Homemade Finger Paints

This week we made finger paints. My grandson has not experienced messy hands too much. He does not like "dooty hands", and that needs to change, right? I told him if he wants to be a farmer this Spring and grow his own garden, he'll need to like dirty hands. With that in mind, he was happy to give it a try. And he liked it after all!

(Look at those cheeks! He's getting ready to grow some more. This might be the last time we see baby cheeks on the boy. He turns 3 next month! Sigh...)


I found the recipe on Pinterest. Yes, I have been sucked into the vortex that is a black hole wealth of cool ideas and recipes etc! Time is lost, big plans are made, life goes on without you. It is fascinating all the things you can see and learn on this site! There are recipes for bathtub crayons, tree house and play kitchen ideas, and tons of crafts. I was am in awe.

Once I figured out that the direction to "Warm until it thickens" part of the directions meant 2 and not the actual Low setting on my electric stove, it took about half an hour for the contents of the sauce pan to gel. I stirred every 10 minutes or so with a whisk. One it starts to resemble pudding, you set it aside and let it cool. Then you add food colorings and the fun begins!

Here is the recipe:

3 TBSP sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups water

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and warm until thickened. Set aside to cool. Pour into containers. Add food coloring.

I ended up making a second batch because Tyler could see right away that the primary colors we created should make the secondary colors he loves, like orange and green. 

Mine came out to a pudding consistency. I hope that is right. It seems a bit too thick to me, but the texture seems good for a first time finger painting exploration. I told him we could try this with chocolate pudding some time too.

Doesn't it look like yogurt? I am glad he didn't try to eat any, although it should be harmless if he did.

Was this a great opportunity to also do more measuring? Yes. To explain how to make a level scoop? Yes. What is the difference between a tablespoon and teaspoon? Yes. And cooking and patience too. Oh yes.

Watching how a few drops of color can make fabulous shades of red, yellow or blue, then mixing those to make more colors was fantastic for him. A revelation.

Tyler and I found that the paint was a bit heavy for painting on paper. This is why I think it may have been too thick, but the consistency was perfect for his high chair tray. 

The dvd Blue's Clues Shapes and Colors, has been in his collection for a while. It came to life on paint making day. We are going to have a whole rainbow of finger paints just as soon as I get more containers!

If you have experience making this, I'd love to hear your review. If you try it with your little one, let me know!

See you next time! Happy painting!