I also used regular, clear hand soap.

Window Paint

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup liquid hand soap
• Food colouring

1. Mix flour and water until smooth. Add soap until you reach a paint consistency. You may need more or less soap depending on how thick your paint is.
2. Separate into containers and add food colouring. Mix until combined.
3. Let your kids paint!
4. To clean window, use warm water with soap and a cloth. It may take some scrubbing, especially if your child has a heavy hand with their paint.
5. Once the window is wiped clean, spray with windex to remove any smears.