I am constantly scouring the internet for craft ideas for my toddler, Big M… this is by far one of the best I’ve ever found, albeit modified quite a bit.  The original idea called for painting with fly swatters on paper, which was never happening indoors at our house… so we took it outside and blew it up to mural size on the side of our house, creating our own Swatter Mural Art!

Swatter Mural Art

To set up this activity, you only need a few basic supplies and a open, outdoor wall.

Shopping List:

Craft Paper
Sidewalk Paint
Dollar Store Fly Swatters
Assorted Brushes
Paper Plates
Tape

Cost: Less than $20 (and you can reuse Sidewalk Paint!)… Better yet, I figured out how to make my own!

Prep Time: Less than 5 minutes

Clean-Up Time: Less than 5 minutes

It took me no time to tape up two rows of craft paper to the side of the house – I wanted to make sure the paper extended beyond the end of Big M’s reach to insure no paint got on the house.

Then, I put each color of paint on a separate paper plate.  Plates worked great because it enabled us to get paint on the entire fly swatter.  I demonstrated once how to put the fly swatter in the paint, then the fly swatter on the paper… and away she went.

She painted literally for an hour!  She probably would have painted for even longer, except that our HOA landscaping crew showed up, and she was scared by the mowers and blowers.  She used the fly swatter, then brushes… she may have painted the ground a little and her feet, but that was part of the fun!

I’m a huge fan of anything that occupies them for longer than it takes to set up – this one definitely fits that bill.  For clean up, I threw away the plates, rolled up the mural, and hosed down the driveway and the fly swatters.

With warmer weather, I love to take the messy play outside.  For our most recent adventure with outdoor painting, be sure to check out Invitation to Paint: Cardboard Box Castles.