Down here in Central Florida, it is really starting to feel like Summer. The weather is warm and that means we will be spending as much time outside as we can! My daughter loves the carnival, so I decided that we needed to try to incorporate some carnival inspired games right in our own back yard! First on the list was a balloon paint pop. It was messy, it was fun, and I would totally do it again! This would be perfect for a carnival themed birthday party or just a good messy art project!
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Balloon Paint Pop
While this is a messy one, it was super easy to set up! No lie, I made a few missteps at first, but y’all can totally learn from my mistakes! Most of the supplies were even picked up from my Dollar Tree! I mean, y’all know I like to be frugal when it comes to my life, and when I can get my arts and crafts at Dollar Tree, you know I am all in! Balloon Paint Pop was inspired by the old school Carnival game that I used to love as a kid! I figured why not fill the balloons with some paint at home to make it even more fun for the little ones!?! As you can see in the video below, though we had some technical difficulties, it was a huge hit with my daughter!
Supplies
As y’all know, I picked up most of my supplies at the Dollar Tree. I went in and grabbed some poster board and balloons to use. Other than those, I used some paint which I already had on hand, and some darts that I had to order from Amazon.
I used some string and clothes pins that I had to try and attach the poster board to my daughter’s swing set, but honestly, that pretty much was an epic fail! My other fail was using tape to put the balloons on the board. It was pretty windy and they kept falling off. Next time, I would use thumb tacks to secure them in place!
Set It Up
Since you now have everything you need, it is time to set it up! Here is where you can learn from my mistakes. First off, I tried using acrylic paints and that was a big no no! It was way to messy and too thick to go in the balloon properly. So, what I ended up doing was using some of the DIY liquid watercolor paints I have made in the past and they were perfect for this!
First you need to blow up the balloon a little, and then pour some of your paint into it. Then blow it up a little more before tying it off. Do as many balloons as you want and attach them to your poster board. Again, I used tape but thumb tacks would have been a much better option!
Once you are all set up, you can hang it up. I attempted putting mine on my daughter’s playground but that really did not work too well. I would recommend using something with a solid back to it. Either against a wall or something along those lines. The issue with what I did, was that it made it harder to pop the balloons.
Pop Your Balloons
Now that you are set up it is time to get poppin! As you saw in the video, we had some difficulties and ended up popping some of them up close haha. Either way though, it was a lot of fun and my daughter ended up being very proud of her balloon paint pop artwork!
All in all this was such a fun way to spend some screen free time outside in the sunshine! If you need more ideas of fun and easy activities to do with your little ones, check out some of these crafts below!
Balloon Paint Pop
Carnival game inspired balloon paint pop is a fun outdoors screen free activity for kids.
Ingredients
- Balloons
- Paint
- Darts
- Poster Board
Instructions
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Blow up your balloons and fill with paint.
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Secure balloons to your poster board
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Hang up your balloon board and throw darts until all of the balloons pop!
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Now you have a beautiful custom piece of splatter art your kid can be proud of!
Jessi is a working mom to two living in Central Florida. She has a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies but decided to make her career in social media marketing and content writing. When she isn’t cooking up something new in the kitchen, she is traveling with her family and looking for new adventures!
Wow! I love all of your ideas! I wish I would have had a bigger space in my hard so I can try those out with my little sister this summer!
Thank you! I think this can totally be done in a smaller space 🙂 May be a bit messy though lol
This looks like a lot of fun 🙂 You didn’t get paint in your mouth from blowing the balloons up!? Your daughter looks beautiful, by the way!
It was a lot of fun… I did get some paint in my mouth when I tried using the acrylic.. (YUCK).. so totally use a more liquid based paint!
This is so fun! Looks like the perfect activity for a warm Sunday afternoon. Not a household with children but the adults are pretty childish in my house!
It is a lot of fun! I totally had just as much fun as the kids lol I think it’s perfect for adults too!
I have never heard of balloon paint pop activity. This looks really fun to do. I bet your daughter would love doing it again and again. I just read in the comments you got it in your mouth. Ha Ha! You are a nice mom.
haha yes she had so much fun! Next time I won’t even try the acrylic paint.. the liquid water color was so much easier and no getting in my mouth!
It really was a lot of fun!
What a fab craft idea! My youngest three are 3, 4 and 5 and would go crazy for this! We would have to get outdoors though, which isn’t always easy in this rainy weather!
This looks so fun! Even I would love it, perfect for those hot summer days with friends 🙂
Xo, Sondra
Cuisineandtravel.com
Balloon paint pop activities sound too fun for summer time! Your daughter is so lucky…and that was so creative too. I find it as a nice bonding activity with your daughter.
Balloon paint pop activities sound too fun for summer time! Your daughter is so lucky…and that was so creative too. I find it as a nice bonding activity with your daughter.
It was a lot of fun. I would love it, perfect for those hot summer days with friends 🙂
I really like this idea. So creative and If its done well it can be displayed around the house =]
I love this idea! We will have to test this out this summer!
This looks like a fun idea to do with the kids when the weather finally warm up!
OMGGG LOVE THIS IDEA! I really want to try this!
I wouldn’t have thought of doing this. But it feels like it was such a lot of fun. My daughter loves all things art and she would think this is fun.
This is a great idea. My daughter’s birthday is coming up soon and this balloon game will definitely be a hit for the birthday party. Hopefully, the kids won’t go crazy and spill paint all over my backyard.
Such a cute and creative idea, love it! So funny to do this with kids, and too cute as a result, with all these colorful baloons around!
This is such a cute and creative idea. Looks like a lot of fun too! I would love to do something like this for my nephew. I am sure he would love it.
XOXO
Elizabeth Keene
http://www.akeenesenseofstyle.com
This looks like so much fun!! My son’s birthday is coming up and I haven’t figured out what to do yet – thanks for the idea!
This is such a fun activity. The balloon pop was actually a favorite game of mine when I was little
Amazing. Such a nice experience you shared with us. I have seen this type of experience. It is always adventurous.
This looks so fun! Even I would love it, perfect for those hot summer days with friends 🙂 This is such a fun activity. The balloon pop was actually a favorite game of mine when I was little
Wow! Looks cool and funny, Thanks for the idea. Definitely should try it with my siblings!
I love your Ideas , my children love to play darts , they daily play darts when they are free.
Sound like fun. If you want any more dart games for kids, let me know.
Thank you!