My kids are arts and crafts fanatics!  I, myself, am not all that creative so they must get it from their dad.  One of their favorite things to do is paint.  Let’s be honest, though, that is not one of the cleanest things they can do.  But they love it so much that I lug out the egg cartons, fill the containers with paint, wrap the kids in trash bags and then hand them brushes.

I almost always regret it.

So when I learned about Elmer’s Painters Paint Markers I was intrigued.  A paint pen that is easy to use, produces vibrant colors and won’t include the spray of a flung paintbrush that currently decorates the outside of my house?

I headed to Walmart to check this out!  Sure enough, right there on the crafting aisle were the Elmer’s Painters Paint Markers.  These permanent and streak free, non-toxic and acid free paint markers come in a variety of colors and are only $1.97 each on Walmart shelves now!   We chose a myriad of colors – including each child’s favorite (Pink for Katie, Purple for Sarah and Red for Megan) – and looked around for a project we could do with them!

See my whole shop – and the toddler artwork – below:

 
Since these paint markers draw on everything from ceramic to cloth, we decided it was high time we created some little boxes to put some trinkets in.  Mommy gets another box to throw things in that are small and the girls get a piece of art that they created.

Now, my initial plan with these markers was to paint an outside bench that my girls will have forever, and we will.  Unfortunately we’ve had too much rain lately to actually get out and do that but how incredibly fun would that be?  These markers would be PERFECT for that and we will be doing one and I will let you see it when we are done!

I know that crafty Mom’s everywhere will come up with clever crafts that will make you go ‘ooohhh’ but my kids are 5, 4 and 2 and what they did with these boxes made me go ‘ooohhh’!

So, first things first.  I got home with the pens, the adorable wooden boxes to paint and a weeks worth of groceries.  My girls hop out of the car, grabbed the pens and hightailed it inside.  Convinced that they could not open the pens – I should so know better by now – I lazily gathered my groceries and took them inside.

Where all three girls were sitting, having figured out how to make the pens work, painting their boxes.  I stressed out for a moment, “NOOOO, these are for a great creative craft that we are going to make perfect together!”, and then let it go.  They were so happy and so excited to be “painting” and not being told to watch where they put their brushes or being wrapped head to toe in trash bags that I had to let them be!

So, I apologize for the messy, unorganized craft that you are here to see.

I will say, though, that Katie put a lot of time and effort into hers and really made it sweet.  She worked so hard on it that she took it to school and gave it to her art teacher all on her own.  One day it was drying, the next she gets a Thank You note from the teacher for the box.  I had no idea she had even taken it but the grin on her face, sure to challenge the Cheshire Cat was all that mattered!

I love these Painters Paint Markers!  They are easy to use – as described by Katie in this video below – fun to use and cleaner than any other type of paint I have let them use!

 
With summer upon us I have stocked up!  And since they can paint on plastic, wood, tile, shirts and more, I suspect I will be stocking up several times over the Summer!  Be sure to come back and show me your awesome crafts after you go get your Painters Paint Markers!

Follow Elmers on TWITTER and LIKE them on Facebook

**I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric. All writings and opinions are 100% mine.  Please see my Disclaimer/ Privacy Policy for more information.**