We've upgraded...

We went from pouring paint onto paper to finger paint, to paint cups and brushes. My son wasn't really interested in the fingerpainting part of things. He mostly just wanted to see how things worked when he poured the paint out. We tried different kinds of bottles - all of them interesting. I really didn't mind, as long as he used sponges or sponge brushes to spread the paint around a little after it came out of the bottle, usually in a pile of blob form! He loved it! I decided it was finally time to buy some paint cups and brushes so we took a little trip to Lakeshore Learning in Ahwatukee. I was very happy with the purchase and the price. The brushes were 6.95 for 10 and the paint cups were 9.95 for 10, all nicely color coded. Another nice thing about the paint cups: They claim to be spill free and so far that has proven true!

So far they have been a big hit with my almost two year old and much easier to clean up than our old way of doing things!

Here is the link for the brushes:
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1,689,949,371,897,676&ASSORTMENT<>ast_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1263848410528

Here is the link for the cups: (They do not come with the nice carrier.)

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/seo/p|2534374302098812~~.jsp

Another tip: A friend suggested I use a tarp underneath our painting area and it works perfectly. I never even wash it up. I just let it dry, fold it up and put it away. It has saved a lot of mess and time.