I made shaving cream prints with Travis when he was in preschool, and it was meant as an art project (one that resulted in lovely bookmarks!). For Veronika at age two, this same activity was definitely more about the process and the sensory play. I love when I’m able to tailor big kid activities to my toddler in this way.

To start, we squirted a thick layer of shaving cream into a disposable foil tray. In turn, I placed this inside a second craft tray, because the activity is definitely messy.

Next, we added lots of drops of natural food coloring. You can also use liquid watercolors, but I like the food coloring with a toddler because it doesn’t stain.

I showed Veronika how to swirl the colors through the shaving cream with a dowel. The dowel is great because it’s long enough that you’ll minimize any mess on your toddler’s fingers!

Next, we pressed a piece of watercolor paper over the shaving cream, patting down on it lightly. Veronika loved the patting! Lift up and reveal the pretty marbled colors.

Finally, we needed to scrape off the excess shaving cream, and the edge of a jumbo craft stick works great for this. Repeat as many times as desired!

We ended up with four lovely prints that we can turn into art, but Veronika was still busy with all the materials. We squirted in a second layer of shaving cream, then added lots more food coloring, and did lots more stirring, scooping, and playing for quite a while.