# Goofy "arty/crafty/decorating" type question **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042 "2002-12-20T16:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/1 "2002-12-20T16:30:08Z")
We’ve been doing tons of painting inside our house. We’re down to just one area, the stairs down to the finished basement. We stripped the wallpaper, but I just don’t think we’ll get around to scraping, repairing, priming, and painting the walls before the holiday hordes start descending beginning on Sunday. We are having large crowds of family to our house 3 times this week. Probably 45 or so different people, ranging in age from 1 month to 80+ years. We were thinking it might be fun if we just did a quick rough scrape of the walls, and rolled on a quick coat of primer. Then we could get a bunch of some kind of markers or something and have all our guests write greetings on the walls. I had also thought about handprints - but that could easily get messy. So I was wondering if any of you might have any ideas of what kinda markers, finger paints, etc. could we use that could be easily washed off and/or painted over when and if we decide to do so. (Sure, we could ask a paint of art store, but what is the chance they would have as much to offer as the teeming millions?) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/2 "2002-12-20T16:33:20Z")
Light-colored ones… Actually, a decent paint store probably carries some brand of marker-covering paint, for use in homes where the writing on the walls wasn’t supported by the parents… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Pebs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Johnny\_Pebs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Pebs)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/3 "2002-12-20T17:09:18Z")
Any markers or finger paint will do the trick, just make sure that you prime the wall really well before you paint over them. Killz[sup]®[/sup] makes primers designed for covering ink/mildew/other nasty stuff that bleeds through normal paint. Pebs ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/4 "2002-12-20T17:36:25Z")
What ever you do. DO NOT use a red marker. red is infamous for bleeding through. I was working on a model once where my project manager circled a section in red (WHY he did it was beyond me). 22 coats of paint later,including primers, the red was still showing through… ARG! also, don’t do handprints: the paint can be thick on them, which will more than likely be something you will have to sand smooth. Chalk can be fun, perhaps? or some of those washable markers? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/5 "2002-12-20T18:48:23Z")
Thanks for the heads up on red (seeing as red and green might be obvious choices.) Also, re: paint, I figured we’d probably lean towards some watercolors - or inkpads. Tho I dread the idea of a bunch of kids pressing their palms on inkpads, and then raging through my freshly painted and decorated house! Maybe it would be better to dump the whole idea. I’ve got it! Liquid paper! On white primer. There’s the ticket! (Seriously, I could see pastel washable markers. I’ll let you know what if any info we get from the paint store…) ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/6 "2002-12-20T19:00:41Z")
You could make a huge paper Christmas tree, and then let people draw or paint ornaments onto the tree. It can cover up the unsightly wall and still provide a fun and creative outlet for the chilluns. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/7 "2002-12-20T20:29:16Z")
But **Kalhoun** - how much cooler is actually writing on the WALLS! ---
**Author:** ![Sunglasses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Sunglasses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunglasses)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofy-arty-crafty-decorating-type-question/144042/8 "2002-12-20T20:32:39Z")
Your local discount or toy store sells TONS of washable markers and paints. Very easy to clean up but, still might be a good idea to follow up with Kilz after.