Make Your Own Water Color Paint

[oohmybees]

My kids love to paint and we burn quickly through a lot of craft supplies.  I found a recipe to make you own water color paint and thought it would be fun to try.  I'm trying to teach them to make stuff instead of rushing out to buy it.

You will need:
1 T. white vinegar
2 T. baking soda
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. glycerin (this can be found in a drug store, with the laxatives(see pic.), make sure to get the liquid and not capsules)
1 T. water
liquid food coloring
Plastic bottle caps, empty paint box, or styrofoam egg carton



Mix the vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl, I used the measuring cup.  Be prepared for the chemical reaction, it's going to foam up a bit.  I stirred mine together and then once it stopped bubbling I added the cornstarch, glycerin, and 1 T. of water.
Pour into the bottle caps (or whatever sort of container you're using).  One batch filled six bottle caps.  I think that the egg carton would be perfect for younger children, but my eggs come in a cardboard container! 

Now for the fun part, add the food coloring.  I used two drops of each color for the paints in the top row.  For the bottom row I got creative and started mixing.  From left to right: a dusty lavender, teal green, navy blue, reddish brown, and black.  I used toothpicks to mix the colors in.

Let dry overnight and start painting.  If they are still a little wet that's fine, the colors will be more vibrant.  These paints are meant for kids or fun, not fine art, they are easy to work with and when applied thickly they have a suede like texture from the baking soda.

There are a couple more pictures here and a copy of the tutorial here, thanks for looking

[Dragonflower]

Ok, so you are using craftiness to make more craft supplies? I think you are my hero! This is awesome- I'm going to try it!

[MommyMac]

Wow I have all those ingredients! But does the food colouring stain skin? My oldest is almost 3, would these be suitable for slightly older kids?

[oohmybees]

Wow I have all those ingredients! But does the food colouring stain skin? My oldest is almost 3, would these be suitable for slightly older kids?

We painted with these this morning and my kids did get quite a bit of paint on themselves and it has all come off.  I only use a couple of drops of color for each one.  My son is five and my daughter is three.  My daughter likes to paint, but just kind of mixes all the colors together, these paints were great for her and I think if you put them into egg cartons that it would be easier for younger children.  To me these were less messy that store bought water colors, it may be because the colors are softer.

My son did the one on the left and my daughter made the two on the right.

[jennieingram]

What a neat little project!  Thanks for sharing!!

[panda]

Wow I am adding the to the Kids Craft and Swap rnd2

thanks for the wonderful tutorial.

[smittenheart]

AWESOME..thanks for sharing..I am totally going to try it..

[kevsbabe29]

oh so very cool thank you for posting

[oohmybees]

Thanks everyone, it was a really fun project, you guys should try it!  It was super easy and watching the baking soda and vinegar foam was exciting for my kids  .  I have recipes for a few more crafty supplies that I'm going to try this summer.

[pinokeeo]

This is a great idea.  My grandchildren have just come to visit and I think they are going to love this.  Thanks for the tute.