Squishy, squelchy, oozy, colourful…we LOVE finger paints and totally ignore those who say it’s just for babies and toddlers!
Here’s a super homemade edible finger paint recipe that kids of all ages will adore exploring. As it’s a “taste safe” finger paint recipe it is great for very young children but its wonderful texture and bright colours make it a fantastic sensory art experience that big kids will enjoy just as much too!
This wonderful recipe comes from the fantastic new book SUPER SENSORY INVITATIONS TO PLAY from Cathy at Nurture Store. I had the great pleasure of first meeting Cathy at a conference when I was just starting out with Kids Craft Room and she was, and has continued to be, an amazing source of inspiration to me.
Her latest ebook SUPER SENSORY INVITATIONS TO PLAY is a great resource bursting with ideas, linked to the festivals and seasons, to easily bring a different sensory play experience into your child’s life every single week of the year!
Supplies To Make Edible Finger Paint
How To Make Edible Finger Paint
This edible finger paint recipe is so, so simple!
In a saucepan mix up 1 part of cornstarch to two and a half parts of cold water. How much cornstarch you use depends on how much paint you want to make. I used one cup of cornstarch, approximately 150g/6oz and it gave me enough to make a small pot of 5 different colours of edible finger paint.
Gently heat the saucepan, bringing the mixture up to a simmer to thicken it. Be sure to stir the mixture all the time to prevent lumps, a whisk works really well for this.
Once the sauce has thickened you can colour the edible finger paint any colours you choose by stirring in some gel food colouring. I divide the mix into little plastic pots with lids and that way I can mix up lots of different colours and save and store any unused paints really easily.
Once it’s cooled kids will love exploring the texture of this edible finger paint. I hope these pictures give you a sense of how fantastic it is? It feels amazing to the touch and you could of course add some edible scents too like rose water or peppermint if you wanted to broaden the sensory experience further still.
It’s also easy to add more or less water to give different thicknesses of paint too!
You can use the paints on paper or even just on a plastic tray. It’s great for making patterns in with your fingers, craft sticks, brushes, toy cars, dinosaur feet…you name it!
Children will love exploring colour mixing too, and they can squish and mix the colours together in their hands which is great fun.
Remember this recipe isn’t designed for eating but it is taste safe, so it’s a great choice for very little kids and big kids will enjoy the experience too.
Have you shared this post with your friends on Facebook or saved it to Pinterest yet? On a desktop click the link icons in the images or on the left of the page to share. On mobile click the links at the start of the post.
More About Super Sensory Invitations To Play
Super Sensory Invitations to Play is a delightful ebook that encourages your children to explore the five senses throughout the whole year, using a wide variety of readily available sensory materials. It includes a massive 52 invitations to play, linked to the festivals and seasons of the year, and includes water, ice, dough, rice, paint, sand, sensory tubs, and more.
More Painting Ideas You Might Like: