Blow painting with straws is a fun and super easy to set up painting activity for kids. A fun way to paint using straws!

Fun with Blow Painting

Blow painting is a simple painting technique using straws and liquid water colours. Your kids will love making designs and interesting shapes with a straw and their breath!

Blow Painting Tips

To help keep the mess down in this activity, I recommend either covering your entire table in a plastic table cloth or shower curtain or placing your child’s paper inside a tray. This will catch any spray off that occurs as they blow.

Blowing painting for toddlers and preschoolers may be a challenge at first, so practice with them before using the coloured water. Practice blowing out using a straw in a bowl of water. After they get the hang of that, practice blowing clear water droplets on a page. Have then get down on the same level as the page so that they end up blowing the water out across the page and not down into the page.

There are a few ways you can dispense the coloured water onto the page. Older kids can use straws. First place the straw into the coloured water, then place their fingers over the top of straw and then pick it up and release their finger once the straw is over their page.

Blow Painting With Littles

For younger children, or for an easier method, I recommend using small pipettes. You could also use eye droppers or a syringe. Just advise your child not to place too much water at once. It is easier to blow the water when there is less water on the page. The bigger the blob the harder it is to blow and make a cool shape. Smaller droplets are better.

If you end up using watered down paint, remember again less paint or the smaller the blob the easier it is to blow.

If you little one continues to have issues try cutting the straw in half. Acknowledge, that this is a challenging painting method and if they get too frustrated to continue revisit the activity another day or after a walk or lunch.

How to Do Blow Painting with Straws

1. Fill small bowls with liquid watercolours and a small amount of water. Alternatively, you can use food colouring and water or washable paint and a small amount of water.
2. Use pipettes (easier) or straws (harder) to draw up the coloured water and dispense it on the paper.
3. Use a straw to blow the paint.

What to Make

This is a great process art activity and you actually don’t need to make anything at all. Simply make colourful blow blobs (yes, I just made that up). But if you want you can also use this technique to make a interactive volcano craft.

To make the volcano, cut out the volcano shape from construction paper and glue it to a sheet of water colour paper. Add red, yellow and orange coloured water drops just above the volcano and blow them upwards. It will create a pattern similar to an erupting volcano!

To make rainbow hair, draw the bottom of a face on a sheet of watercolor paper. Add drops of coloured water just above the head and blow upwards to make colourful hair.

You can cut out your blow painting to make fireworks, butterfly wings or a snail shell or turtle shell or whatever you like.

Age Suitability

This activity is good for kids 3 years and up. My kids are 4, 4, and 8 year old.

Mess Level

This is a mess level is medium.

Difficulty to Create

Medium.

Skills Developed

Language development, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Supplies

(This post and list contains affiliate links for your convenience. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may earn a commission. Please visit my disclosure policy for more information.)

• Landscape printable (download below)
• Cardstock paper
• Paint- liquid watercolor paint or tempura (watered down)
• Syringe or eye dropper or pipettes
• Straws
• Small cups or bowls
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Tray

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WILL YOU TRY BLOW PAINTING WITH YOUR KIDS? PIN IT FOR LATER!