Before

Chocolate and crackers. Life really IS like a box of chocolate. You actually never know what you're going to get.

Sarah has started painting

She is almost 3 years old, and loves to paint, as all kids do. We reuse dishwashing sponges as paintbrushes, and I mix childsafe paints in a dish she can dip the sponge in. Sarah likes pink, what a shocker!Notice her multitasking capabilities :)

Spongework

The nice thing about sponges is that it gives even small hands alot of control, and the effect is also very nice. But the best reason to use a sponge is that you can cover large areas in a very short time, and it is also quite economical as it seem to use little paint compared to a paintbrush.

Smile!

So cute! Notice the painting shirt, a basic short sleved shirt a few sizes to large put on the wrong way around. We have it hanging in a closet in the kitchen along with child safe paints and other art suplies for easy access.As any parent or teacher knows, creating with children is easy, but you kind of have a very narrow window where before they start getting bored and want to do something else. So you need to have things ready to rock and roll.

Fingerpainting

My first box

Sarah choose pink for her box so I went the other way and mixed yellow, bright green and white in a dish, for a more springtime feel.

Bottom of my first box

We paint all the sides of the box of course, and with the sponge it takes no time at all, I can't have used more then 2 minutes on this.

This is what the inside looks like

You can mask the edges if you want a neater result, but I'm definitely not a neat freak.

Sarah working on her second box

The first box is done, I helped her a little with the sides and the inside lid. Now she is working on her second box, that originally contained an old etherned hub.

Close up of the pink box

Some lucky grand parents will get this.

From boring to beatiful

My second box

I love the stripes on this one, and the colors. I'm not what you might call a great painter but I think that this turned out fine.

Little boxes, on the countertop ...

Yes, that was a Weeds reference. I think the boxes turned out beautifully, I'm really happy with the result. It only took a few minutes to make them, and I know that with a nice ribbon around you won't even need to giftwrap them with paper. Just buy some nice gifts for your family or loved ones, and pop them inn, and you're done. I know my parents will be thrilled if they get such personalised gifts for christmas, handpainted by their grand-children.Made with love

Four boxes all in a row

Four boxes completed in no time at all, all ready to be filled with birthday og christmas presents. A great project to do with kids, and a fun and cheap way to create personalized giftwrapping for your family and loved ones.Remember to save your cardboard boxes if you have room for them, or you can go to a local store and ask.And if you give one away, why don't you ask the recipient to paint it some more and send it out again? Travelling art!

Mini-box

Sarah did this all by her self, all four sides. It might be a good idéa to give the smalles boxes to the kids, it makes it easier for them to complete it.