Maybe it’s because I used to teach high school art…or perhaps it’s because I love a brand new box of crayons…or any new art supply for that matter. Art supplies make my {heart} happy.
I tried a recipe I found recently for making homemade finger paints for Jaxon…because…you know…I’d prefer him not eat paint made with funky chemicals. And let’s be honest…he’s 15 months old and he’s going to taste-test it. I just know it. I loved how these turned out and I had to share.
Aren’t they so pretty!!! Yaaaay! I’m totally in love with them!
I used left-over baby food jars for containers…you know the ones you hang on to because you swear they are good for something!. Lol.
**Please note: This recipe has been featured in many places and I've had TONS of questions about the texture outcome. If you add too much cornstarch you will get gloppy paint. Just reduce cornstarch or thin with water for a smoother texture.
Also - I NEVER said these were meant to be literally EATEN by kiddos. When we made these - Jaxon was at the stage where he was putting everything in his mouth and I didn't want him to accidentally eat some crazy store-bought paints. For me at least these were safer and homemade. Please do not re-post the recipe as EDIBLE paints for kids to eat as they are not snacks or food for kiddos! Thank you bunches!!
Here’s the recipe:
XoXo
Don't forget to swing by and read THIS POST and leave me a comment to win a $50 Visa gift courtesy of BlogHer! Great for the upcoming CHRISTMAS holidays!!
I tried a recipe I found recently for making homemade finger paints for Jaxon…because…you know…I’d prefer him not eat paint made with funky chemicals. And let’s be honest…he’s 15 months old and he’s going to taste-test it. I just know it. I loved how these turned out and I had to share.
Aren’t they so pretty!!! Yaaaay! I’m totally in love with them!
I used left-over baby food jars for containers…you know the ones you hang on to because you swear they are good for something!. Lol.
**Please note: This recipe has been featured in many places and I've had TONS of questions about the texture outcome. If you add too much cornstarch you will get gloppy paint. Just reduce cornstarch or thin with water for a smoother texture.
Also - I NEVER said these were meant to be literally EATEN by kiddos. When we made these - Jaxon was at the stage where he was putting everything in his mouth and I didn't want him to accidentally eat some crazy store-bought paints. For me at least these were safer and homemade. Please do not re-post the recipe as EDIBLE paints for kids to eat as they are not snacks or food for kiddos! Thank you bunches!!
Here’s the recipe:
XoXo
Don't forget to swing by and read THIS POST and leave me a comment to win a $50 Visa gift courtesy of BlogHer! Great for the upcoming CHRISTMAS holidays!!
132 comments:
Thanks for the recipe! I'll be trying it out with my 16-month old! I'm sure she'll love it!
I just made this and had a fun time painting with my dd! Thanks again!
WOW! This is awesome! I am so going to make this...finger paint can be so expensive and we go through it so fast! Thank you!
Does the food coloring stain fingers?
We have made this recipe multiple times and not had any issues with staining on fingers. Of course, I'm sure it would depend on the type of food coloring used such as liquid and/or gel colorings!
I always make Jaxon wear paint shirts for projects like this so I can't say if it doesn't stain clothes. I would think it could be a possibility!
Thanks for asking!♥
Thanks for answering, I lost this post and have been looking for it for a month to make some again and forgot who put it up, I was looking at one of you're newer posts and I saw your link to this, thanks again!
Do you know how long this would last without getting moldy? Should leftovers be stored in the fridge? Love this idea!
That is awesome! I paint with my 2 year old and my 1 year old is showing an interest in hitting the paper as well so I thin maybe I will do that this week! Thanks so much for sharing!
FYI: Food coloring is most often made from petroleum. The stuff we fuel our cars with. For a truly chemical free paint use natural food colors.
What kind of food coloring do you use? Do you need to use a lot to get such vibrant colors? Thanks for sharing! This looks like so much fun!
What a great idea! No more will I pay for paint!! http://bellesbazaar-heather.blogspot.com
I saw this on Pinterest and we are "cooking" it up as we speak! Thank you for the easy, fun recipe.
Courtney
http://flipflops-and-pearls.blogspot.com/
CAn't wait to try this
This is exactly what I have been looking for! I love it! Thanks for the post. I think I'll share it on facebook!
Fab! And thanks for answering GracefullyCreated's question. I was wondering the same thing.
I'm a little worried about my kid eating half of it. He's one of *those* kind. ;)
...came over here from The Crafty Crow.
What a great idea :) Can anyone tell me how long it would keep - before going mouldy?
Thanks.
Howdy every body!! Thank you BUNCHES for stopping by and commenting!!
There have been a few questions about the paints molding - honestly we used ours up so fast that I have no idea if they start to get moldy! Maybe someone can post if they had issues with this!
Happy painting!!
Grace had a great point about using the all-natural food colorings for completely natural paints! I will definitely have to try that! Thanks for the AWESOME idea Grace!!
♥Tiffany
I recently tried this out with my childcare kids and it was awesome.It was easy to make, use, and extremely easy to clean up.
Thanks!!!
Perfect, I bought fingerpaint paper but got regular paint, doh! I'll make this recipe for finger paint instead of going out to find it in every color.
Does this recipe make enough for all those colors you have, and do you put the food coloring in the jars and mix it in?
That's so awesome! Wish I had this recipe when my kids were little :)
I run Fun Family Crafts, a site similar in nature to Craftgawker and Spotlight, but different in that it's a library of craft tutorials geared only at kids. I would love it if you'd stop by and submit this to be featured! (I link to you, I don't post your tutorial on the site) Feel free to submit as many kid friendly craft tutorials as you like! http://funfamilycrafts.com/
Looks like I just found another way to reuse baby food jars....Thanks so much for the post.
Love this idea, thank you so much for posting!! I am sure you could use the food coloring used for cake frosting (ie. Wilton). Since it is food grade, it should keep "taste tests" safe :)
Thanks for the recipe! We made 2 batches...regular colors and neon! I was wondering...or paint seems a little "tight". Did i do something wrong? When it was first done the consistency was PERFECT, but once it cooled and sat over night (sealed, of course..lol), it is kinda clumpy. Is that how it's supposed to be? I added a touch of water to "loosen" it up some...it helped. Thanks!
I made this in the morning, but saved it as a craft for after nap time. By the afternoon, the paint had cooled and was also clumpy. The kids dove right into it and smeared it all over their picture, but I think it should probably be used warm - or sooner than later - for a more paint like consistency. Found this via pinterest. Great fun for our family! Thanks.
The blog that keeps on giving :) I found this post yesterday and made fingerpaint for my little one today and she loved them. Thanks!!
P.S. Here's a pic of the ones I made
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathytosi/6064267102/
I just found this via pinterest! This is a great idea! I just bought some fingerpaint for my 10mo old, but haven't opened it yet. So I'll be taking that back and making our own toxic-free paint! THANKS! :-)
wow great idea! I want to try this recipe at school.
thanks
i'm soooo printing this out and putting it in my homeschool art file. thanks for the cuteness! oh, and your whole darn blog is adorable, so i just HAD to follow you ;)
found your project on pinterest! love it. am making it now. had to make a re-do batch because i found that if you cook it TOO long, it ends up really clumpy. when i took it off when it was thick, but still pretty liquidy, it didn't seem to clump. LOVE this! thank you!
Hi! I found this on Pinterest too! Totally doing this this afternoon. I have 1 and 3 year olds who will love it! Thanks! Love your newest follower :) come say hi sometime at http://www.yummymummykitchen.com
Hi! I also found this on Pinterest.
We made these today and absolutely love them! So easy to do and easy clean up! Thanks for posting!
I might "have" to make these for my students to practice their spelling words. ;) I found you from a pin on Pinterest.
Everything I try to make with cornstarch fails miserably. I'm hoping this will be the exception. How long should I be "warming until thickens?"
loved this idea and tried it out today ourselves... my six month's baby's first time painting today ;-) thanks so much! http://veritabletreasure.blogspot.com/2011/10/homemade-finger-paints.html
WOWZA'S! This is exactly what I was looking for! I am going to a Birthday party tomorrow for a 2 year old and wanted to make her something that didn't cost alot of money and wouldn't take up alot time! This fits the bill perfectly! I have everything I need! THANK YOU!!!
Found you via Pinterest - thanks so much for this recipe! It is pouring with rain here today so I think some painting might be a great idea!
Nice! How cool is this? I've got a 2-year-old daughter crazy about painting and I never quite trust the paints we buy. This is a total hit!! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Love from Spain!
Love this idea!!! Love the use of stuff we have in our kitchen! Thank you for sharing!
As much as I'm not for synthetic dyes (we have an ADHD child and stay far away from red40 and yellow 5) I do not see petroleum as an ingredient (bugs yes, petroleum no). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_coloring
http://www.ehow.com/about_5341387_ingredients-food-coloring.html Please post a link if you have something different. Thanks :)
Are you kidding? These are gorgeous! _I_ want to eat them! :)
Thanks so much for the recipe. I'm tired of trying to stop my 18-month-old from sucking the paintbrush.
To get the lumps out of mine I put it in the blender.
My kids are right now painting the back door/window with these. The clumps they just smash and it adds to the texture! It is great fun. Mine came out pretty gloopy. Perfect for finger/hand painting!!!
Loved this project and featured it on my blog today! http://creatingthehive.com/blog-post/183243/kids-crafts-fun-to-make-with
I will be making this for my nephews for Christmas!!
This is such a great idea, I was so thrilled to find this and can't wait to try it. Thanks so much for the idea. amanda.marsden(at)ymail(dot)com
Brilliant! thanks for sharing. I've been trying to find a paint that didn't have toxic chemicals in it. Glad my bestfriend reffered your blog to me.
:) Veronica
thelifeofanaturalmindedsahm.blogspot.com/
Hi, I just tried making the homemade finger paint and I'm wondering if there's a point of cooking it too much? The reason I ask is that after the finger paints cooled to room temperature, they solidified, thus are super hard to spread. Do you have any advice? Thanks.
Okay just made this and the soon-to-be 3 year old is lovin it! I am the poster child for impatient (crazy part is I'm a teacher!) and felt it wasn't getting thick quick enough, so I added more corn starch. Bad idea! But we just added more water and it turned out great! Think we are gonna make this for party favors for her birthday!
I saw that several of you suggested using natural dyes. Where can you get them or how do you make them? thanks!
http://www.indiatree.com/Detail_Page.php?Category=NC&Subcategory=NC_Decorating_Colors&Name=Decorating_Colors&ID=208 India tree's nature's colors decorating colors are the best ones I know of. You can also find them on Amazon.
I will be trying this in some months, after my baby is older...she is only six months. (:THanx :)
Awesome! Thanks!
I am adding this post to favorites (found it through pinterest).
If you wouldn't mind, please add the link to this to my homemade 2012 linky page on my blog. That way I will know where to find it if something happens to my favorites.
What kind of food dye are u using? Wondering if this will stain their hands?
Yay!! I'm so excited to try this recipe, we just ran out of finger paints yesterday. I also have a son named Jaxon he is 4 years old and he loves to paint.
Thanks :)
Thanks, useful info.
Alex Toys Tumbling Mat
great project...I will post about it in my blog if you don't mind
Amazing! Can't wait to use out!
thanks so much for sharing this!!
This is great!! I wanted to fingerpaint with my 1 year old and knew I needed something she could put in her mouth!! It was great!!
I even substituted flour for the cornstarch since I didn't have any! It worked, although I had to had more flour to get the right consistency!
Heres the outcome http://ephesians4-amanda.blogspot.com/2012/02/ruths-first-fingerpainting.html
What brand food coloring did you use? I made some this morning but only had the gel food coloring, which stained my fingers... afraid to use the finger paint because I may have a blue son after! :) Thanks!
I'm sorry! I just realized I used your photo and didn't ask! :( If you want me to take it down, I will!
thanks
Super easy..I put it in the blender too! Lol..it was a loot of fun..thank you
Hi, made the paints yesterday the kids loved them! Thank you for sharing this. I shared our painting experience on my blog and linked back to you and your recipe. http://vegantableforfive.blogspot.com/2012/03/colors-of-wind.html
They had so much fun, thanks again!
Awesome!!! Love the colours, found you on Pinterest. It's great that it's natural without chemicals. Great idea.... new fan! xoxo
Are these permanent paints? I want to make something to hang on the wall with this and I'd like it to last.
Another Mom That Rocks!
As far as the FD&C food colors, from what I understand they're derived from petroleum products (interestingly, the Wikipedia entry doesn't come right out and say it, but mentions below that Norway banned all coal-tar-derived products).
Remember also that even if your child doesn't directly eat the finger paints, the skin is an organ through which things are absorbed into the system (hence the nicotine, etc., patch delivery systems used for various drugs). Also, from what I have read, many of the barriers that protect various organs in the body from toxins, especially the blood-brain barrier, are not fully formed in children, especially preschool age.
As far as links, see
http://www.feingold.org/
Note that an article in Lancet (major British medical journal) showed issues with "children in the general population" who ingested these or similar compounds: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673607613063/abstract
Hope this helps.
I made these last week. The consistency I got was similar to petroleum jelly and the result on paper looked similar to watercolors. I was really happy with them and thought the paintings looked beautiful. There was a bit of staining on my son's hands, but after a bath, I didn't notice it anymore. After one week of sitting on the counter in reused baby food jars, tightly sealed with the tops on, the paints were moldy! So, I think I might keep them in the fridge next time. If anyone has any tips on how to keep them from molding, pass them along! Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe! I usually make edible finger paints: http://healthymamainfo.com/2012/03/quick-edible-finger-paints/
but yours are on my "to try" list!
I tried finding 'natural' food colouring but the health food stores looked at me like I had three heads. where do you get ones that are fine to ingest?
Where do you find them? the health food store I went to doesn't even carry food colouring...
Thank you!
For all those worrying about using 'natural' food colouring - ALL food colouring is safe to eat. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to sell it. See, that's what the whole FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is about - making sure that things that are sold as things you can add to FOOD, are actually safe to eat.
This is where a little science is a very dangerous thing - LOTS of things are made of petroleum products. That doesn't mean they're all the same thing you put in your car. (Gee, ever put Vaseline on your lips? But hold on it's petroleum jelly! Oh noz!) But hey, if you're dumb enough to try it go ahead - try putting food colouring in your car and see how that works.
I know I'm sounding rude here - but THINK people! It's FOOD colouring. OF COURSE it's safe to eat.
Susan, your level of scientific illiteracy is just plain scary. To suggest that ingesting large quantities of artificial colouring is the same as touching them? Absurd. I suppose you're one of those parents who thinks 'natural is best' - in which case you'd have no problem letting your kids play with a cowpie (doesn't get much more natural than that) but play doh? Heaven forbid! FWIW the skin is actually an incredibly good barrier; very few drugs are administered via patches and those drugs that are are (1) slow release (eg you have to have the patch on for several hours) and (2) not high-dose (eg you don't need a fast, high-dose fix of the drug for it to be effective). You want to avoid letting your kids ingest bottles of food colouring at a time? Good for you. You want to keep them from touching - with their fingers - something that has a teeny bit of food colouring in it? Honey, your kids touch far worse things than that any given day. It's called soap. Use it.
I have not worked with fingerpaints for a long time, can anybody tell me if it should be goopy?
I love this idea! I'm in college studying Elem Ed and I teach at my church as well so I am always looking for fun easy homemade things because they are almost cheaper safer and easier to clean up! Saw this on pinterest and I am making a batch right now. We are making Mother's Day cards Sunday thanks for the idea!
Loved making for my grandchildren! Found it was easier to mix color in ziplock bags. Color was more evenly mixed. When done snipped off corner of bag and squeezed into jar.
Just wanted to let you know I featured this recipe on Real Mom's Guide today! http://realmomsguide.sheknows.com/2012/05/23/crafts-with-kids-homemade-paint-and-dough/
Thanks for a fun recipe and idea to do with my kids! :)
Love this finger paint for my toddler but thought I would add that after a week of no use, it did start to mold. Definitely a great recipe and, in our experience, best if used right after being made! Thanks for the recipe!!
Whole Foods carries them, I'm pretty sure...
Just made this for my daycare. We used koolaid for the colors. Worked great, smelled amazing! Kids loved it. Thanks so much. Wont buy finger paint again. :)
I made this tonight for my one year old. I put it in a ziplock baggie for mess free fun! Thanks! I also linked this from my blog! I hope others see how easy it can be!
You are being plagurized (along with myself and a dozen other blogs - she's taking our photos and putting them up without attribution).
Here is where your content is:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=422733197778258&id=313496135360354
Here is where you report it:
https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/?id=208282075858952
I made these paints and I would like to use them on canvas made for oil paint or acrylic paint, I want to be able to hang the art. Can I do this with these or will they not dry?
Thank you for sharing this idea!!! My 18 month old puts EVERYTHING in her mouth so we haven't been able to do much with arts & crafts or tactile play - she reacts to food dye, so I purchased some natural coloring from a whole foods store - our paint colors did not come out as vibrant as yours..... but rather more "earthy" - very pretty! Can't wait to try these out with her tonight! Thanks again!
Oh my gosh what a great recipe! Thank you so much for sharing this. I am going to try this out with my two little ones. I know they are going to have so much fun!
I love this! I just made some for my nephew! And i had to share it with all my Facebook friends!
wonderful recipe, I cant wait to try these with my little one, thanks!
how excited was i when i just happen to find this recipe? OH SO HAPPY! i have a 3 & 2 yr. old, and i'm constantly online hunting down new excited things for us to do. and this was right up our ally. we've been finger painting on and off all day. Me and my 3 year old jax actually just walked in from sitting on the porch, painting scary monsters ;)So THANKS SO MUCH THIS IS AWESOME! i do have one question though.. the "feel of it" would you compare it to more like a pancake batter or something a bit runnier, that i cant seem to come up with off the top of my head? :/
I was wandering if it will adhere to anything else like glass or something for other craft projects? Has anyone tried this. Thanks
shared on our coupon site, love it
About how long do you think you could store the paint? I would like to make this as a gift for someone but if it can't be stored it would not make a very good gift.
Love your recipe! Our food colourings stain my tots fingers but after a bath they're gone. Excellent idea and thank you for sharing x
Thank you :)
My son just turned 17 months old and I just successfully made 4 baby jars full! This is just an answer recipe, thank you so much for posting it! I can't wait to try it out tomorrow with him!
this is a wonderful ideea! thanks a lot!
I am going to try this today with my 15 month old son~ Thanks for the great idea!!
I'm planning on making this for gifts, but I did see a couple people post about molding after a week. I'm almost wondering if that is because of the sugar content. I am making two batches now. One with and one without sugar and I am gong to refrigerate half of each. I will report back in a week to let those of you who are interested know which lasted the longest. Thanks for a great recipe Tiffany!
mine ended up more like a playdough ,,,, what did i do wrong :( kiddos had fun with the dough lol
Thanks for the idea love it.
Thank you so much for this recipe. Our baby didn't enjoy it as much as others :(, but hubby and I had fun squishing the colors around. Plus it was really fun to make. Maybe he'll like it when he gets older. ;D
Great post. I'm going to try this with my son. Thanks for the idea.
Wilton coloring created beautiful colors, but my daughter and I now have bright pink fingers.
Made this and about to have some fun with my 4 month old making valentines cards. He loves to get messy and creative.
how much does this make
Saw this here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=318348768281525&set=a.297992376983831.69684.297611170355285&type=3&theater
And thought you would want to know. They stole one of my pictures too, and I got it taken down.
Made this with my 18 month old son. Had a blast, so simple to make! :) Thanks. I had a staining issue with my food coloring, but totally worth it!!
Do the paintings dry and last? My husband said there is no point doing it as the actual painting ( not paints ) will go moldy. Can anybody answer this :)
I just made this and the colors are fantastic! Thanks for the tutorial :)
the lottery numbers
This is such an awesome idea. We always got paint in Kelowna because we were told it was safe for our kids to use and "accidentally" consume. But this homemade stuff looks way better. And they are so cute. I am with you, I love new art supplies! Thanks for posting.
My left over paint molded in under a week! I'm trying it again without the the sugar to see if this helps with the mold. The paint itself did great and when it was dry the Jelly and sun catcher my two year class made were wonderful!
My grandson will love this, Thanks so much!
Ya... Its a creative thing... I already tried this type of recipe but i couldn't get it......
Thank so much for posting the blogs....
You may have cooked it too long, i haven't made this recipe yet, but i have made play dough with corn starch, try a shorter cook time and maybe a bit more water
I made this a week or so ago and it was easie peasie! However I waited too long to use with the kids I babysit and it got moldy sitting on my counter! Maybe refrigerate it to stop mold? Just wanted to share my mold experience.
It is a really good post .Finger paint is great one.
fda approved body paint
The recipe called for too much water so the paint did not thicken, it was just watery..
For those of you asking abt the mold issue, this recipe is similar to "atole", a sweet drink made in Latin America. It WILL mold, and not just because of the sugar but because if the starch, which mold or yeasts convert to sugar. Refrigerate it, by all means, but use it before a week or it will turn watery. Also, reheating cornstarch, or cooking it too long, will eventually eliminate its ability to congeal.As a gift, I would make it the day, or night, before the party and include the recipe for mom or dad to make if they like it. GREAT idea to use this as paint. Actually, my grandma used cornstarch to make glue to. She'd add a Tbs of cornstarch to half a cup or less of water andcook until it became very thick. She'd then add a drop our so if lime juice if she was going to also use it the next day to keepit from drying out too quickly. GREAT for any kind of paper but nit meant to last, as in real artwork.
im heading into the kitchen to try this out for my little Kaylie :-) shes 18months and love to sample things too!
I am making these paints for my son's 2nd Birthday party. Any paint left over, I am going to make Christmas gifts for kids with. I needed a project that I didn't have to pay a lot for, and this project is perfect,
I've been looking for a recipe like this one. Thanks for posting it.
I have 4 grandchildren that love to paint!!. Thanks so much now they can help make the paint and mix in the colors. I can't wait to have them over and when they leave they can take their paint with them.
I'm so happy to see this easy steps of yours, thank you so much!! now I won't waste my time going to the mall to buy paints for my niece and nephew's fun artworks...Thank you!!This is indeed of great help!! Happy New year!! More power and God bless you more and more!
I made this finger paint for my 20 month old daughter this afternoon and she absolutely loved it! We use all natural organic food coloring as well - so no artificial anything which I love. Can't wait to make it again soon! Thank you, Tiffany!
Thanks for the recipe! we made some lovely paintings thsi morning.
greetings from Amsterdam
Thanks for the easy recipe. Will be trying it out with my girl scouts tonight.
Loved this activity--used it with a group of kindergarten students! :) However, after two weeks, without being refrigerated, it became very moldy with black spots all over.. any idea how to avoid the mold?
Can't wait to try this out! Does the paint actually dry so you can save the artwork? And does the artwork turn moldy as well? I hope not as that would be a waste of the beautiful imaginations of my kids. If anyone knows please let me know! Thanks!
Yes the paint drys and so far nothing has molded. It did smell a little after a day or so but nothing to bad. I keep all paint in the fridge as it is food based. I use wilton food coloring for cake frosting it will give you vibrant colors with little color and is safe if it is ingested. In the fridge it should last about a month. Only use small mason jars like the ones for jelly if you are making some to last. That way you have some for a couple of uses and by yhe time its shelf life is over the paint will be gone.
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