Painting with Vegetables

Another day of Summer vacation; another craft project for the kids.

Today we painted pictures, however there wasn't a single paintbrush in sight. Today we painted with vegetables. Much more fun! The girls loved using something out of the ordinary for their paintings and it kept them entertained for much of the afternoon.

Bok choy roses

Painting with vegetables is really simple. All you need is some kid friendly paint, paper and assorted vegetables. We used carrots to create small round shapes and lines, celery to create crescent shapes and bok choy to create rose like flowers. I considered doing some marbling with peas but I was a little worried that Lola (who is obsessed with peas) might try to eat all the little green painting "tools"!

Our printing tools - celery, carrots and the bottom of bok choy

We made a test sheet first to see how the various vegetables printed and then we set to work making patterns and pictures.

Ava dips celery into the paint

Testing out each piece

Our test sheet to see how the vegetables print

Our favourite vegetable to print with was the bok choy. I cut the bok choy about 5cm from the end which made a lovely rose like stamp. The stems of the bok choy made a similar pattern when tied together with a rubber band. 

Ava makes roses with the base of the bok choy

Printing smaller roses with the rest of the bok choy

My favourite picture that Ava made was a rose garden using all three of the vegetables.

First she started with bok choy roses...

Printing flowers

Printing flowers

...added stems with the carrot...

Using the carrot to paint the stems

... then leaves with the celery...

Adding celery leaves

More leaves

... and finished off with a carrot dot for a bumble bee.

Adding a bumble bee

Lola also enjoyed painting with vegetables. She seemed to like using the carrots and celery sticks best. I guess the bok choy was just a little big for her tiny hands.

Lola loved making a mess!

The girls make their pictures

"Dip, dip, dip" says Lola as she paints

Smiley faces and self portraits were another favourite for Ava. The carrot made nice round eyes and noses, while celery was perfect for little mouths, eyebrows and even hair bows!

Ava printing rows of smiley faces

Ava with her self portrait

We had lots of fun painting with vegetables and we'll definitely do it again. Next time I think we'll make sure we have potatoes on hand so we can carve out some fun shapes for printing.