Home-Made Finger Paints: A Review

Well, since the weather's turning into summer and we're getting a beautiful 77 degree day, I thought it would be a good morning to test out the DIY finger paint recipe I found on Pinterest. I used the recipe from the Easie Peasie blog, and it went as follows:

3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c corn starch
2 c water

I mixed all the ingredients in a small saucepan, warming it until it thickened at med-low heat. This, of course, did not happen. I had to add at least another 1/4 cup of corn starch to get the desired thinkness I wanted. Once the mixture cooled down, I poured it into those empty baby food jars I have a ton of, added some food coloring, and mixed away. I used the basic Spice Time food colors you can get at a dollar store.

So now, the real test. I gave MonkeyBoy some brushes and poured a little bit of the different colors on paper for him so he could draw. I also laid down a cardboard box so I wouldn't have too much of a mess to clean up after.

Verdict:  Well, I was slightly disappointed at how much more cornstarch I needed to use, but I'm always modifying recipes to suit my needs, anyway, so I got over this.

The food coloring ended up being very vibrant with just four to five drops. I mixed red/yellow for orange and red/blue for purple.

Safe and non-toxic if eaten, so that is a huge plus, but he was not interested in eating this particular paste, which surprised me.

We painted with brushes and hands for about 15 to 20 minutes before he seemed to get upset that it was drying kind of thick all over his hands. He would then rub his hands all over his legs and torso. This didn't bother me in the least, since we stripped him down to his diaper so he could have-at-it (hence the warm weather reference).

The big disappointment was the staining, which I was kind of expecting. AND BOY DO THOSE FOOD COLORS STAIN! We'll have to do an extra long soak in the tub tonight, and I only hope his Smurf hand will disappear.

Will I do this again? Totally since it does wash off eventually and it's non-toxic. I just won't do it  before a playdate that I scheduled in order to have a photoshoot with other toddlers. Live and learn; that's all I seem to do on a daily basis.

On to the next...

Yankee Doodle Dandy,
–TYG