Even Better Mess Free Art!

When I was first introduced to mess free tempera paint this past spring, Madison was hooked, but a bit limited by the six basic colors. We love the Thin Stix and wanted more colors so we were excited to receive Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc. to review this time. Not only that, but both girls have gotten even more into art, desperate to paint all the time, so this was just perfect.

I am not a visual artist and don't usually have the pull to create. I am also someone who struggles with everyday clean up, so when the girls ask if they can paint, I hem and haw and stall and negotiate because the amount of clean up it would add. I would so much opt for a paint night or a day at art camp, no matter how much it cost, if it meant that I didn't have paint splatters on my table, sink, and clothes. (Full disclosure: I've done this. The art center that they go to has one day sessions during the year to line up with the random day off from school calendar, and I've sent them just to get a good art fix to last them a while.)




These sticks look like markers (and work like markers) but are actually solid tempera paint. Madison really loved the first set we received a few months ago, but she was admittedly bummed at the limited colors and frustrated that, unlike liquid paint, the answer wasn't just a color mix away. This set is so varied that the girls aren't limited at all. Not only do they have the colors they need, but the "colors don't mix" thing works for them, because now they can layer colors without inadvertently ending up with a big brown blob. The girls love the neons and the metallics especially. The metallics were great for adding that final touch.




Although both girls initially focused on taking some of the small canvases I had left over from a co-op class, both wanted to take these off paper and see how well they worked. They really like painting unfinished wood (usually pieces that come in a kit, although they do ask for the random letters and designs they see when we're shopping) , so we grabbed a few letters and shapes from Target and I let them go.

Clean up is amazingly easy. The most I have done is a table wipe, and although the girls are notorious for getting their art all over their clothes, everything, even the RED, has washed out with no extra effort on my part.

And now, the best part, (for me, anyway) is that these are available at BJ's! I don't have to order online to get the big pack, I can pick them up on our weekly trip, and this pack of 24 colors is only 19.99! We will definitely keep our art drawer stocked so I don't need to hem and haw when the girls are itching to paint!




Nothing inspires me more than reading how other homeschoolers made these work in their own lives!