DIY Puff Paint

Using DIY Puff Paint is a fun kid’s art activity and science lesson for when you are stuck at home! This puff paint is made with flour, salt, and water and sets in the microwave. Perfect for a rainy or sick day.

using a spoon to paint with on a piece of paper

I know there is a way to make puff paint with shaving cream and glue but I rarely have either of those in abundance at home.

But being a foodie means I always have flour on hand which means we can do fun crafts like making salt dough or making homemade playdough!

What you need:

ingredients needed to make the puff paint
  • self rising flour
  • salt
  • food coloring
  • water

Possible substitutions:

  • If you are in Europe you can substitute self raising flour for the self rising.
  • If you don’t have any self rising flour you can make your own.

To make your own self rising flour for this you will need:

  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Stir to combine. This will give you enough flour for 4 bowls of puff paint.

collage showing various steps to making the paintings

How to make this:

In a small bowl, add 1 Tablespoon self rising flour, 1 Tablespoon salt, a few drops food coloring, and 1 Tablespoon water to make a paste about the thickness of yogurt.

Repeat the process making different colors in different bowls.

As it sits out the mixture can dry out. Add a little water 1/4 teaspoon at a time till you get it back to the yogurt thickness.

Once you are done, place the whole painting into the microwave and cook for 20-30 seconds until the puff paint as set and is no longer sticky.

The amount of cook time will very depending on microwave wattage and how much paint was used.

Fun activities to do with the puff paints

doodling with the puff paints

Add fun drawings around the puff paint after it’s set with markers, watercolors, or crayons.

Make a drawing first and then enhance with puff paints.

When making the paints, only use primary color food coloring and have the kids figure out what colors they need to make green, purple, and orange.

Hang up all your drawings and have an art gallery day. Find at least one nice thing to say about each person’s paintings!

Talk through the science of what’s happening. Ask your child what they think causes the paint to become puffy (it’s the baking powder in the self rising flour).

various finished paintings

Top Tips

Don’t layer on the paint too thick otherwise it takes forever to set in the microwave. Big sections of the paint will also take a long time to set.

Squeeze bottles can be fun to use for elementary age kids. We used small spoons for my toddler which worked well for him.

Q-tips and paint brushes work well for giving more texture to the painting.

Do you follow Jonesin’ For Taste on Facebook? Stop by, say hi, and let me know what kinds of recipes you want to see!

Other fun kid activities:

using a spoon to paint with on a piece of paper

DIY Puff Paint

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: easy

Using DIY Puff Paint is a fun kid's art activity and science lesson for when you are stuck at home! This puff paint is made with flour, salt, and water and sets in the microwave. Perfect for a rainy or sick day.

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, add 1 Tablespoon self rising flour, 1 Tablespoon salt, a few drops food coloring, and 1 Tablespoon water to make a paste about the thickness of yogurt.
  2. Repeat the process making different colors in different bowls.
  3. As it sits out the mixture can dry out. Add a little water 1/4 teaspoon at a time till you get it back to the yogurt thickness.
  4. Once you are done, place the whole painting into the microwave and cook for 20-30 seconds until the puff paint as set and is no longer sticky.
  5. The amount of cook time will very depending on microwave wattage and how much paint was used.

Notes

To make your own self rising flour for this you will need:

  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Stir to combine. This will give you enough flour for 4 bowls of puff paint.

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