How to make an (almost) mess-free rainbow with cotton wool balls
Here's a simple arty activity your toddler or preschooler can create using cotton wool and (nearly) all the colours of the rainbow...
“I can make a rainbow!” Yes, you can – even if you’re only 2 – with this fun and easy art idea, using cotton wool balls and watered-down paint.
MFM crafter mum Abi Walker created this rainbow activity with her daughter Maisie, 2 – and shared some great step-by-step how-to pictures with us.
Abi also says that Maisie found using the pipette easier than she’d expected – and using the medicine syringe was even easier. “I though it would be a challenge for toddler hands,” Abi says, “but it worked well – Maisie managed fine with both.
“The whole activity was great fun. And we even managed to get a few rainbow prints from it onto some more paper before it dried – which was another exciting addition!”
Here’s how to make your cotton wool rainbow
You Will Need
- A4 piece of card (or larger)
- A pencil
- Double-sided sticky tape
- Cotton wool balls (lots!)
- Paints in rainbow colours
- Plates or containers for each colour paint
- Pipette or child medicine syringe
Total time:
Or as long as your child needs
Step 1
On your piece of card, draw the curved lines of a rainbow (you can do all 7 but we just drew 5), equally spaced and far enough apart to allow enough space to fit the cotton-wool balls. Cover each curved line with a strip of double-sided sticky tape. This makes for a fun peel-and-stick game.
Step 2
You should end up with something that looks like this.
Step 3
Stick the cotton balls along each sticky-tape line. Then put a blob of each colour paint into separate plates or contains and add a little water (not too much: the more paint, the brighter the colours).
Step 4
Use your pipette or syringe to draw up some of 1 paint colour and drop a little onto each cotton ball in the outer rainbow ring. Watch the water get absorbed! Repeat with the next ring and a different paint colour.
Step 5
Once all of your colours are done, leave in the sun to dry. This can take some time depending on how wet the rainbow actually gets. (Ours was soaked!)
