Natalie made me a lovely new piece of Autumn artwork:
She used paint bellows, a tree stencil, and some tempera paint. I love how it turned out! I have always liked the results of splatter painting with a toothbrush alone or through a screen, but this was much less messy. 
The paint bellow works similar to a dropper, in that you squeeze out all the air, put the tip in the paint, then let go and a bit of paint fills the bellow. Then you squeeze, squeeze, squeeze as the paint sprays out on your paper. There was lots of refilling, which Natalie was able to do on her own. This is great for building finger and hand strength!
We tried making a print with some leaves, but we did not have them flat enough on the paper, and I think they might have been too intricate to show up.
You clean these by filling with water, shaking, and squeezing them out. I think Natalie enjoyed that part just as much as the painting, which made me think these would be a fun addition to water play or bath time.
Wouldn’t a series of four trees in seasonal colors be so neat?
Happy playing!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Love this project, I was just wondering what kind of paint you used? Thanks
Hi Amber – Right now we are using Washable Tempera Paint from Lakeshore Learning.
Amber,
I have been enjoying your blog for some time. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas. I can not wait to make the tree with my kids.
Lenka
I love how this turned out, thanks for the great idea!
I LOVE this! What a great fine motor activity! The finished product is just beautiful. I will definately visit your shop to look for those bellows… my son would love them.
Love spatter painting. That tree is so pretty. It would be fun to have a collection of trees for every season.
adorable! I’m linking to you as a reminder to me to make these soon!