Homemade Finger Paint and Mess-FREE painting!

Today the kids and I made homemade finger paints using this recipe:

• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup cornflour / cornstarch
• 2 1/2 cups water + extra for thinner paint
• 1 tablespoon salt
• food colouring or tempera paint powder

What To Do:

1. Add plain flour, cornflour/cornstarch and salt to saucepan and only add 1/2 cup of the water. Mix into a thick paste.
2. Turn on the heat (gentle heat), and add 1 cup of water to the saucepan, mixing with a whisk to combine and prevent lumps.
3. Whisk continuously until paint mixture starts to thicken and then continue mixing with a wooden spoon.
4. Once paint mixture is thick and smooth remove from the heat.
5. Add another 1/2 cup of water (more may be needed) and mix thoroughly to combine. At this point the paint is ready to cool for finger painting.
6. For general kids crafts requiring a thinner paint, return to gentle heat and add more water - only adding 1/2 cup of water at a time and mixing thoroughly until combined. Continue adding water until you reach the required consistency.
7. If you get lumps, or find the paint hard to mix - use a stick blender to get the mixture smooth.
8. Once cooled, mix in the dishwashing liquid - optional. It will give the paint a smoother consistency and a glossy finish when dry.
9. Separate the paint into small containers and colour with small amounts of either food colouring.
10. Store remainder paint in the refrigerator for up to a week.

We did get some lumps, but my kiddos didn't care! I think next time I will add the whole 2 cups of water while cooking instead of after. This makes about 3-4 cups of paint! I filled three deep baby bowls (because they had lids!) and colored them yellow, red, and blue. Then we had to try them out!

For mess-free finger painting we put two generous blobs (different colors) into gallon ziplock bags. Freezer bags worked best because they are thicker and more sturdy. You simply tape the edges of each bag with masking tape to your table with a sheet of white paper inbetween. The kids mixed and smashed the colors together as we guessed which NEW color they would make. Then we drew with our fingers and smushed our handprints. It was tons of fun all day long!

Next time I want to try pudding paint. The little one was mad that he couldn't eat it. =) Pudding paint is very yummy!