This project takes a single page from an old book (a dictionary, a phone book, a paperback, whatever you have on hand) and turns it into something you could hang on a wall, turn into a card, or just make for the fun of it.

All you need is paint, paper, scissors, a brush, a pen, tape, and about 30 minutes.

What You’ll Need

• An old book page: The text becomes part of the artwork.
• Acrylic paint or Watercolor paint: Choose your favorite colors.
• A stencil brush or any brush. wide, for covering the page in loose, gestural strokes
• Cardstock or heavy paper: for cutting your stencil
• Scissors
• A pencil pen
• Tape (optional, to hold your stencil in place)

Step 1: Choose and Prepare Your Book Page

The page you choose is part of the art, so pick something you enjoy.

Look for pages with interesting visual texture like columns of small text, foreign characters, vintage typesetting, or yellowed edges.

You don’t need to do anything to prep the page. Lay it flat on your work surface. Tape it down if you like.

Step 2: Paint the Background

Paint over the page, allowing the text to show through.

The goal isn’t to paint perfectly, but to have fun with it.

Step 3: Cut Your Stencil

While the paint dries, cut your stencil from cardstock.

For this project I made a butterfly. But you could use any simple silhouette like a leaf, a bird, a geometric shape, a house, or a hand. The simpler the better.

How to do it:

1. Draw your shape in pencil. I used a pen so that it would show up for the photos.
2. Cut it out with scissors or a craft knife.

Step 4: Apply the Stencil

Once your painted page is dry, place your stencil on top of the painted area.

Add little rolled-up pieces of painter’s tape to hold it in place. Don’t stick it down too firmly. Then, using a stencil brush with a small amount of paint. Apply paint around the outside of the stencil shape in an up-and-down motion so that the paint doesn’t leak under the stencil.

Step 5: Peel and Reveal

This is the most satisfying moment.

Wait until the paint is dry or almost dry, then carefully pull the stencil off the page.

What you’re left with are layers of paint that allow text from the original paper to shine through.

What to Do With Your Finished Pages

• Frame it
• Use it as a junk journal page or insert
• Cut it into cards or gift tags
• Layer multiples together as a collage base
• Use it as an art prompt, and paint over it again
• Use it in a collage
• Make a series, Use the same stencil with different colors or on different pages

Why Ephemera Art?

Ephemera art is the practice of making with found, discarded, and overlooked materials such as old letters, book pages, vintage receipts, maps, stamps, and newspaper clippings. Book pages are one of the most accessible forms of ephemera. A dictionary page or old phone book page that would have ended up in a landfill becomes art. Ephemera art is so satisfying because the worn pages offer a peek into history and almost always tell a story. It’s a practice rooted in collage and mixed media traditions, and I’m thrilled that it’s having a moment right now!

Want More Ephemera Art Projects?

At TinkerLab, we create hands-on art projects for people who want to make things. If you love working with paper, ephemera, and found materials, The Art Habit Mail Club is designed for you! It’s a monthly envelope of curated paper ephemera, an art prompt, and a letter, delivered to your door.

Learn more about The Art Habit Mail Club →

You might also like:

• How to Start Art Journaling: A Beginner’s Guide
• Art Journal Exercises for Self Care and Creativity
• Easy Going Art Journaling with Pencil and Acrylic Paint
• Art Journal Supplies You Can’t LIve Without: Free PDF Download

The post Ephemera Art: How to Make Stencil Art on Old Book Pages appeared first on TinkerLab.

Let’s say you’re drawing a rainbow.

First, red at the top.

Then add orange.

Now yellow…

This format feels helpful. It’s structured. Safe.

But here’s what actually happens:

Kids learn to follow, not create.

They wait for the next instruction instead of making decisions.

And when there’s no instruction? They don’t know what to do.

They freeze.

Because they haven’t practiced thinking about art on their own.

This kind of rigid, follow-along instruction can kill the very thing we’re trying to build…

Try setting up materials with zero (or fewer!) instructions.

Just put out rainbow-color paint or crayons and say, “I wonder what you can create with these materials.”

It may be uncomfortable at first—for you and for them. But that’s where creativity lives.

Start with one art session this week. Fewer instructions. More wondering. See what happens.

Want more process art ideas? See A Complete Guide to Process Art for Kids.

The post What to Say Instead of Follow-Along Art Instructions appeared first on TinkerLab.

This complete guide covers everything: choosing the right journal, essential supplies, step-by-step techniques, and creative prompts. Plus, download our free starter kit with a supplies list and prompt cards to begin today!

What You’ll Learn

• Choose the right art journal and supplies
• Master basic techniques and layering methods
• Overcome blank page anxiety with proven strategies
• Access creative prompts to spark inspiration
• Download our free starter kit with supplies list

What we’re going to cover:

What is Art Journaling?

Choosing Art Journal Notebooks

Different Kinds of Sketchbook Binding

Art Journaling Paper: What Weight You Should Choose

Art Journal Supplies

Get Started Tips for Beginners

Art Prompts and Ideas for Pages

Finding Inspiration and Staying Motivated

What Is Art Journaling?

Art journaling is the creative process of making art in an art journal, notebook, or sketchbook. What’s inside could be anything from sketches to paintings made from coffee to collages with old magazine pages.

Art journals might be created for self expression, exploration of art materials, daily diaries, sketching ideas for bigger projects, documenting experiences, capturing visual ideas, or testing new creative concepts.

Personally, I love to use my art journal in the following ways:

• documenting ideas
• experimenting with unique patterns, combinations of materials, or new art supplies
• having a daily record of ideas that i can come back to for future work
• playing
• starting my days with art: it grounds me and sets the day on a positive course

Art journal pages often involve using various art supplies like watercolor paint, colored pencils, acrylic paints, markers, stamps, or glued collage papers on the pages of a journal.

The results of an art journaling practice could be:

• a creative outlet for emotions
• a spot to de-stress
• a place for creative expression
• a repository of ideas that turn into new projects

Choosing Art Journal Notebooks

There are so many art journals to choose from. Where does one start?! 

Over the years I’ve tested and played with hundreds of journals. Those with hard covers, soft covers, spiral bound journal, tear-out sheets, altered books, lay-flat art journals, leatherbound books, saddlestitched or stapled binding (like a magazine)…to name a few!

It all boils down to personal preference. If you’re new to art journaling, I’d recommend trying a few to see what you most enjoy. 

That said, I’ll break down some differences and things to look for so you can make an informed choice!

Sketchbook Binding

There are four kinds we’ll talk about: Coilbound, Casebound, Saddle Stitch, Homemade

Coilbound Sketchbook: I like this style of because the pages lie flat, the pages turn easily, and you can open the pages all the way around the spine. If you think you’ll enjoy working on just one page at a time or if you want to toss this in a bag and space is limited, this could be the way to go. 

Hardcover Casebound Sketchbook: These books have pages that are secured together with stitching; like a hardcover book. Artists prefer these books if they want to work on two pages at once (a double page spread). They also offer the option to label the spines and feel more substantial.

Saddle Stitch: These are bound like brochures or composition notebooks. You’d have a rudimentary version of this if you folded a couple pages in half, then stapled them together at the center. These are great for traveling or tucking into a small bag for on-the-go journaling.

Homemade: There are plenty of ways to DIY an art journal. You could fold and stitch or staple a few pages together (get creative with a variety of papers) or repurpose a vintage book into the best art journal you’ve ever seen.

Art Journaling Paper – What Weight You Should Choose

Look for thick paper that can withstand paint, water, or heavily pigmented pens. Paper weight is designated in pounds. This number refers to how much a ream (usually 500 sheets) weighs. So, if a ream of 500 sheets weighs 150 pounds, one would say that’s 150 pound paper. 

For art journaling, I like paper that’s 90 pounds or more. My current favorite is a book with 120 lb paper and it feels just about perfect. See TinkerLab Art Journal Essentials for my downloadable list of 19 favorite art journal supplies, including this amazing art journal.

Some art journals like the Strathmore Visual Journals self-proclaim that they are “Mixed Media Journals,” which is so helpful and saves the step of looking for how heavy the paper is. But still, try to take a look at the paper weight and see if it comes in at 90 pounds or more. If so, this is likely a good one to try.

If you’re not going with an art journal, but simply paper, again, use 90 pound or higher paper or use watercolor paper which is even thicker than most art journaling sketchbooks.

Art Journal Supplies

If you’re just getting started, I recommend downloading my free guide, TinkerLab Essential Art Journal Supplies for my top recommendations. 

You’ll want to have a variety of dry media and wet media to play with. Dry media would be chalk pastels, oil pastels, crayons, pencils, and markers. Wet media would be watercolor paint, printmaking ink, or acrylic paint.

Here are some general guidelines…

Dry Media

Markers: Washable markers like the ones kids use at school or fancier brush pens. These are fun to draw with, and when you add water to the marks, they blend and bleed. Permanent markers are excellent for when you don’t want the marks to bleed after water hits them.

Paint Pens: Fun for making doodles or marks on top of collage paper or layers of paint.

Pastels: Chalk pastels are rough and dusty, nice for blending and adding texture to bottom layers. Oil pastels are great for making bold lines and filling areas with bright color.

Collage Papers: Photographs, magazine cutouts, ticket stubs, envelope liners, old art, notebook paper, wrapping paper. I could go on! If you come across something interesting, save it in a collage box. 

Stickers & Tapes: Washi tape and stickers are fun little elements to add some whimsy to a page. 

Wet Media

Watercolor Paint: This is a staple for just about every artist. Some people like these in tubes and others in trays. Both are fabulous. My preference is the tray because they’re easy to store. Make sure you also get a variety of brushes like round, flat, and filbert. Get them in a few sizes for details and covering larger areas.

Acrylic Paint: This is a plastic-based paint that dries extremely fast. It’s thick and good for covering other elements on a page. Get a variety of colors. I always invest in a larger bottle (or extra bottle) of white because I love mixing it into other colors and it always seems to be the first color to run out.

Stencils (use with paint): Great for adding texture. You can make your own, or start a small collection with a few designs that speak to you.

Gelli Plate (use with paint or printing ink): It’s a bit of a splurge, but a really fun printmaking tool for experiments and playful art making. If you get one, also pick up a brayer. 

Getting Started: Tips For Beginners

There are so many ways to start an art journal page! 

The blank page can be the most difficult thing for people to overcome. 

To get past this, I want you to think of your art journal page as a series of layers. If you think of it this way, most or all of the bottom layer will get covered by what follows, so anything you put on the page is less precious. With that in mind, start by scribbling some marks, writing some words, or gluing a few pieces of collage paper on the page to take away the fear of the blank page. 

Once that’s done, look at the page and see where you’re at. 

Do the marks or papers you added offer any clues for what you could do next? If so, follow that thread and keep going by adding more layers.

Check out these TinkerLab posts for details:

An Easy Art Journal Idea with Markers and Water

Art Journal Inspiration from Daily Life

Art Journaling with a Magazine Background

Layered Art Journal with Pencil and Acrylic

Art Prompts And Ideas For Pages

Another useful tool for getting past the blank page or dealing with artist’s block is using Art Prompts

For example:

1. Draw a Mandala or radial design

2. Write ten things you’re grateful for, then doodle symbols to represent those things

3. Paint triangles in cool colors

4. Fill the page with leaf shapes. Paint around them

5. Draw what you see through a window

See TinkerLab 12 Months of Art Challenges for lists of prompts for each day of the year.

Art Prompt Cards are another way to tackle artist’s block. Download our free Art Prompt Cards mini set for open-ended ideas to spark creativity. 

For example: 

1. Explore the edges of the page

2. Make Light Marks

3. Add dots of various sizes

Finding Inspiration And Staying Motivated

Once you start making art on a consistent basis, you’ll find that it gets so much easier to stay committed to the process. Not only that, but ideas will start coming more naturally. 

There are so many places to find inspiration, such as:

1. Notice nature and look for patterns on walks

2. Art museums

3. Public art

4. Textures and patterns in urban areas

5. Patterns on textiles, wrapping paper, and other household objects

The post How to Start Art Journaling: Beginner’s Guide + Free Download appeared first on TinkerLab.

I want to share the technique with you because it’s a great way to boost creativity and develop an art style, while creating unique pieces of art.

This process is good for both beginners and more advanced artists.

If you’re feeling creatively stuck, this exercise is an excellent way to get marks on the page, play around with new compositions, and generally stretch your mind into new creative territory.

What Is Abstract Art?

When an image doesn’t recognizably represent an object or image, it’s considered abstract.

Why Make Abstract Art?

Abstract art can be created for multiple purposes, such as exploring aesthetics, making unique compositions, expressing emotions, exploring original ideas, or pushing boundaries for visual expression.

Some of us may be naturally oriented to abstract art, while others might be curious to try something new.

Whichever camp you fall into, this exercise is:

• fun
• stretches the imagination
• and can help you think outside the box!

Gather Images For This Project

We used nature magazines in the class I was taking. For that assignment, I found a photo of rocks and pebbles and created a series of oil paintings. Nature images are really good for this process, but you could use any images or photographs.

For our example today, I want to show you how accessible this is, so I’ll use an image from a grocery store catalogue.

Other good sources of inspiration would be landscapes from National Geographic magazines, a landscape photo, your own photo or original image, portraits, or even photos of abstract paintings.

Create or Find a Viewfinder

First, you need to get yourself a viewfinder!

A viewfinder is a rectangular hole or window cut from paper or other flat material.

There are a couple of ways to do this:

• Cut a rectangle from a piece of paper. Index cards are great for this, but any stiff paper will work.

• If you happen to have an empty slide mount, these make excellent viewfinders. Sadly, these are pretty antiquated, but they do still sell them. If you’re a teacher and want to invest in a box of 100 of these for your class, I think it would be a worthwhile investment!

How to make abstract art from a photo

Next, you’re going to flip through your magazine, photos, or images to find inspiration and a composition that intrigues you.

You might think you need to start with abstract photos, abstract patterns, oil paintings to make abstract art, but you do not! You’d be surprised to find interesting compositions all over the place.

I had a couple store catalogues, and thought I’d try to find something in there to show you how it’s possible to find good ideas from everyday resources.

Here’s a sample of some compositions I found inside…

And then if we zoom in, you can see how these might be inspiration for an abstract drawing or painting:

Pretty cool, right? If you want to use these, that could be a great place to start.

Here’s the image I ended up using. Seriously, watermelon. I liked the round edge and the sharp edge. I could have changed the colors, but I also like the green/red combination.

How do you convert your photo into art?

Once you have your composition, you’re going to get paper, canvas, your sketchbook, or whatever you like to create artworks on as your base.

I love working with these acrylics, so I went in that direction, but you could sketch, draw, color with pastels, or use watercolors.

Next, you’ll paint or draw what you see.

Or use it as a starting point and change it up.

You don’t have to be literal. Use different colors, add texture, or change the lines. You can lean into your emotion, add more vibrancy (or take it down a notch).

What makes this picture abstract?

What you’ll find is that the subject of the photo loses its original meaning. While it’s possible someone could look at my painting and think of watermelon since the colors are familiar and the shapes might remind them of it, I’d wager that wouldn’t be their first thought.

So, give it a go, or tuck this idea away for a rainy day.

Viewfinders on the Go

I’ve been known to travel with viewfinders. They’re handy for creating compositions from real landscapes, which can be recreated literally or abstractly in a sketchbook.

For abstract compositions, I’ll use the same process we used with the photos. There are truly endless possibilities!

More art journal experiments

An Easy Art Journal Idea with Markers and Water

Art Journal Inspiration from Daily Life

Art Journaling with a Magazine Background

Layered Art Journal with Pencil and Acrylic

The post Make Abstract Art From A Photo appeared first on TinkerLab.

There’s a stack of quick art prompts on my desk for times like this. I’ll add a link below to a download of 16 art prompts, if you’d like to have a similar tool handy.

I pulled a prompt to fill a page with a connected collection of triangles, and use no more than three colors to fill them in.

I’ve been filling a new sketchbook with art experiments, and want to share some of the simplest ideas with you. This is one of them.

Triangles are a great shape for beginners because they’re simple to make, and the pattern of making and connecting them is satisfying.

I reached for a sketchbook, pen, and watercolors, and got to work. I also made the rule even simpler: Just use two colors, greens and yellows.

Materials for This Quick Art Prompt:

Art Journal

Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors

Bulldog Clip

Sharpie

#8 Round Paintbrush

>> Get my list of Art Journaling Essentials here

First, with a permanent pen (Sharpie) I built a series of connecting triangles. This pattern is seriously relaxing to make.

Next, I filled the individual triangles with variations of green and yellow watercolor paint. The bleeding of paint from one triangle to another made me enormously happy. Do you see that little starburst of yellow in the turquoise? Fabulous!

The process was familiar, soothing, and enjoyable.

It was also meditative.

And I reflected on how art doesn’t have to be grand, definitive, or earth-shattering to be important.

If you’re short on time or not sure where to begin, quick art prompts are something you could try, too. I’d love to hear what you discover.

Variations

• Try different shapes like circles, diamonds, or squares
• Try a different color combination
• Work with a partner. Make a page for them to paint, and vice versa

Reflection:

How did you feel while making this page?

Did anything about this exercise surprise you?

If you were to do this again, what would you do differently?

Interested in more art prompts?

Get 16 free art prompt cards here.

The post Quick Art Prompts: A 5-Minute Triangle Exercise appeared first on TinkerLab.

Would you like to introduce your child or students to bubble painting? Yes? Awesome — I’ve got just the recipe for you.

This is fun for preschoolers and older, and fun for adults as an art journaling or experimental art process.

The bubble recipe I used to make Bubble Painting Process Art (click here or the image above) was great, but didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It was a little flat and I thought we could create something a little more spectacular.

So I went back to the paint and soap lab, and came up with a recipe that creates big, rewarding bubbles that are easy to create prints from. I loved it and think you will too.

While this worked for me, feel free to experiment with your own unique ratio or ingredients. That is, after all, how I landed on this recipe. You might land on something even better.

And if you come up with something good, please share it here. I love getting helpful feedback 🙂

Bubble Painting Recipe

• 2 tablespoons tempera paint (liquid, not powdered)
• 2 tablespoons dish soap. Palmolive, Dawn, and Joy all work well. You could also try all-natural dish soap, although my results with these soaps have been less than stellar.
• 1 tablespoon water (just a little water!)
• Small bowls or plastic cups: If you want different colors, use one for each color
• Spoon
• Straw/s

What is the ratio for Bubble Painting?

The ratio is 2:2:1

or…

2 parts tempera paint + 2 parts dish soap + 1 part water

Is Bubble Painting Messy?

It really can be! Before you begin, here are some ways to stay clean:

1. Cover your space. If you’re working on the floor, use drop cloths, shower curtains, or old sheets. If you’re at a table, use a washable surface as we did or cover your table
2. Take it outside on a sunny day
3. Wear old clothes or aprons because the soap bubble can splatter on your shirt (and face!)
4. Clean-up: Have a cup of water and a rag nearby to clean hands or spills

How do you do Bubble Painting?

• Pour ingredients into a small bowl. (If you decide you want more bubbles, stick to the same 2:2:1 ratio and size up.)
• Mix with the spoon
• Insert the straw into the soap/paint bowl and blow to create colored bubbles.
• Next, you’ll place your paper on top of the bubbles
• Pull the paper away, and you have a print!

Other Bubble Painting Crafts and Ideas

1. Make Larger Bubbles with a Bubble Blower: Making this straw bundle is a fun variation. Tape or rubber band three or more straws together to create a massive bubble blower. Dip the bubble blower in a 2:2:1 ratio or liquid watercolors, soap, and water. Blow! Very fun!
2. Use Bubble Wands or Toys. Dip a bubble-making toy directly into the liquid watercolor mixture (See Straw Bundles, above) and blow it onto the page.
3. Make Cards. Make bubbles on thick paper or watercolor paper. Once dry, cut up your colorful painting creations to make gift tags, greeting cards, or bookmarks.
4. Make Multiple Colors. Overlap colors to create depth and layering in your work.

Why is my bubble solution not working?

The biggest issue we had was getting flat bubbles, and this came from using a natural dish soap. I’m a fan of all-natural dish soaps, but for this project, you need Dawn, Joy, or a similar brand.

Another issue we encountered was sucking up paint. You think it might not happen to you, but we’re intuitively wired to inhale when there’s a straw in our mouths, rather than exhale. It could happen! One way to avoid this is to pierce a hole near the top of the straw. This can help keep kiddos from sucking paint into their mouths.

Homemade Art Recipes

If you like homemade art recipes like this one, don’t miss our famous homemade playdough, easy contact solution glitter slime, 4-ingredient fluffy slime, and how to make your egg tempera paint.

The post Bubble Painting Recipe appeared first on TinkerLab.

When my three-year old woke up the other day, she asked if we could do an experiment together, and by that she meant setting up a concoction station. We also like to call it a magic potion lab around here.

The beauty of these easy science experiments for preschoolers is that you can source your pantry and pull out whatever you desire. No special trip to the market is necessary. I don’t know about you, but I am in love with projects that are convenient and low-cost.

This is also a great way to foster a love for asking questions, engaging children with playful learning, and following a child’s curiosities. These kitchen science activities for kids support early STEM skills while keeping the fun factor high.

The following supply list is what we started with, but feel free to work with whatever you have on hand. My favorite ingredients for this are vinegar and baking soda because together they form a bubbly reaction that’s irresistible, but we’ve also added things like flour, powdered mashed potatoes, salt, and oats. If these things are stale and no longer edible, all the better.

SUPPLIES

• Water
• Oil
• Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Liquid Watercolors or Food Coloring

TOOLS

• Tall Glass Mason Jar
• Spoon
• Pipette or Eye Dropper
• Kitchen Towel

TIP #1: SET THIS UP IN THE KITCHEN

The kitchen works wonders for a few reasons:

1. It’s near a water source.

2. The floors are made to be spilled on.

3. Ingredients are close at hand.

Clear some counter space. Set up all your supplies. In this case we used a tall mason jar, a small jar of liquid watercolors, a small pitcher to fill with water and oil, and a rag for wiping up messes. If you want to extra careful, cover your counter and/or place everything in a big baking sheet or tray to catch spills.

I also like to encourage children to do all the work themselves and the little pitcher makes this especially doable.

TIP #2: INTRODUCE JUST A FEW INGREDIENTS AT A TIME

You might feel inclined to offer your child all ingredients at once, but this tends to be overwhelming and it may actually shorten your child’s attention span. A better bet is to introduce just two or three ingredients at a time. This way, your child can learn about the unique properties of those ingredients and understand what happens when they combine.

In the picture (above), we worked with water, oil, and liquid watercolors to explore the phenomena of immiscible liquids (or those liquids that don’t mix, such as water and oil).

TIP #3: ALWAYS KEEP A SUPPLY OF BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR IN THE PANTRY

When my children or their neighborhood friends ask me if they can make concoctions, they inevitably have baking soda and vinegar explosions in mind. Invest in a gallon-sized bottle of vinegar for just a couple dollars and you’ll keep the alchemy troops happy for a long time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these science experiments safe for young children?

Yes! These experiments use common household ingredients that are safe with adult supervision. Always monitor younger children, especially with liquids that could spill.

How long do these science experiments typically take?

Most of these activities can last anywhere from 15-45 minutes, depending on your child’s interest level. The beauty of the magic potion lab is that you can extend it by introducing new ingredients gradually.

What age is best for these kitchen science experiments?

While this post focuses on children ages 3-8, even toddlers can enjoy simpler versions with close supervision, and older children will still find the chemical reactions fascinating!

What concepts do these experiments teach?

These hands-on activities introduce basic chemistry concepts like reactions, immiscible liquids, and properties of matter. They also develop fine motor skills, observation skills, and scientific thinking.

For more creative science experiments that encourage children to think for themselves and develop critical thinking skills, click on over here, and sign up for the Tinkerlab newsletter.

This post is also shared on one of my favorite blogs for childhood projects, No Time for Flash Cards.

The post Kids Science Experiments at Home: Set Up a Magic Potion Lab appeared first on TinkerLab.

This edible paint was my go-to back when I ran the infant room at a daycare. As a mom who ran the infant room at a daycare for years, I can tell you that finding safe art activities for babies is challenging. Part of my job was coming up with art activities for the twelve- to eighteen-month-old babies, but when you think about it, there aren’t too many things infants can actually do art-wise, so that was a challenge.

Tiny humans don’t have very good scissor-skills and they aren’t very good at squeezing a bottle of glue, but one thing they are REALLY good at is finger painting. And eating paint. So we did a lot of finger painting. And A LOT of eating paint. 😉

Super gloopy gel paint is totally perfect for little paint-tasters because it’s made with all-food ingredients, but it’s also great for artists who aren’t into eating their mediums because it works great on paper, tabletops, or even the bathtub, and the texture is second to none.

This homemade gel paint recipe is a lifesaver for creative activities with the 12-18-month crowd.

This paint is:

• 100% edible and made with kitchen ingredients
• Wonderfully gloopy with an amazing sensory texture
• Super easy to clean up from skin, clothes, and surfaces
• Perfect for bathtub painting, tabletops, or regular paper

Easy Homemade Edible Paint Recipe for Babies and Toddlers

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons sugar
2. 1/3 cup cornstarch
3. 2 cups water
4. Food coloring (use food-grade coloring if babies might taste it). You can use liquid watercolors if you’re not worried about taste-testing 🙂

Equipment:

• Medium saucepan
• Wooden spoon for stirring
• Small containers for different colors
• Paintbrushes (optional – fingers work great!)

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients: Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water in a medium saucepan
2. Cook the mixture: Heat over medium-high heat, stirring consistently and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking.
3. Set up containers: While it’s heating up, set out one container for each color you’d like to make.
4. Watch for transformation: After a few minutes, you’ll see the mixture change from milky liquid to an almost translucent gel with a consistency similar to hair gel. Once it gets to that point, don’t cook it much more, otherwise it will be really hard to paint with. This is your signal to remove it from heat! 
5. Divide and Color: Scoop the gel out of the pan and divide it evenly amongst the containers. Add the food coloring or liquid watercolors and stir them up well.
6. Cool and create: Once cool enough to touch comfortably, your edible finger paint is ready for artistic exploration!

 

If you are using this paint on paper, you will probably want to use a ton of food coloring or liquid watercolors.

 

I always quit adding color when it looks bright and saturated, but when it dries it never ends up very vibrant.

 

If you use more than you think you need and apply the paint super liberally, you’ll probably have a brighter end result.

 

 

Another great thing about this paint is that cleaning it up on any surface, or even skin, is a breeze with just a little soap and water. In my experience, it’s never stained a shirt or tiny hand.

 

 

One last tip: you’ve gotta use this gel paint the day you make it because it does NOT store well.

 

It all turns into a hard gunk chunk which I guess would still be pretty rad for sensory play, but paint-wise, not so great.

 

 

There you have it! Happy squishing…and tasting! 😉

 

Pro Tips for the Best Homemade Baby Paint

For vibrant colors on paper: Use more food coloring than you think necessary! The paint looks vibrant when wet but dries lighter.

For mess-free play: Try this on a shower curtain liner spread on the floor (as mentioned in my messy play shower curtain art project), or even in the bathtub for easy cleanup!

For sensory development: Talk about how the paint feels (“squishy,” “smooth,” “cool”) to enhance the sensory experience and build vocabulary.

For cleanup: Everything rinses away easily with soap and water. In all my years using this with babies, it has never stained skin or clothing!

Important note: This paint doesn’t store well and should be used the same day you make it. By the next day, it turns into a hard chunk.

Why Homemade Edible Paint is Perfect for Baby’s First Art Experience

When babies explore art materials, they develop fine motor skills, sensory processing abilities, and creative expression. This edible paint recipe creates an opportunity for babies and toddlers to:

• Experience different textures
• Practice finger and hand movements
• Make cause-and-effect connections (“When I move my hand, the color moves too!”)
• Explore colors and mixing
• Express themselves creatively without restrictions

This taste-safe paint removes stress from what can be a joyful art-making experience. You can relax and enjoy watching your baby or toddler, without constantly saying “No, don’t eat that!”

More DIY Baby-Safe Recipes for Tiny Artists

Looking for more safe paint options for your baby or toddler? Try these other tested and approved recipes:

The post Homemade Edible Paint for Kids: Easy 4-Ingredient Recipe appeared first on TinkerLab.

Learning how to make sun prints is one of the most rewarding and simple craft activities you can do with children of all ages, using just sunlight, special light-sensitive fabric, and objects from around your home or garden.

Yesterday we opened up a new bag of sunprint fabric (affiliate) that I’ve been saving for just the right time, and I can attest that this project is easy, rewarding, and toddler-approved.  

What are Sun Prints?

Sunprints are technically cyanotypes, a type of photograph made without a camera. The sunprint fabric is light-sensitive and produces a negative image when exposed to sunlight or very intense artificial light. es a negative image when exposed to sunlight or very intense artificial light. This simple science-meets-art activity creates beautiful blue prints that preserve the silhouettes of objects placed on the special paper.

Benefits of This Activity

On the creativity side of things, this activity presents good opportunities to explore nature, experiment with composition, and discuss the process of developing photographs (a far-off concept for today’s digitally saturated world). 

And now that we’ve entered the highly addictive land-of-sunprints, I can see all kinds of potential for printing small toys, fridge letter magnets, stickers, flowers, and other little knick-knacks.

Step 1: Collect interesting objects from nature.

We collected ours on a walk the other day, and I’m proud to report that my 2-year-old can recognize a maple leaf! She trumps her urban mama in her nature knowledge every time. You can also use flowers, feathers, small toys, or anything with an interesting shape.

Step 2: Gather Your Supplies.

You’ll need sun print fabric or paper, interesting objects to create silhouettes, a flat surface for arranging your design, and access to sunlight.

Step 3: Open Pack of Sun Print Fabric

Be sure to keep all unused pieces in the dark package. Exposure to light makes them useless later on.

Step 4: Place objects on the fabric and set it out in bright sun for about 15 minutes

Follow the specific timing instructions on your package.

This is an excellent way to reinforce the value of patience with children!

Step 5: Rinse in cool water…

…and voila! Your sun print is ready. Just wait for it to dry and then use it like you’d use any piece of fabric.

Creative Ways to Use Your Sun Prints

Some ideas: stitch your sun prints onto a bag, t-shirt, or quilt. My daughter decided to attach hers to a small bag – perfect for collecting more treasures on our next nature walk!

The post How to Make Sun Prints: A Simple Craft Project for Kids of All Ages appeared first on TinkerLab.

The other day I shared three key elements to my morning art journaling process. One the big three is to try something new.

New could be making a new mark or trying a new color combination.

Having this intention helps me experiment, stay in a playful mindset, and keeps me from getting caught up in perfectionism.

Here’s what happened yesterday…

While making my morning coffee I decided to clean up the coffee and vitamin shelf. In the process I discovered a jar of spirulina powder.

In case you’re not familiar, spirulina is derived from blue-green algae and some people consume it for health reasons.

Yes, that would be me.

Anyway, I hadn’t used it in a while and thought perhaps I should pass it along in the spirit of purging.

But then, I reconsidered because the color is so beautiful and wait, could I paint with it?

The answer is yes, yes I could paint with it!

I scooped some into my coffee, then put another scoop in a small bowl, added warm water, and boom…

the most beautiful turquoise color I ever did see.

And so I think I’ll keep it.

The lessons here are:

1. Clean out your kitchen cabinets from time to time
2. If you have spirulina, give this process a try
3. If you have other kitchen materials like ground spices, coffee, or tea, try painting with them and see what you think
4. Experiment with new art supplies. What unique materials could you incorporate into your art?

New to Art Journaling? You’ll want to read this next: Art Journaling 101: Ideas and Prompts to Get Started

The post Make Paint from the Kitchen: Experiments with Supplies appeared first on TinkerLab.