Thursday, June 27, 2013

Homemade Watercolors

Found this great idea from allParenting.  I really like my kids to have a vast variety of mediums for art, so when I found this idea of making my own watercolors - I jumped on it!  What a great idea and most of these ingredients you probably already have laying around the house.


 
They say that those craft paints for kids are non-toxic, but it's still a mystery what's actually in them. Give yourself some peace of mind and the kids something fun to play with by making your own homemade water color paints!
Your kids will love getting to paint with watercolors that you made right at home! Kids can mix and match to make their paints in any color they can imagine, while Mom and Dad can rest easy knowing these paints are made from ingredients straight out of the pantry!
homemade water colors materials

What you'll need

  • Baking soda
  • Vinegar
  • Cornstarch
  • Corn syrup
  • Spouted mixing bowl
  • Measuring cups
  • Whisk
  • Food coloring
  • Ice cube tray

What you'll do

homemade water colors step 1
Measure out 1 cup of baking soda and pour it into the mixing bowl.
homemade water colors step 2
Very slowly pour 3/4 cup of vinegar into the bowl. Don't add it all at once or it may bubble over. Kids love watching and helping with this step!
homemade water colors step 3
Once the vinegar and baking soda mixture has stopped bubbling, use the whisk to mix the two ingredients together.
homemade water colors step 4
Measure out and add 2 tablespoons of corn syrup to the mix.
homemade water colors step 5
Next, add in 1 cup of cornstarch.
homemade water colors step 6
Whisk the entire mixture until it is well combined.
homemade water colors step 7
Using the pour spout, pour the mixture into the compartments of an ice cube tray.
homemade water colors step 8
Put a small amount of food coloring on the tip of a popsicle stick.
homemade water colors step 9
Use the popsicle stick to mix a different color of food coloring into each tray. Don't forget you can combine colors: red and blue will make purple, yellow and blue will make green, and red and yellow will make orange.
homemade water colors step 10
Once your water colors are mixed, set them in a safe spot to dry. Plan on allowing them to dry overnight, but it can take as long as 2 days before they are completely dry and ready to use.
homemade water colors step 11
Once your water colors have dried, they are ready to use just like the paint from the store, but without the mystery ingredients!
allParenting homemade water colors

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