Making bubble prints is definitely an outdoor activity. Mix kids and paint with bubbles and you get one messy activity -- and a bunch of happy kids.

Yesterday I taught an outdoor crafts class at my daughters' camp. And one thing I've learned with my own kids - let alone a group of them - is that when you can avoid the stress of dealing with a big mess, the happier everyone will be. That meant this particular project had to be done outdoors.

To make the paint for the project I used a small plastic cup and mixed 1" of each of the following (and in this order): water, bubble solution (dish washing soap works OK too), tempera/poster paint and mixed it well.

Then I handed each kid a straw and told them to blow bubbles until the cup started overflowing with them.

Then they placed their paper over the bubbles in the cup.

When they lifted the paper, they could see their "print."

We used 6 different colors and I encouraged the kids to overlap them for a more colorful effect. And the best thing about bubble printing is that the paint dries fast - about 5 minutes in the sun.

The not so great thing - and the reason I do this outside near a garden hose - is this.

While we were outside with a mess of bubbles already, I brought out my homemade bubble wands. I cut a straight straw (the bendy part doesn't work well) in half and threaded cotton yarn (it has to be cotton otherwise it won't hold the bubble) through the straws and tied it off at the size we wanted (and make sure the knot is inside the straw before blowing, otherwise it will break the bubble). It's a great, inexpensive way to make bigger bubbles -- and the kids love them.

Dip the wand in bubble solution with the straws together. Then lift the wand out and gently pull the straws apart before blowing.

The kids blew some huge bubbles but I didn't manage to get any photos of them. I was too busy trying to clean up hands, arms and legs and wishing the kids wore their bathing suits. A few runs through the sprinkler would have worked better. Next time.