Puffy Paint Cake Decorating

We created a pretend bakery by inviting my preschooler to decorate a cardboard cake with puffy paint icing! She loved this art activity with fine motor work involved.

When we created our puffy paint lava volcanoes I mentioned to my BFF neighbor that it would be so much fun to decorate a pretend cake with the same paint as icing. She soon delivered a cardboard cake for E that she had created with her hot glue gun! Isn't she amazing, generous, and so thoughtful?

We used Housing a Forest's recipe for microwave puffy paint again. E selected the colors of icing that she wanted. We put the paint in squeeze bottles for fine motor practice. 

Aiming and squeezing the bottles worked E's hand muscles and eye coordination. It also took a bit of patience as she waited for the icing to come to the bottom of the bottles!

We had looked at decorated cake photos online before we began for inspiration. She wanted to try all the creative icing techniques she had seen!

I loved watching how quiet and calm she was as she concentrated seriously on her work. She was mesmerized by this activity!

She lined the sides of the cake and added flowers, a smiley face, and even some letters with the puffy paint.

Finally she "lit" the cardboard candles with a bit of puffy paint on a brush. I love her attention to detail!

When she was finished decorating we put the whole cake in the microwave for 45 seconds. The paint puffed up like real icing! 

This is a Fine Motor Fridays post! Follow our Fine Motor Fun Pinterest board for all the best ideas:

Follow Still Playing School's board Fine Motor Fun on Pinterest.

Read these posts for more ideas involving Fine Motor Fun:

Easy Outdoor Writing Center from Lalymom

Creative Construction: Styrofoam and Pipe Cleaners from Craftulate

Simple Weaving Felt Page from Powerful Mothering

Lego Sensory Bin For Math And Fine Motor Skills from Little Bins For Little Hands

Fine Motor Name Game from House of Burke

Fine Motor Light Table Play from And Next Comes L

5 Fine Motor Inspired Counting Activities from School Time Snippets