Kids are great, but a bored kid? Not so much. A bored child can get whiny or worse simply because they aren’t sure what to do with themselves. That’s why it is important for parents to find frugal family activities that you can do with your kids. One of my favorites is to give them a big sheet of paper and turn them loose with crayons, colored pencils and finger paint and that’s where this DIY finger paint comes into the picture. It is incredibly easy to make and your kids will absolutely love it!
When you make this diy finger paint, keep in mind that the coloring could stain hands. This means that you’ll probably want to have them wear latex gloves unless you don’t mind them having multi-colored hands for a few days. Even if you do allow them to skip the gloves, make absolutely certain that they’re wearing a kids craft apron to protect their clothing and that you lay newspaper or butcher paper down to protect your table.
DIY Finger Paint – Budget Friendly, Non-Toxic Kids Craft Idea
This DIY finger paint would make an amazing gift idea too for both littles and older kids! For littles, use plastic paint storage cups and fill with different colors of your choice. For older kids, you can turn it into DIY watercolor paint by adding water in increments of 1/2 cup until you’ve got the consistency that you want. Fill plastic condiment bottles with your water colors, add a few paint brushes and a canvas and you’ve got an amazing gift for tweens or teens.
Ingredients needed for DIY finger paint
- ½ Cup All Purpose Flour
- ¼ Cup Salt
- 2 Cups Water
- Food Coloring
- Paint storage cups or containers
To make yours, whisk together the flour, salt and water in a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until starts to thicken. Be careful to watch it and stir often because it can burn if it is left on the heat for too long.
Remove from the heat and pour mixture into your paint storage containers. Use 1/2- 1 cup of mixture per cup depending on how much paint you want for each color. This recipe makes 2 cups. Also, keep in mind that if you’re using plastic containers, the food coloring can and likely will stain whatever it touches so make sure you’re not using food storage containers that you use unless you don’t mind them being rainbow colored.
Drop 1-2 droplets of food coloring in each container and whisk each one gently until they’re fully combined. If you want a darker color, add more food coloring 1-2 drops at a time until you have the color you want.
Allow it to cool and paint away!
See? Super easy and a great way to help your kids beat the boredom! Once they’re done painting, allow their artwork to fully dry then either store the artwork itself or scan into your computer for digital storage if you’re trying to cut down on paper clutter.
Wondering what the shelf life is one the paint kept in plastic containers?
what age bracket would you think this appropriate for?
Janis, the shelf life will depend on how you store it. Also, I’d say the age bracket would be 2-10 years old most likely.