Kids love finger painting! Our six year old could finger paint every day and never get tired of it! Here is a quick and easy homemade finger paint recipe to make homemade finger paint with ingredients you already have at home! It’s a great indoor activity for kids!
Easy Finger Paints Recipe
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups water
Mix in saucepan and boil until thick. Then pour into a jar and add food coloring until the desired shade is achieved. Store covered in the refrigerator.
This Easy Finger Paint Recipe is from our cookbook:
[dining]
Could you use kool-aid too?
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The colors might not be as bright. Tawra
Does the food coloring stain hands/fingers?? Is it ready to use immediately (once it cools of course)?? Thanks??
Yes, it can stain but just use some light bleach water and it comes right out…usually. 🙂 Tawra
Instead of using regular food coloring, I use baking food coloring paste (like from that expensive company that has baking pans & accessories that starts with a “W”)
I have made it w kool aid also, but the color isn’t strong, so I also use some of the baking paste w it
Gel (paste) or powder food coloring is better to use usually. It has more intense colors, you don’t have to use as much to get the color you want and in the case of something like frosting or candy where the liquid colors can change the consistency the paste or powder is better. You can get a huge variety from a cake decorating shop but most craft places and even Wal Mart now carries the paste. Check in the craft or bridal supply section.
When I taught school, we always added just a little soap to the paints. It helped remove the stains afterwards.
I had a friend that made finger paints using food. For example: use cranberry juice or beet juice instead of water for making a pretty red/pink paint. Turmeric can make an interesting yellow. Grape juice for purple… you get the idea…
I let my kids finger paint with chocolate pudding on a large baking sheet (no paper). You can also use vanilla or plain yogurt, then dyed with food coloring.
I made a cornstarch, soap and food coloring finger paint that my kids used to like to paint with in the bath tub at bath time.
This may sound like a silly question, but I need to ask it. Would you leave it plain for white? The reason I’m asking is that I’m not sure if the baking soda and water mixture will show up on paper.
I don’t think it would work. You would probably have to add some real paint to it, which for kids wouldn’t be good.
Hi Eva, When my daughter wanted some white finger paint, we cooked up a small batch of a flour based finger paint and left it plain. It was white. The flour recipe is not as translucent as the corn starch.
Hi ladies! I made this yesterday for my two little girls. They painted with it for hours. This recipe makes a lot – enough that you can make several colors. Thanks for sharing this recipe!