Homemade Face Paint

Every fair and amusement park has one thing that all kids love: a face painting booth! Although you might not be able to make it to the fair this year, you can bring a little of it into your house with this simple activity. Mix your own face paint at home using cold cream, corn starch, and food coloring — yes, it's that easy! This activity is great for beating boredom because your child will get to become something else for a little while. In ten minutes you can go from "I'm bored!" to delight and laughter. It's easy, fun, creative, and can be done all year long!

What You Need:

• 2 tablespoons of cold cream, or other thick face cream
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• Food coloring in assorted colors
• Paper plate
• Small paintbrushes
• Optional: stencils

What You Do:

1. Mix the face cream, corn starch and food coloring together well. Make a rainbow of colors using the food coloring, but be sure to only use a few drops!
2. Put a dollop of each color onto the paper plate.
3. Grab the paintbrush and cover your child's cheeks with color! Simple things like rainbows, cat whiskers and stars are easy to do freehand. If you're doing this around a holiday, you can theme it! Jack-o'-lanterns on Halloween, hearts for Valentine's day, balloons for a birthday, etc.
4. With some guidance and a mirror, your child might want to paint his own face. It could get messy, but it sure is fun! Keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't get any paint in his eyes.
5. Encourage your child to engage in imaginary play with his new identity! It's so fun, you might even be tempted to paint your own face and play along!