I found the idea of making your own homemade watercolor paints on Martha Stewart and I absolutely loved it. Now that we've made our own watercolors, I'll never use anything else. These watercolors are absolutely amazing. I think they are far superior to any other watercolor paints I had previously purchased for my kiddos. It also makes quite a bit, so I bought some awesome individual containers and just close the lid after we use them and have lots leftover for the next time. I also love that you can control how bright/vibrant the colors will be by adding either a little or a lot of food coloring. I like vibrant, so that's exactly what mine are. I'm including this craft in our St. Patrick's day activities because we used our watercolors to make beautiful rainbows. Cam really wasn't interested in making rainbows, but Kirsten was really excited and did an amazing job. She painted four of them! I framed one of them and it looks amazing. Here are the instructions to make your own watercolors:
What you'll need (for each color):
2 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp light corn syrup
1 tbsp cornstarch
We made 6 colors - so you will need 6x the above ingredients
gel food coloring
6 bowls
spoons
airtight containers
watercolor paper
paintbrushes
* This recipe made a large batch and I was able to make a set for both Kirsten and Camden to have their own *
Directions:
1. in each bowl add the above ingredients - 2 tbsp baking soda, 1 tbsp white vinegar, 1/4 tsp light corn syrup, 1 tbsp cornstarch. Mix until everything is well dissolved. If the mixture is too thick, add a little bit more vinegar. You basically want it to be like an oobleck or gak consistency (can be formed but then melts away if you let it go).
2. add your food coloring to each bowl and mix well - we did a rainbow of colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
3. pour your paint mixture into individual containers, leave the lids off and allow to dry completely - at least overnight.
4. give the paints to your kiddos (I made a set for each kid) with a paint brush, watercolor paper and a cup of water and let them paint away!
Idea from Martha Stewart
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Hi, My name is Magda and I`m from Poland.And I need to say that I love Your blog:) Your ideas are great!!!
ReplyDeleteLove Magda
Such a great idea!!! I will have to try this with my son soon. He loves to paint.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. I love it. My kids will love it even more!!
ReplyDeleteHow well did it store?
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great idea that we will definitely be trying. I just became a follower on GFC.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea, but do they stain really bad because of the food coloring?
ReplyDeleteDoes this make like hard paints or are they ...goopey for lack of a better word??
ReplyDeleteSurprised that no one has asked this yet...but where did you purchase the airtight containers? Looking forward to making some of these!!
ReplyDeleteYes, wondering about the washability due to food coloring, where you got the storage containers, and how it "kept" or stored after a period of time? If all is well with the above I'm going to whip up a set soon!
ReplyDeleteI've seen a few versions of homemade water colors but have to say I love your take on them the best. Those containers look like they work super well and I can't wait to order myself some. I have found many of your crafts via pinterest and am definitely following now.
ReplyDeleteWOW, these are bright. Love that you made your own. Kirsten did a great job on the rainbow!
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies!
ReplyDeleteAs for the questions:
1) washability - I think it depends on just how much food coloring you're adding. I added quite a bit to get very vibrant colours and it did leave some color marks on their little fingers. It washed right off in the bath though. My kids always wear a painting smock to protect their clothes when painting and always paint on their playroom table so I don't have to worry about mess. If you added less colouring you maybe wouldn't even have to worry about that!
2) I actually got these containers at the dollar store, but I tried to find a similar container from Amazon for those who couldn't find them.
3) It stores incredibly well. I made these almost a month ago and with the airtight lids on them, they are still as good as new.
4) These are hard paints. They are liquidy when you pour them in the containers, but you have to leave them at least overnight to set (or more if they aren't set yet). When they are hard, they are set. They are just like regular watercolor paints.
I hope that helps!
Such beautiful photos, I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! Thank you for posting!
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea! I'm going to have to try this one out. I think my kids would love it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=2805&confirm=2805&&quantity=MQ== I found these online. Very inexpensive!
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies!
ReplyDeleteGreat! I love that you told us where to get those perfect containers. I'm going to link up to this in my Easter Basket ideas post - these would make wonderful handmade stuffers!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Kristin! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea! I am painting my 6 mo babys feet for a project for the grandparents, and wanted to find something I could just make at home :) Trying this this week! Thanks for taking the time to post this!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea Kyle hand! The grandparents will love it for sure!
ReplyDeleteJill - your site is fantastic! Your bento boxes and photography are amazing. Seriously. Thanks for sharing this project too - we had a lot of fun making the paint (volcano to gak to paint - who wouldn't love that?!) and it worked great. I shared it on my blog, and cited you. Thank you!
ReplyDeletehttp://thepolkadottedturtle.com/turtle-time-make-your-own-watercolors/
Thank-you so much Kat! I absolutely love this recipe for the paint, and I know I will be making this for years to come.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this awesome recipe! We made some today and while it was wet, we added some of each color to paper to make some "on the go" water color ready papers.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Amanda! So glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much... my son loves anything to do with paints, arts & crafts!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much... my son loves anything to do with paints, arts & crafts!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was searching Pinterest for DIY water colors and several blogs came up, but I knew I could count on the Dubiens! I love the stuff you do here!
ReplyDeleteLindsey @ GrowingKidsMinistry.com
Thank-you so much ladies!
ReplyDeleteDo you have to use gel food coloring?
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think you have to use gel food coloring. I could use liquid, but I think the gel gives you more vivid colors.
DeleteThis is great! I hate buying watercolors and I already have some gel food coloring. This was probably already asked, but where did you get those little containers?
ReplyDeleteI actually found those containers at the dollar store! I hope that helps!
DeleteI just made these and wondered if you had a problem with the color separating? I'm in the setting phase and there is a layer of liquid color at the top. Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
If you have a little liquid on top and the bottom has set at least 24 hours, I would just pour the liquid off. Hopefully you'll be left with the solid watercolor underneath! Let me know if it still worked out okay!
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