Natural Homemade Edible Finger Paint Recipe
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This homemade finger paint recipe is made with all-natural ingredients and are safe to eat, perfect for little ones who are constantly putting their hands in their mouth. Follow my tips below when making this DIY finger paints.
This post was updated March 2019
Natural Homemade Finger Paint Back Story
See, my toddler has this problem called putting every little thing in her mouth syndrome. Okay, okay, it’s totally normal at her age, but that means I have to make sure that everything I give her (or the littlest thing she finds on the floor) is edible.
So, I had to come up with an all-natural and edible homemade finger paint because I can guarantee it will go in her mouth, and I’m one of those parents that doesn’t want my kid eating artificial things. Although, I did throw in the towel a bit at her first birthday party (you can read all about that here).
My dad’s birthday was coming up, and we wanted to get him something. So, naturally, I ask my mom, “What does Dad want for his birthday?” She says, “Nothing, Amy. He doesn’t like you spending money on him.” Ugh. We are going to get him something, you might as well give us a clue as to what he would want.
You know how dads are – they want nothing and need nothing (typical guy), so, we of course decided to make something for Papa (we also got him tickets to see a football game at our local university).
Homemade Gifts …
My dad loves homemade things from August. I never knew that about him until August gave him her first scribble for Father’s day (which was actually a lot of work on my part). He was so thrilled, and I heard him tell my mom ecstatically “Her first scribble? We need to keep that!”
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So, I decided August will make him her first finger painting. Awww, sweet right? It was sweet and messy! And guess what went straight to her little mouth? A handful of paint. This worked as a perfect training lesson on learning to not put everything in out mouth while we had fun together.
Tips for making homemade finger paint:
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- Use natural food coloring (like this one) made to make this recipe totally natural.
- You can use regular food coloring if you don’t have natural food coloring.
- Make different colors by mixing the food coloring. Embrace your inner elementary school days.
- Use mini jelly jars or baby food jars to store finger paints.
Ingredients you will need to make DIY finger paint:
- Cornstarch
- Gelatin
- Salt
- Natural food coloring: we try to stay away from synthetic food colors, but you can also use them if you have them.
How To Make Edible Homemade Finger Paint:
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In a small sauce pan, add 1 cup of water and stir in gelatin. Allow to sit for a 3-5 minutes.
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In a bowl, mix together 1 cup water with cornstarch until dissolved.
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Place the saucepan, with the gelatin water mixture in it, over medium low heat until it begins to simmer.
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Stir in cornstarch mixture and salt and bring back to simmer.
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Allow the mixture to thicken and whisk mixture until smooth.
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Remove saucepan from heat. Pour mixture into separate small containers.
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Add a few drops of food coloring into each jar until you get desired color. Mix colors.
- Allow your baby or toddler make a big finger painting mess.
Want more fun kid activities? Check these out!
- Homemade cloud dough is a simple and fun recipe that will keep the kids busy for hours.
- 20 Real-Life Indoor Activity for toddlers.
- 10 Fall Activities For Toddlers
- DIY Caterpillar Habitat is a really fun activity for kids.
- How To Homeschool Preschool with video.
- Kid Friendly Bird Seed Feeder from my friend Katie at Purely Katie
Homemade Natural Edible Paint
August had so much fun using these homemade finger paints to paint a picture for Papa. By fun, I mean she she made a complete mess and had it smeared behind her ears, in her nose, and in her hair. Sometimes, you just have to let go of clean freakishness to let the kids have fun. As hard as it might be…
Homemade Natural Finger Paints
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup organic corn starch
- 2 cups water divided
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 Tbs gelatin
- Natural food coloring
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, add 1/2 the amount of water and stir in gelatin. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the other 1/2 of the water with cornstarch until dissolved.
- Put the saucepan with the gelatin water over medium low heat until it begins to simmer.
- Stir in cornstarch mixture and salt and bring back to simmer and allow mixture to thicken. Whisk mixture until smooth.
- Turn off heat and pour liquid into separate containers.
- Add a few drops of food coloring into each jar until you get desired color. Mix colors. Remember your elementary school days... red+blue = purple, yellow+red = orange, yellow+blue = green, and so on.
Notes
Once the paints have cooled use them as you would finger paints. Place them in the fridge after use and you can use them again within 1-2 days.
What are your favorite kid activities?