Well. I’ve seen this technique in different incarnations around Pinterest and the web, so naturally we had to try it. It’s 1. Fun, and 2. Bright.
We used our own recipe, mainly because I misread one of the recipes I found, but it seems like it’s pretty forgiving as long as you have the main ingredients mixed up.
Materials:
- Flour
- water
- baking powder
- salt
- white cardboard or the equivalent (something sturdier than paper to hold this heavy, wettish goop)
- food coloring (we used neon gel colors from the baking aisle)
- microwave
- plastic sandwich bags
Instructions:
In a bowl, mix 2 cups flour with 2 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Mix in just enough water to give it a batter consistency. (You don’t want it to run off the paper when it is squeezed on, but you want to be able to squeeze it out of a small hole in the plastic bags.)
Separate the mixture into 4 plastic sandwich bags, drop food coloring into each bag, a few drops at a time, until desired color. At this point, your child will ask if she can taste it. Let her, because it’s funny to see her face wince in disgust at the saltiness of the concoction.
Snip of the teeniest hole from a bottom corner, and use the bags to squeeze the ‘paint onto your surface. I would maybe encourage your kids to not glop this much dough on, because the paint puffs up better in smaller areas….
But then finger swirling started happening, so who cares about the finished product, anyway?
Microwave your art for 20-40 seconds, and watch it bake and puff up. This is really the fun part of the whole project.
Now sit your kids down and explain to them how all that baking powder + salt makes the flour and water rise and get puffy when it’s cooked, just like in baking bread.
Art + science! Together again.
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You Are A Genius! No, seriously, how do you come up with such cool stuff? I had no idea you could microwave paint to make it puffy. My kids will LOVE this. Perfect because today is a snow day!
PragmaticMom recently posted…Connecting Reading with Writing in Kindergarten
A genius, you say!? I just found this on the old internet and we put our spin on it. It’s one of those projects you’ll try and then want to revisit every once in a while. Microwaves are magical, aren’t they?
Jeanette Nyberg recently posted…Puffy Paint Portrait Project
Ohhhhh, I wanna be like Artchoo when I grow up.
I agree with Pragmatic Mom – you are the bombess of art!
We have got to try this. Thanks!
Lisa Nelson recently posted…Our Love For Books Week – The Final Hoorah!
The bombess! I feel honored. I hope you try (tried) this very fun project.
Jeanette Nyberg recently posted…Puffy Paint Portrait Project
Oh wow. We definitely have to try this. Love the finger swirling, though–looks like gloopy fun.
Elle Carter Neal recently posted…Orb’s Return (Poetry)
The finger-swirling was the highlight of the project. I bet a marbling technique would look good with this stuff, too.
Jeanette Nyberg recently posted…Puffy Paint Portrait Project
This is so fantastic! I am a traveling art teacher to various schools and actually work with a student who is deaf and blind. This would be a great material to work with because of its tactility:) Thank you x’s a million!
lex recently posted…Collaborative bracelet: Demascus Steel Dances
Hi Lex, This would be a perfect project as far as tactility goes! It really does feel cool after it’s microwaved. It would be fun to compare how this feels with how dried glue feels after drawing with it.
Jeanette Nyberg recently posted…Puffy Paint Portrait Project
when it’s all dried would the final blob stick to a window or fridge. I’m really tired of paying for puffy paint
You know, this paint is more puffy like dough- not like plasticky puffy paint, so it’s not sticky. It just sort of bakes onto the surface you have it on!
Jeanette Nyberg recently posted…Arts Advocacy Day is Upon us!