Kid-friendly activity: Make a ‘Pinkalicious’ cupcake

By Marissa Will

Help your child share their creativity through art

Arts and crafts play a significant role in helping kids develop critical skills. While hanging original artwork on the kitchen refrigerator is certainly a bonus, creating projects using different handheld tools allows little ones to strengthen their motor skills and hand-eye coordination, experts say. While temperatures are heating up outdoors this summer, keep the creativity alive inside by interacting and engaging in summer DIY activities!

Olivia, 3, and Logan, 2, are preparing for a fun Family Night by designing their very own Pinkalicious cupcake with puffy paint — join the fun with these five easy steps!

Here is what you need

• Markers
• Sprinkles
• Shaving cream
• Glue
• Craft pom-poms
• Paintbrushes
• Food coloring
• Pinkalicious coloring page

Directions

1. What is your child’s favorite color? Help them pick out a marker to fill in their cupcake. I told mine to focus on coloring the bottom of the cupcake where we would not be using puffy paint. However, they both decided to color the entire cupcake — I am all about welcoming creativity!
2. While Olivia and Logan were busy coloring, I mixed equal parts of glue and shaving cream. When that was completed, I added three drops of red food coloring to create a pink (in honor of Pinkalicious).
3. Now for the fun part: Allow the kids to use paintbrushes to add strokes of puffy paint (make sure it is thick). Olivia and Logan had a blast doing this; their facial expressions tell it all!
4. Take out the sprinkles and encourage your children to add as little or as much as their hearts’ desire. Logan went with a light coating and Olivia poured in handfuls.
5. The cherry on top (literally) is having the children choose a “cherry” of their liking from your craft pom-poms. Add a dab of glue and top their cupcake.
6. Allow your project to dry. The puffy paint will harden and resemble frosting!

   

   

   

   
   

 

Did your little ones create their own Pinkalicious cupcake? We want to see it!
Share with us on Twitter by tagging @ArizonaEducator or #AZPBSKIDS or tag @azpbskids on Facebook.

About the author

Marissa Will is the mother of two toddlers, Olivia (4) and Logan (2). Writing was her first passion: she’s a freelance writer and a Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumna. Will is currently educating the future leaders of tomorrow: She has spent the past eight years teaching third grade with a master’s degree in elementary education from Northern Arizona University-Yuma.