Turn old baby bottles into mess-free paintbrush holders

Carrie's sister is an extremely smart woman. (Thanks for thinking to send this hack in, Carrie.)

Here's a hack my sister taught me.  All of her kids are well past the nursing/bottle stage, and they all love to do various art projects - including painting with watercolor paints.  To minimize spilling/splashing and to help the younger ones avoid the problem of too much water on the brush (admittedly, this is only a problem for the person who has to clean up!), she took a few old baby bottles, poked a slightly bigger hole in the nipples, and pushed the nipples inside out.  Fill the bottle with water, and, voila, a paintbrush holder that minimizes the amount of water on the table, floor, kids, dog...

Related:
Quick cleanup tips for paint-loving kids
Modified paper cups as paint holders

Comments

[wdskmom]

LOVE it! I had a spill proof brush container w/ my first born but can't find another one. Of course, he's the messier one! ha!

[Bob]

Sorry but I'm afraid I'm lost here. I see how this prevents spilling water but how do you use a paint brush with this?

[Jennifer]

I think I need to see a picture....

[Parent Hacks Editor]

I've emailed Carrie asking for a picture. Stay tuned...

[Chive]

We used to use a washing up bottle with cap taken off and the top third or so cut off and inverted. You could fit the paintbrush easily through the top, but when it got knocked over it drastically reduced the spillage. I can't say that there was never any mess because I was 4 and could always find a way to make some.

The top was taped on too, to prevent leaks, us pulling it apart to see what happened, catching our fingers on the edges etc. It worked out very like the spill proof pots that montessori sell.

http://www.montessoriservices.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=97_1420_2868&zenid=d91c89b7c8d5f6f172f6edbb72f796c1