Mess-Free Smush & Trace Painting

Last updated on March 6th, 2024

Inside: Mess-free smush & trace painting is the way to go when you’re short on time or just simply don’t feel like cleaning up a big paint mess. You can do it anywhere in the house. Even babies will love this sensory play!

Mess-Free Smush & Trace Painting

My toddler loves to get messy and paint, but I don’t always have the time (or energy) to paint with him. That is where this mess-free bag painting really comes in handy!

This activity allows your kids to still get hands on and creative, but doesn’t come with the set-up and clean-up that regular finger painting does. You can literally do this activity anywhere, even on carpeted areas. Totally mess-free.

Did I also mention that this activity takes just a minute or two to set up? I’m all about easy set-up and easy clean-up. Activities like this especially come in handy when you are in chaotic, busy seasons of life.

Like if you’ve got a toddler and a young baby and things are a bit crazy for you, for example. You can totally set this up for your toddler in a minute or two so they can have a fun activity while you care for your younger baby.

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What You Need For Smush & Trace Painting

All that you’ll need for this activity:

• paint
• paper
• large ziplock bag
• masking tape (optional)
• 1-2 plastic balls (optional)

That’s it! I told you it was very simple!

How To Set Up Smush & Trace Painting

To set up this easy painting activity, first gather all of your supplies. Make sure that the paper you chose fits in a ziplock bag. If it doesn’t, just cut the end off until it fits appropriately. Or just fold it! Whatever works.

Next, squeeze a few drops of paint onto the paper in any random pattern. I always try to choose colors that complement each other, but anything goes. You could even let your toddler choose the colors (good vocabulary and color identification practice!).

Lastly, slip the paper with the paint drops into a ziplock bag and seal it 100%. Now, you can always tape the bag shut to be extra safe. I’ve never found this step necessary, but if you’re worried, go for it. You could also tape the bag to your table to secure it. This step would be beneficial to young babies doing this activity in their high chair.

Time To Play

Once you’ve set the bag painting up properly, set it on your kid’s ‘workstation’ and let them get creating! You can let them smush the paint with their hands and fingers. They’ll have fun watching as the colors smear and combine.

Another option is to give them some plastic balls and let them trace shapes or pictures into the paint. Alternatively, they could use their fingers for tracing. But using an object seems to add a special level of fun to the activity.

My young toddler had fun tracing circles and lines into the paint colors with little plastic balls we found from one of his toys. He was delighted to see the shapes turning white as he etched into the paint.

Display Is Optional

Once your kiddo is finished up with the activity, you can decide whether you want to save the painting for display or not. Getting the painting out of the bag isn’t too hard, but you’ll get a little bit of paint on your fingers. That’s why I love the Crayola paint that washes off so well.

I usually open the ziplock, cut along the edges, and just lift the top flap of the bag open to get the picture out. I let them dry right on top of the ziplocks and then display them on our artwork racks in the playroom.

Leave me a comment below letting me know how your toddler did with this activity. I love hearing from you!

Be sure to check out these other great toddler activities for more inspiration!