Get outside with these super fun summer craft ideas. These activities will let your little one get messy while making beautiful art. Let the kids do these in their bathing suits or in old clothes.

Spray bottle painting

What you’ll need:

  • Canvas
  • Five or six spray bottles
  • Water colors
  • Water

Pop out the water color disc from the water color pallet from the store. Try to find one that’s washable so it doesn’t stain your child or his or her surroundings.

Fill your spray bottles with water. Crush the water color disc and add it to the spray bottle. Do this for other colors so your child has a variety.

Lay the canvas against a fence or on the grass. Then let your little one spray his or her masterpiece onto the blank canvas. Use this time to talk about how mixing colors together can make a new color, and try it out. Also, talk about the different shapes the spray paint makes.

Take it a step further by first adding stick-on letters to the canvas, spelling your child’s name or a common saying such as “Aloha,” before your little one starts to add color. Once he or she is done spray painting, remove the stick-on letters and you’ve got yourself a cool, one-of-a-kind typography art piece.

Super disappearing paint

What you’ll need:

  • Sponge or traditional paintbrushes (you can even cut up a new kitchen sponge and let your little one use that)
  • A bucket or bowl
  • Water

Head on outside and find yourself some cement. Use the water as “paint,” letting your little one dip the brush (or sponge) in the water and make fun drawings on the sidewalk or in your driveway. Then, you can time how long the drawing will stay before it dries up from the summer sun. Best of all, it’s little to no mess, but just as fun.