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!
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
Measure out 1 cup of baking soda and pour it into the mixing bowl.
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!
Once the vinegar and baking soda mixture has stopped bubbling, use the whisk to mix the two ingredients together.
Measure out and add 2 tablespoons of corn syrup to the mix.
Next, add in 1 cup of cornstarch.
Whisk the entire mixture until it is well combined.
Using the pour spout, pour the mixture into the compartments of an ice cube tray.
Put a small amount of food coloring on the tip of a popsicle stick.
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.
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.
Once your water colors have dried, they are ready to use just like the paint from the store, but without the mystery ingredients!