This year, I’m learning to live with less in my 2014 Simplicity theme year.  That means finding innovative ways to save money so we can spend our money in the places we really need to (or want to). Living with two small boys, we’re always looking for fun, cheap activities that we can do together – I’ve got a great Pinterest board of kid-friendly activities!

Pinspiration: Painting Project. I love to paint. It’s an activity that I can regularly do with the kids. We make the most of our nice weather and spend time outside with our paints and canvases.

Start with the right supplies.  We get most of our items from the big box store or the local craft store.  Look for store coupons and stock up on canvases on sale or in bulk packs.

• Canvases
• Craft Store Acrylic Paint
• Plastic paint holder
• Paint-friendly clothes
• Newspaper
• Paint Brushes, varied sizes
• Old Newspaper

Make it work. I give each kid two canvases each time we do this activity and their rule is they have to paint the whole canvas, including the sides. We pick out 4-6 colors and put them in our plastic paint holder and then all start painting together.  The kids really get into it and take their time with their paintings.  Remember, if they like it – then it’s great.  And if you don’t like it, you can always paint over it once everything has dried.

Giftability.  We regularly give these canvases away as gifts.  They make a cute addition to Mother’s Day or Christmas gifts and when given year after year, you can see the growth of the kids’ painting talent.

Easy, cheap and fun.  I encourage you to add this to your kid-friendly activities.  Or, come over and we can hang out and paint with our kids together.