Make sidewalk chalk paint with just three easy ingredients. It is the perfect outdoor activity to set up for little ones!
Summer is almost here and it is time to enjoy the warm weather. I have been working on creating more outdoor activities for my kids including this side walk chalk paint recipe. My two kids had a blast painting with this homemade side walk chalk paint.
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I used a neon food coloring for our paint but you can use regular food coloring as well. When you mix this paint it will look darker at first but as it dries it will lighten up a little.
We had a lot of fun painting all kinds of things. We did a rainbow, hearts, squiggles, lines, and we even painted a few Easter eggs. This sidewalk chalk paint is great for using up any extra dye from dying Easter eggs.
My son wanted to paint a few rocks as well. We painted in our play clothes since it is kind of messy (my kids are pretty young though, older kids might be less messy with it). The food coloring I used washed right out of my kids’ play clothes but I would use caution not to do this activity in your Sunday best! I don’t know if all food coloring is washable, so I definitely recommend to wear play clothes.
Ingredients needed
It is super duper easy to make sidewalk chalk paint. You need only three ingredients (I know, I know! Only two are shown above but the third ingredient is just water).
- Corn starch
- Food coloring
- Water
That’s it! Three easy peasy ingredients. We had a lot of fun making this snow dough with corn starch if you need another idea on how to use up a can.
I love this activity because it was so quick and easy for me to make. It took me just five minutes to mix the paint. My kids played outside and painted for a good 45 minutes which was awesome. We love spending time outside and it can be really refreshing just spending time outdoors.
How do I make the paint?
I have seen a few different recipes for side walk chalk paint and after experimenting, I found that a high corn starch to water ratio really helps the paint be more chalky.
For this recipe, you will need:
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ⅓ cup water
- Food coloring (as much as desired)
Use a fork or a whisk to stir the mixture together. I find using a fork or a whisk helps break the corn starch up more than if you only use a spoon.
This recipe will make one batch. You will want to make multiple batches for multiple colors. You could use an old muffin tin or tupperware to contain the paint. I made several different batches of paint so we could do a lot of different colors.
I used a lot of food coloring to make my colors really vibrant. You can always start with less and add more until you get the color you desire.
How to clean the paint
Once you are done with the sidewalk chalk paint you can use a water hose to wash it off. I’ve personally never had any problems with it staining our concrete but I have heard if you let it sit too long it can.
Other fun activities:
Sidewalk Chalk Paint Recipe
Equipment
- Whisk or fork
- Tupperware or old muffin tin (to store the paints)
Materials
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ⅓ cup water
- food coloring (as much as desired)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients together in a tupperware container, plastic bowl, or old muffin tin.
- Use a fork or a whisk to stir the mixture together. I find using a fork or a whisk helps break the corn starch up more than if you only use a spoon.
Barb says
Can you put this in squirt Bottles?
Audrey says
Yes, you can but use it all and don’t store it in them. 🙂
jenny says
What did you use to paint with it? I don’t know if my consistency is off or what I’m doing wrong but it doesn’t work with our paint brushes. It’s both runny and gummy (which sounds weird). We ended up just pouring out to make pretty designs. I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Audrey says
Try mixing up the chunky parts with a fork. It is usually runny but it dries colorful if that makes sense. Hope that helps.
Sankhamala says
I am sure my son will enjoy the recipe and painting with this chalk paint. Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie says
This is such a fun idea! My kiddos would love this.
pinaynursemeetsworld says
This is such an amazing project to do with kids. For sure, my daughter will enjoy this activity!! thank u for sharing! xoxo
Mary says
Super easy recipe!!! Thank you for sharing. My kids LOVE IT!!!!