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    Home » Sensory Activities

    Modified: Jun 1, 2022 · Published: Feb 16, 2015 by Vicky · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

    Sensory Art with Cotton Balls

    255 shares

    Are you looking for Sensory Activities for Preschoolers? Then you will love this beautiful Sensory Art with Cotton Balls. We dyed cotton balls and added them to contact paper to create eye-catching art! For more ways to have fun with contact paper, check out 20 Ways to Use Contact Paper with Kids.

    Sensory Art with Dyed Cotton - Such a fun way to create touchable art!

    To dye cotton balls you will need:

    • Cotton balls
    • Plastic cups
    • Liquid watercolors
    • Paper plate
    • Tongs
    how to dye cotton balls

    Allow a day between dying the cotton balls and creating the art. They need some time to dry.

    Mix a few drops of liquid watercolor with some water in a small plastic cup.

    liquid watercolors

    Dip the cotton ball in the liquid watercolor. You can use tongs to turn it over to make sure it is completely saturated with liquid watercolor.

    child dying cotton balls

    Using the tongs or your fingers (you will need to wash them well afterwards) squeeze the excess liquid from the cotton balls back into the cup. Set the cotton balls in a sunny place to dry. Ours took a day to dry. If yours are taking longer to dry, try separating the cotton to make the balls thinner.

    dying cotton balls

    When the balls are dry, pull them apart to create what looks like cotton candy. Cut some contact paper and tape it to a work surface.

    dyed cotton

    Kids can use the colored cotton to create pictures.

    kids making sensory art

    One of my daughters made a nature scene complete with flower, sun, sea and grass.

    art with dyed cotton

    My youngest made an ice cream cone. My kids could not get over how much the colored cotton resembled cotton candy.

    colored cotton

    When they were finished with their pictures, they removed the colored cotton, and stamped the contact paper with it. The contact paper would grab bits and pieces of the colorful cotton making a beautiful effect.

    sensory art

    This activity is a fun way for kids to make sensory art. My daughter could not stop feeling her artwork as she just loved the texture.

    child touching cotton

    The kids called their creations "fuzzy art" and proceeded to make a gallery to display their creations.

    fuzzy art sign

    My three kids ended up putting their pieces together to create a large wall of sensory art that they can touch whenever they walk by.

    sensory wall

    For more ways to use contact paper with kids check out:

    DIY Shape Stickers

    Contact Paper Crafts with Q-Tips

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Jen M says

      March 03, 2015 at 4:06 pm

      Vicky,

      Thank you for this, as a Daycare in Langley, we are continually looking around trying to come up with great new fun ideas that the kids will like and we just found another great idea here! We love the use of the cotton balls, the colours and can only imagine the engagement it will create.

      Thank you!

      Jennifer
      Rainforest Daycare Langley

      Reply
    Vicky from Mess for Less

    I'm Vicky, the founder of Mess For Less, which I started in 2011 to share easy, family-friendly recipes. With over a decade of experience as a home chef and recipe developer, I love creating meals that bring people together. I also design play and learning activities for kids, using my background as a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education. Learn more about me.

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