Make your own watercolors

Last week for our "project" the girls painted with homemade watercolor paints. I made the paints the night before {see the bottom of this post for the "how to"}. Here is the result:

The paints worked, for us, just like store bought watercolors. They seemed to dry a little "chalkier" than store bought watercolors, but it might have been the result of the sketch paper we used instead of watercolor paper {and it didn't really bother us at all}. The paints also harden in the container into "palettes" like the store bought watercolors, so we can keep them and use them again another day.

The little one had SO much fun, she decided to also paint her head...with paint and water. Needless to say, her hair was a little crunchy until bath time.

How to make Watercolor Paints {originally found here}:
In a mixing bowl, mix 4 Tablespoons baking soda with 2 Tablespoons vinegar until fizzing stops. Add 1/2 teaspoon corn syrup and 2 Tablespoons cornstarch. Mix until a uniform consistency. Pour the mixture into container {they suggest egg carton cups, I used an empty watercolor container from Hobby Lobby I found for 99 cents}, filling each about a third to halfway. 


Add 5-10 drops of food coloring to each cup, mixing thoroughly {I used a toothpick to mix them up}, to reach desired colors. {I made red, pink, green, blue, purple, orange, yellow and left one white}. 

Allow paints to set overnight. Use paints on watercolor paper with a wet paintbrush.