DIY Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cone Art Activity
As a family of five, we spend a lot of time outside during the summer. After spending a long day in the sun, there is nothing my three children love more than a cold, delicious ice cream cone! Once we are all cooled off, I have found that arts and crafts activities are a great way to keep everyone busy and entertained. This DIY Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cone Art Activity is the perfect craft to do after a long day in the sun (and after enjoying an ice cream cone too of course!)!
Recommended Grade Level:
DIY Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cone Art Activity Supplies:
- White school glue
- Foam shaving cream
- Food coloring
- Bowls
- Spoon
- Paintbrushes
- Sprinkles (optional)
- Bubble wrap
- Brown acrylic paint
- Scissors
- Black Sharpie
- White cardstock, colored construction, or colored printer paper
Summer Ice Cream Cone Art Activity
My kids love painting projects in the summer. But after a while, they get a little bored of just using a paint brush and normal paint. That’s when we love to think outside the box and use different kinds of paint and non-conventional painting tools. For this art activity, a super simple DIY puffy paint makes up the adorable scoops of ice cream and bubble wrap is used to give a fun textured look on the cones! If you are looking to take your art projects to the next level this summer, be sure to check out all of our amazing arts and crafts activities at Life Over Cs!
Wow! All this talk of ice cream cones has been making me hungry! While you can’t eat these ice cream cones (no matter how yummy they may look!), you can try these two awesome recipes we have for edible play dough and edible paint!
Materials You Will Need For This DIY Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cone Art Activity:
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- White school glue
- Foam shaving cream
- Food coloring
- Bowls
- Spoon
- Paintbrushes
- Sprinkles (optional)
- Bubble wrap
- Brown washable paint
- Scissors
- Black Sharpie
- White cardstock, colored construction, or colored printer paper
Step-by-Step Instructions for the DIY Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cone Art Activity:
Step One:
Gather all of the supplies you need for this Ice Cream Cone Art Activity. For each color of puffy paint you want to create you will need 1 bowl, 1/4 cup of glue, and 1/4 cup of shaving cream.
Tip: Because a few of the steps could get a tiny bit messy, you may want to cover your table or workspace. I love using plastic disposable table cloths from the Dollar Store when we do messy art projects!
🌟 Manage the Mess!
Get tips, tricks, and tools to make messy play and art easy to manage.
Step Two:
In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of shaving cream and 1/4 cup of glue. Add one or two drops of food coloring and mix again. Repeat this process in new bowls for all of the other colors of puffy paint you want to make.
Teacher Tip: My littler helpers are great at stirring and my older helper loves measuring out glue and shaving cream! The busier and more involved you keep your children, the less times they will ask you when it is time to start the art project!
Step Three:
Use a black sharpie to create a triangle shape on the bubble wrap and then cut it out. Older children will be able to do this step for themselves, while toddlers may need some assistance. After the triangle of bubble wrap has been cut out, squeeze some brown paint onto one side of it and use a paint brush to evenly distribute the paint.
Step Four:
Press the bubble wrap paint side down onto a piece of paper of your choice (cardstock, construction paper, or printer paper) and then repeat to create as many ice cream cones as you would like. Let the ice cream cones dry before moving onto the next step. It won’t take too long!
Step Five:
Paint the puffy paint onto the tops of your ice cream cones. Add sprinkles if you would like!
Step Six:
Allow the puffy paint to dry and you are ready to display your beautiful artwork! The puffy paint will lose it’s texture after a few days, but the color will remain on the paper.
Yay! You Created Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cones! What Now?
As a mom, I love displaying my children’s finished ice cream cones as summer decorations around our house! Here are some ideas for displaying them at home:
- Cut them out, attach a magnet to the back, and hang them on the refrigerator.
- Create an ice cream cone banner! Cut them out, punch some holes at the top, string some yarn through them, and hang it up!
- As an alternative to displaying them, you can use them to create summer cards for people.
If you are a teacher, you can use them as a bulletin board display, decorate your classroom door, or tape them to children’s cubbies or lockers!
Ways to Adapt/Modify/Differentiate
- Ask your child if they can create a pattern with the colors on the ice cream. We have another great Ice Cream Themed Pattern Making activity you can try too!
- Let your child create their own sprinkles out of their favorite craft material. They could cut up construction paper, use buttons, or even use glitter.
- What other textured materials can your child think of to use to make the ice cream cone? You could try using salt like in this fun Flower Salt Painting Activity!
- Practice counting skills! How many ice cream cones are there? How many scoops of ice cream are there? Then keep the counting practice going with our fun Summer Themed Numbers 1-10 Counting Book!
Need More Summer Activities? Check out our some of our favorites here:
Why Are Art Activities Important For Kids?
Art projects are wonderful for children for many reasons! Just in this one Ice Cream Cone Art Project there are so many skills being developed. Doing art projects with kids is the perfect way to encourage creativity, imagination, and self expression. Art activities help to increase children’s self confidence too!
As children are holding the paint brush, using a spoon to stir the puffy paint, and cutting the bubble wrap with scissors, they are strengthening their fine motor skills. Here are some great books to check out if you are working on fine motor skills with your child or class!
A Sensory Experience Too!
When my first child was born I used to think that sensory experiences had to be from bottles, bins, and bags. But I quickly learned that art projects, like this one, are another great way to have an awesome sensory experience for children! (Don’t get me wrong- I still LOVE sensory bins, bags, and bottles and if you need some ideas for great sensory bins check some out here!)
The bumpy bubble wrap, textured puffy paint, and colorful ice cream cones make this a great sensory art project! And if your children are anything like mine, they will be begging for a delicious, cold, sweet smelling treat to round out the sensory experience after creating their ice cream cones.
More Summer Activities To Help You Cool Off!
Need more help cooling off this summer? Try these fun activities with ice!
- Summer Themed Process Art Painting
- Ocean Animal Ice Excavation Activity
- STEM Fizzy Ice Experiment
- Hydrodipping Sand Dollars
Frequently Asked Questions
These are frequently asked questions about DIY Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cones:
How do I store puffy paint?
The puffy paint you use for this project is meant to be a one time use paint since the shaving cream will lose its puffiness after an extended period of time. If you have left over paint and are tired of making ice cream cones, let your child use their imagination to create other puffy paintings!
What if I don’t have any bubble wrap?
If you don’t have any bubble wrap you can use another textured recyclable material you have around the house! You also could cut the ice cream cones out of construction paper or paint them with brown paint and a paint brush.
How long will my puffy paint ice cream cones last?
The texture and height on your puffy paint ice cream cones will decrease over time, but the beautiful colors of the ice cream and cute brown cones will last a long time.
Can I use puffy paint as finger paint?
As tempting as it may be to put your fingers in this paint, it is best to keep them out and wait until it dries to touch it. The glue and shaving cream mixture can make hands sticky and messy (and younger children may be tempted to put it into their mouths). If you are looking for a finger painting recipe check out our post on How To Make Finger Paint For Kids!
Thanks for checking out our easy DIY Puffy Paint!
Now that you know how easy it is to make puffy paint for your art projects, we hope you keep making it again and again! Then, be sure to keep the summer fun going with this great list of 50+ Summer Activities for Kids!
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