Inspiration from Pinterest: No-Mess Art Project

Pinterest is great for all kinds of inspiration.  As incentive for me to actually put some of these great ideas into practice, I'll post about things I've replicated or modified from something pinned on one of my Pinterest boards.

We are in the middle of a stretch of summer here in Northern California where some afternoons are just too hot to go outside.  And with several wildfires burning in the area, the mornings are super-smoky.  That makes for a long day inside for my daughters - currently 15 months and almost 4 years old.  Boredom leads to many timeouts in my house, so I love Pinterest for boredom-busting ideas.

I was thinking this no-mess art project idea would be perfect for my 15 month old, who loves to finger paint.  Finger paints are sealed in a baggie and attached to a sliding glass door at a convenient height for toddler play.  With the light from outside coming through, the colors are brighter and you can really see when you write or draw shapes in the paint, but I'm sure it would work if they were attached to a wall or table-top also.

In reality, my 15 month old Zoe just wanted to rip the baggie off the sliding glass door and check it out.  But the almost 4-year old loved it, so I moved both bags high enough on the window for Alyssa.  It is still entertaining for Zoe because she enjoys watching her sister.

I squirted paint from several different colors into two quart-sized Zip Lock bags, sealed them up and taped them to the inside of the sliding glass door.

I left them up on the window after the girls lost interest that day to see how long they might last.  I took this picture after 17 days on the window, and while all the colors have mixed together, they still work for finger painting and drawing letters or shapes (in fact they are still there today!)!

What simple, mess-free activities do you have in your boredom-busting arsenal?

Linked up to the following link parties:

Hookin up with HOH @ House of Hepworths
Mommy Brain Mixer @Two in Diapers
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday @ Delightful Order 
Blog Link Party @ Somewhat Simple 
I Freakin Did it Friday @ Miss Information
Fantabulous Friday @ Little Becky Homecky
Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now 
The Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Nap Time 
Link Party @ Polish the Stars 
Tutorials & Tips Link Party @ Home Stories A to Z 
Simply Sensational Tuesday @ Organizing Homelife 
Home Decor and Organizing Party @ organize & decorate everything 
The Creative Spark @ Clean & Scentsible 
Home is Where the Heart Is @ Homestead Simple 
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts 
Momma Mar's Activity Corner 
Manic Monday @ Serendipity & Spice