Mess for Less

Kids Activities, Kids Crafts and Family-Friendly Recipes

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • breakfast
    • lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Snacks
    • Appetizers
    • Crock Pot
    • Cooking with Kids
  • Crafts
    • Winter
    • spring
    • Summer
    • fall
  • Art
    • Paint
  • Play and Fun
    • Baby and Toddler
    • Preschool
    • Elementary
    • party
    • Sensory
    • Motor Activities
      • Fine Motor Skills
  • Learning Activities
    • literacy
    • Math
    • science
  • Family & Home
    • Family
    • frugal
    • Travel
    • Pets
  • parenting
    • Behavior
    • School
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. In addition, we participate in affiliate/referral programs whereby we link to products we believe in. If you click on the link and make a purchase we receive a small percentage commission. Read the full disclosure here.

Homemade Finger Paint

February 1, 2017 By Vicky

Pin227
Share5
Tweet
Yum
Share
232 Shares
My kids were asking to finger paint today. Problem was, we were out of finger paint. But I recalled an activity I did when the kids were smaller where we made our own finger paint using cornstarch and sugar. It worked perfectly! The kids had a blast and I didn’t have to spend money on finger paint. Over the years, this has become our go-to Homemade Finger Paint recipe. For more fun finger paint recipes check out our Glitter Finger Paint.

This homemade finger paint uses just a few common household items and is super fun for kids. Great art activity!

Homemade Finger Paint

You will need:

  • Cornstarch
  • Sugar
  • Water
  • Food coloring
  • Containers
  • Popsicle sticks or something to use for mixing the colors
homemade finger paint
Combine 1/2 cup of cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of sugar in a pot.
homemade finger paint
homemade finger paint
Next, add 2 cups of cold water and stir until combined. You can have kids help with these parts, but you will want an adult to do the next step.
homemade finger paint
Place the pot on the stove over medium heat and stir the mixture until it thickens.
 homemade finger paint
Remove the mixture and let it cool a bit. If your kids are like mine and anxious to play with their new finger paint, this wait will seem like an eternity.
You can now add food coloring to the mixture in the pot if you want all one color finger paint, or you can scoop the cornstarch sugar mixture into separate cups and add various colors of food coloring there. I love reusing apple sauce cups when we make homemade finger paint.
homemade finger paint
Squeeze a few drops of food coloring in the cup of cornstarch mixture. If you want really dark colors, use more food coloring. Use the Popsicle stick to blend until the entire mixture is evenly colored.
homemade finger paint

homemade finger paint

Now it’s time to play and create with your homemade finger paint!

homemade finger paint

 Finger paint is such a great sensory experience for kids. Some kids are more cautious with it and may only paint with a finger or two.

homemade finger paint

 Other kids will just dig in with both hands.

homemade finger paint

My kids always have a fun time making homemade finger paint though their hands end up tinged different colors for a day because of the food coloring in the finger paint.
Making your own finger paint is inexpensive compared with purchasing finger paint. It’s great to be able to create your own custom colors. Finger paint comes in primary colors and we stuck with primary colors for this batch, but you make all sorts of cool colors depending on the the occasion.

homemade finger paint

 Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days.
* There is nothing in this finger paint recipe that will make kids sick. While it may be edible finger paint, I don’t think it would taste very good and I don’t recommend eating it.
If you liked this homemade finger paint, you’ll love:
 Winter Shaving Cream Paint
Surprise Color Sidewalk Paint

If you are looking for more fun activities for kids, check out Green Kid Crafts, an earth friendly monthly craft subscription box for kids that sparks creativity while teaching kids a respect and love for the environment. These boxes are themed and each month will be filled with fun projects and creative activities than can be enjoyed by kids from ages 3-10.

Since Green Kid Crafts is an earth friendly company, they use sustainable, safe materials in all of their products. They also give a portion from each sale to environmental non-profits. Learn more about a monthly subscription of fun!

Pin227
Share5
Tweet
Yum
Share
232 Shares

Filed Under: art, paint, Sensory

« Food Fun Friday – Easy Dried Strawberries
How to Teach Kids About Money »

Comments

  1. Marry (Calendar 2017 Printable) says

    February 20, 2017 at 1:40 am

    This is just what I was looking for, and it looks great too! Thanks for posting this and helping me .

« Older Comments
Hi, I'm Vicky, founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for play and learning activities for kids, kid friendly food, parenting tips and general family fun, you will find it at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me or drop me a note. Thanks for stopping by!
About · Advertise · Contact· Disclosures/Privacy

Popular Posts

  • Keto Crack Chicken in the Crock PotKeto Crack Chicken in the Crock Pot Are you looking for Keto crock pot recipes that you can serve to the whole family? You never want…
  • 2 Ingredient Weight Watchers Bagels2 Ingredient Weight Watchers Bagels If you are on a weight loss program, you probably thought bagels were off-limits and normally you'd be right.…
  • Two Ingredient Pizza DoughTwo Ingredient Pizza Dough Are you a fan of pizza but think that it is off limits while trying to lose weight? I…

Archives

Categories

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in