13 painting ideas for children

When you're stuck indoors, it's the perfect time to get creative - and messy - with these fun painting ideas for children. From paint blowing to marble rolling, your kids will love creating their masterpieces.

A really fun painting idea for kids. Use watered-down paint and a recyclable drinking straw to blow the paint in all sorts of directions.

We have some great ideas for blow painting pictures, along with step-by-step instructions.

Make your own jumbo paintbrushes from washing up sponges. These wacky brushes produce large swooshy strokes and are really fun for children to use.

If you have younger children, make sure they don't put the sponge in their mouths.

You will need this 16-pack of sponges that you can use for cleaning your kitchen and bathroom AND for your kid's crafts. You can get it at Amazon for £11.78.

Follow our step-by-step instructions to make jumbo paint brushes.

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Your kids will love this painting technique of dipping a cotton bud into paint and printing. This is a lovely activity which really absorbs children.

Use cotton wool balls for big sweeping blobs, or cotton buds for smaller textures.

Perfect for painting the blossom on trees, filling a blue sky with clouds, or creating a cute woolly sheep.

Check out our step-by-step guide to painting with cotton buds.

Make some gorgeous textured and marbled paintings by rolling marbles through paint.

This is such a quick, easy and fun painting activity - perfect for all ages.

It's super easy to do. Simply put a piece of paper inside a baking tray. Squeeze blobs of different coloured paint onto the paper, drop in some marbles and get your kids to roll them around by gently tipping and shaking the tray.

This gives a great paint effect. Just be careful if you have younger children that they don't put the marbles in their mouths.

You will need some glass marbles to complete this and we've got you covered. You can buy this 160-pack of assorted, classic marbles at Amazon for £7.99. And, the best part is, they come in a gorgeously retro tin box!

See our step-by-step guide to creating marvellous marble creations.

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One of our very favourite painting activities for kids.

Mix paint with shaving foam to make gorgeously sumptuous puffy painted pictures with a fab marbled texture. It's easy and fun and a brilliant sensory experience for kids of all ages.

Follow our step-by-step instructions to paint with shaving foam.

These paintings have a little bit of magic and sparkle about them in all steps of the making.

First, draw some pictures on white paper using white crayon, and paint over them with watercolours.

Now comes the fun bit: sprinkle salt onto the wet paint and watch it fizz and spread over the colours. A fascinating painting activity for kids.

A magical salt painting idea. Simply paint designs with PVA glue and sprinkle with salt, then dab on paint and watch it fizz and spread.

The colours will merge for a beautiful painting.

Use this convenient, washable PVA glue from Galt Toys, which is available at Amazon for £3.49.

Follow our step-by-step instructions for raised salt paintings.

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Swap a paintbrush for an old toothbrush to make some very different brush strokes and create some beautiful paintings.

This technique lends itself to painting animals with fur or spikes, or textures such as grass or a stormy sea.

Follow our step-by-step instructions for painting with toothbrushes.

Make some beautiful paintings by dragging a comb through paint. A lovely sensory experience for kids - just don't forget to wash your comb afterwards!

Follow our step-by-step instructions for painting with a comb.

It's a classic for a reason. If you're hanging on to non-perishable foods for dear life, you can always use an old sponge instead of a potato.

Take your potato (or sponge) and cut it half. Let your child draw their favourite shape on it, then help them cut around the shape to make a stamp.

Now your little one can get stuck in, dipping the stamp in different coloured paints and making pretty patterns.

See more detailed instructions and get some other fab shape-based ideas here.

Have you ever tried wetting a sheet of paper before letting your child loose with the watercolours?

It creates a magical effect, so that even the youngest kids can make great looking paintings with no effort.

Try it with just one colour at first, and marvel at how the wet paper changes the texture of the paint.

Then try two or three colours, so your child can see how they mix and merge to crease beautiful swirls.

This one can get particularly messy, but it can also produce some astounding results.

To marble paper, you'll need a base liquid and some paint. You can either use oil as the base liquid and water-based paints (or food colouring), or water as the base liquid and oil-based paints.

Fill a shallow tray with the base liquid, then show your child how to add drops of paint, until the surface is covered with colourful spots and swirls.

Then, simply place a piece of paper on top of the liquid, and carefully lift it off. Voilà! A magnificent marbled masterpiece.

And to avoid the dreaded mess, use a floor cover. This pack of four heavy duty table/floor covers (150cm x 150cm) is ideal for messy play! You can get them here at Amazon for £11.34.

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If you don't mind your child getting a bit messy, this is a fab way to create a unique keepsake. It's perfect for babies and younger kids who don't yet have the coordination for more complex art.

As you might imagine, the technique is simple: just pour some paint onto a tray or plate, then encourage your child to place their hand or foot in the paint, and press firmly onto paper. You can even join in, to see how much bigger your hands and feet are.

Your little one will probably love the squishy sensation of the paint between their fingers or toes.

Show it to your child again in a year's time, and you can both be amazed by how much they've grown.

For more crafty fun ideas on Netmums, why not get some inspiration for junk modelling and top printing ideas.