A couple of days ago we made some Edible Finger Paint. It was incredibly easy to make. It was also very easy to clean up after (and Gracie had a blast).
I’ve read several kids activity books that suggestion using pudding as finger paint. However, I really prefer this variant because it’s not as sweet, and therefore doesn’t encourage kids to eat the paints. Also, you end up with a better colour range.
You just need a couple of small containers, some plain yoghurt and some food dye. Place a scoop of yoghurt in each container, add a drop of food dye (keep in mind you really only need one drop), and mix well. Provide some paper and hand the “paint” over to the kiddos.
I loved that I didn’t have to worry about the toxicity of the paints, and where they might end up other than the paper. My daughter got a little on the table and a little on herself, all of which came off quite easily. There was even a dab I didn’t notice until after it had dried up, and that came right off as well.
I happened upon these tiny Glad reusable containers that were just the perfect size for this. I was able to put the lids on and store the “paints” in the fridge and use them again the next day. Overall Gracie got over two hours of enjoyment out of this, for pretty much zero cost.
The paint dries a little darker then it looks. Her paintings looked great when they were dry. The colours were really bright.
Let me know if you give it a try!
Great idea! Did the food colouring stain at all? Over the summer, I came across a craft idea where the kids paint murals out of coloured ice (ice with food colouring)… paintings came out nice, but it took forever to get the colour of the hands/skin!
LOL I loaded the ice cubes with colour… they were quite vibrant 😛 Lesson learned!
No stains. As you can see in the picture I didn't really think ahead and dress G-Girl appropriately for making a mess, but there were no issues. I really used *very little* food colouring, the absolute smallest amount I could get the dropper to dispense, and I think that really made the difference.
Tried this today. I will note that if one of those little containers (i had similar ones) is dropped from the height of a highchair the resulting spray and splatter pattern is quite a sight. I'm glad I have a dog.-Jamie
Oh Jamie, I do feel a little guilty for laughing… but I still am. I hope the clean-up went ok.
What did you do with their art afterwards? I love hanging their stuff up so everybody can see and enjoy it, but I would be worried about having unrefridgerated yogurt hanging on my walls.
@Christie I hung her artwork up on the front door for a few weeks and it seemed to "keep" ok. Honestly it never even occurred to me to be concerned about hanging onto to paper smeared with un-refrigerated yogourt. It didn't seem to rot or anything weird. I'm guessing because it's in small quantities and dried out that it was ok.
That looks like fun and I love that it is so easy to make and non-toxic. We appreciate that you did a featured craft for us on Artsy Play Wednesday!
Easy to make and non-toxic,thanks so much for the,my grandson will have a blast