Free Crafty Recipe Instructions

Recipe for Homemade Finger Paints (Primary Colors)

By Chris Dunmire

Feel like painting with your fingers? Or painting with your feelers? Whatever the case, if you're a kid or a kid at heart, you can enjoy making your own expressive art with finger paints and saving money while you're at it by making your own paints at home. Simply use cornstarch, water, and food coloring and follow the recipe below.

Finger Paint Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups cold water
food coloring (red, blue, yellow)
airtight storage container (bowl or jar)

Directions: Mix the cornstarch, water, and food coloring in a saucepan and boil until the mixture thickens. Allow paint to cool before storing in airtight container.

Mixing Tips: For color variety, mix up a batch of the primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. Other colors can be created from these as needed (see project prompts below).

Option: Add the food coloring directly to the cornstarch mixture in the storage container instead of while boiling.

Bonus Finger Paint Project Prompts:

Kids and adults alike can enjoy funnin' around with fingerpaints. Plus, dabbling with this simple medium can entice you to try other kinds of painting techniques and canvases such as watercolor, acrylics, painting on furniture and objects, and even on rocks! (See more fun how-to painting topics here.) Here's some ideas and encouragement to get you going:

• Use Finger Paint Paper: For best results, use the right materials for the medium! Finger paint paper is heavy, glossy, and smooth, and holds the paint much better than other kinds of paper. Most important, it won't wrinkle under the wet paint.

• Dabble in color: Using the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow, mix your own color wheel or palette of new colors. Mixing red with blue gives you violet. Blue with yellow gives you green. Red and yellow makes orange. Learn more about color here.

• Go abstract: Finger painting is an excellent mode and medium for abstract expressionism and "letting go" creatively. On a large, blank piece of finger paint paper, experiment with easy strokes and light detail instead of on focused, detailed drawings. Have fun with the process. Make happy mistakes. Discover new techniques for yourself.

• Painting is an expression of you! Remember that any kind of creative expression you engage in is an opportunity to express outwardly what's within. Embrace the process of learning a new skills, practicing technique, and enjoying what the process opens up in you. •

© 2008 Chris Dunmire. All rights reserved.

Please respect the creator's copyright by not duplicating this material on your Web site, blog, or print publication without the author's permission.

About the Author
Chris Dunmire is engaged creatively in life as an author, artist, humorist, creativity coach, and workshop facilitator. She's authored dozens of creative projects and playbooks including the famous Dollar Bill Origami Money Plant project book to encourage creative exploration and expression in people of all ages. Learn more about Chris's fun printable e-playbooks at CreativeSlush.com.