Elmer’s has a new product called Squeeze ‘n Brush. They advertise it as “no mess painting”. The boys and gave these a try on some plaster ornaments and on paper.
The great part is that the paint is in the paintbrush. You open up the seal (probably a parent or older sibling job), and then squeeze the plastic tube that is the handle of the paintbrush and the paint squeezes down into the middle of the bristles. This part is indeed less messy than traditional cups of water and squirts of paint on a palette.
The paint is easy to squeeze out, and it doesn’t ooze out too much at a time. The paints come in sets of twenty different colors. The colors are vibrant and the paint color stays true when it dries and has a bit of gloss. They also dry fairly fast. You do have to cap the paints you aren’t using of the bristles will dry out. If you forget, you can run the brushes under water.
The drawback of these paints is that the brushes are big. These are not good tools for detail painting. My children got frustrated with how large they had to paint. I don’t think younger children would be so frustrated. I’m sure preschoolers would be happy with the size of the brushes. And it does help eliminate the big glops of paint that preschoolers tend to drop all over everywhere.
Are they really no-mess? Close, but not quite. All painting is going to involve some mess. There will be elbows or the edge of sleeve dragged through the paint. There will be hands wiped on the face and clothes. It’s all part of the process. The paints also washed off hands and the table without trouble.
I do think this product would be great for younger children while visiting at grandparents or on a rainy day during vacation. The not much mess aspect is great for traveling. The paints are of course non-toxic. The brushes are also refillable, though I can’t imagine that would be an easy thing to do.
Also See:
True to Life Crayons From Crayola
Product Review: Crayola Beginnings
Fun Ideas for Things to Paint On and With