Product Review: Melissa & Doug for the Win!

Having been a SAHM, I always wanted to make sure that my daughter was able to do all the fun things that she would have gotten to do had she gone to day care. Arts and crafts were one of those things. But let’s be honest, it is messy and the last thing you want to clean up after just mopping the floors…but there is hope!

First, don’t make the same rookie mom move I did and go for the dollar store stuff thinking that it’s just going to get used up in a minute, so what does it matter? Well, when it ends up on the wall, the floor or the couch and unable to be cleaned out… it matters a ton. Melissa & Doug make awesome quality washable paints and stamp pads that can be used on their sketch books that will leave your house stain free.

One super cute project that can be used with washable paints is painting with dolls or cars. Using easel paper, kids dip plastic doll feet or tires into paint and have them make little footpaths or cool tracks along the paper in all different colors. It’s also an alternative for kids that don't like to get their hands messy and they get to give their toys a little bath after.

Using different types of mediums is a great way to engage your toddler with art. Using a sketch paper, paints, farm animal stamps, and cut out squares of different colored construction paper they can make a barnyard or pasture scene. The paper squares are used for collage trees or rainbows. They can use paints to make the sky and clouds.  

If you’re looking for something that will leave virtually no mess at all Melissa & Doug also have loads of reusable sticker books, which let your little create scene after scene with easy to peel off (from any surface) stickers. Peaceable Kingdom also make great reusable sticker totes. And there is not much better than the Water Wow books where they can paint with water again and again, it’s seriously like magic.

However it’s done, inspiring a love of art in your child is a wonderful thing! It’s also a huge bonus when it doesn't last forever on your carpet.

Lisa is mom to a wild toddler that prefers to dump all of the paint out at once, so she appreciates a quality washable finger paint.